Offbeat Physics Machines, Meditations and Misconceptions

The book is divided into three parts. Part I -- Machines, comprises chapters that explain or model the workings of a number of machines (understood in a broad sense) on the basis of physical principles. These machines can be as simple as a rolling wheel or as complex as a jet engine. Then in Part II -- Meditations, the authors go beyond the standard examples, experiments and approximations discussed ad nauseam in most physics textbooks, but which are not always very exciting or realistic. For example, what happens when colliding bodies are not perfectly rigid -- as we know real bodies are not? Finally, Part III -- Misconceptions aims to correct misconceptions that students may have about physical phenomena or clarify issues that are often presented misleadingly, confusingly or imprecisely in textbooks, such as the relationship between angular momentum and angular velocity in rotational motion.
This is a book for all those who wish to learn physics beyond the textbooks and from more realistic problems, often occurring in engineering contexts. It will be useful to instructors at all levels, as well as highly motivated students taking General Physics courses in higher education.