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Elsevier

Physics in Biology and Medicine

  • 2nd Edition - October 9, 2000
  • Latest edition
  • Author: Paul Davidovits
  • Language: English

This interdisciplinary introductory text covers topics in physics as they apply to the life sciences, specifically medicine, physiology, nursing and other applied health fields.… Read more

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Description

This interdisciplinary introductory text covers topics in physics as they apply to the life sciences, specifically medicine, physiology, nursing and other applied health fields. Physics for Biology and Medicine, Second Edition is a concise introductory paperback that surveys and relates basic physics to living systems. It discusses biological systems that can be analyzed quantitatively and how advances in the life sciences have been aided by physical or engineering analysis.

Key features

  • Provides many practical techniques for applying knowledge of physics to the study of living systems
  • Explains the operation of modern medical devices such as Computerised Axial Tomography (CAT) scans and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in simple understandable terms
  • Presents material in a straightforward manner requiring very little background in physics or biology
  • Includes many figures, examples, and illustrative problems
  • Includes appendices which provide convenient access to the most important concepts of mechanics, electricity, and optics

Readership

Suitable for doctors, nurses, physiologists, or other applied health workers. Also appropriate for the layperson (with only high school math as a base) who wishes to understand the nature of the mechanics of our bodies

Table of contents

Static Forces.
Friction.
Translational Motion.
Angular Motion.
Elasticity and Strength of Materials.
Insect Flight.
Fluids.
The Motion of Fluids.
Heat and Kinetic Theory.
Thermodynamics.
Heat and Life.
Waves and Sound.
Electricity.
Electrical Technology.
Optics.
Atomic and Nuclear Physics.
Appendix A: Basic Concepts in Mechanics.
Appendix B: Review of Electricity.
Appendix C: Review of Optics.

Review quotes

"This is a book you should consider if you are teaching the one-semester premed course. This text could be used in two ways: 1) as a text for a one-term course in the physics of the body (without calculus) for non-physics majors in premed or allied health programs, or 2) as a supplementary text for the introductory physics course, particularly for premed students."—Russell Hobbie, University of Minnesota, retired

"There is certainly a viable market (for this book), if not as a stand-alone physics text, as a collection of problems, examples, and discussions at the boundary between physics and biology/medicine. It is very well written; it is certainly accurate; and it is pretty complete."—David Cinabro, Wayne State University

Product details

  • Edition: 2
  • Latest edition
  • Published: October 17, 2000
  • Language: English

About the author

PD

Paul Davidovits

Professor of Chemistry at Boston College, was co-awarded the prestigious R.W. Wood prize from the Optical Society of America for his seminal work in optics. His contribution was foundational in the field of confocal microscopy, which allows engineers and biologists to produce optical sections through 3D objects such as semiconductor circuits, living tissues, or a single cell. He has published more than 150 papers in physical chemistry and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Association for Advancement of Science. The second edition of Physics in Biology and Medicine received the Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award in the Discipline of the Natural Sciences.
Affiliations and expertise
University Professor of Chemistry, Boston College, Massachusetts, USA