UNUSUAL PHYSICS TEXTBOOK UNVEILS MYSTERIES OF EVERYDAY THINGS CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 13 -- On the first day of Physics 105, University of Virginia professor Louis Bloomfield yanks a cloth out from under a china-covered table and begins what he calls an "un-magic" show. "This is a magic show where all the tricks are explained," he says of his popular physics for non-scientists course, "How Things Work." Unlike typical physics courses that begin with abstract principles, Bloomfield starts with everyday things - -elevators, cameras, fluorescent light bulbs, bicycles -- and guides students to seeing the principles they embody. Clearly, Bloomfield's unorthodox approach works. Almost 500 students, some of whom view the demonstrations on a television monitor in an overflow auditorium, are enrolled in the course this semester. And, for the first time, they will have a textbook that matches Bloomfield's philosophy about teaching physics. Frustrated by the absence of a compatible text, Bloomfield began providing his students with copies of his detailed lecture notes several years ago. Now, those lectures -- barely changed from the way they appear in his own computer files -- have been published as a book, "How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life" (Wiley & Sons, 1997). "My publisher has told me that they know of no other book on the market that uses a comparable approach to the one I take in 'How Things Work'," Bloomfield says. Our most mundane activities, from taking a shower to microwaving a pizza, involve us in physics. As Bloomfield notes, "an amusement park is one big experiment in velocity and acceleration." However, most people have no idea why they momentarily feel weighed down as an elevator starts ascending or how a copy machine spits out full-color images in mere moments. This lack of understanding often leads, Bloomfield says, to a feeling that science and technology are magical or, worse, dangerous. By the time people reach college, they are frequently frightened of physics. "One of my goals, both in the course and in the book, is to battle this fear," says Bloomfield. "Another thing I try to counter is the notion that physics has no history," Bloomfield says. "On the contrary, central concepts, such as gravity, were developed over time through observation and attempts at explanation. My students go through this process themselves as I ask them to recall experiences they have had -- whether flying in an airplane or riding a bike -- and then attempt to think logically about those experiences." Bloomfield's tactics (and early versions of the new text) have been adopted by several other colleges, including Virginia Military Institute, Amherst, and the College of William and Mary. He says comments from professors there have been very positive. "It's never too late to start learning about physics," Bloomfield claims. "People can get a lot of the basics down in one or two semesters and what they learn -- both about physical phenomena and attitude towards science -- will be useful to them throughout their lives. This is physics they can use at home, at work, and even in the voting booth, where they may be called on to make decisions about whether a nuclear power plant should be built or on a multitude of other scientific issues." ### September 12, 1996 REPORTERS AND EDITORS: To interview Louis Bloomfield or arrange a visit to his physics class, contact him at (804) 924-6595 or 924-7656 or e-mail at lab3e@virginia.edu. The Web site for the course is: http://www.phys.virginia.edu/Education/Teaching/HowThingsWork Television reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.