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The Physics of NASCAR: How to Make Steel + Gas + Rubber = Speed
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The Physics of NASCAR: How to Make Steel + Gas + Rubber = Speed
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by Diandra Leslie-Pelecky
Sales Rank : 32843
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Hardcover: 286 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult February 14, 2008
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525950532
ISBN-13: 978-0525950530
Product Dimensions:
8.9 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
Having caught, by chance, the broadcast of a multi-car NASCAR crash on television, Nebraska University physics professor Leslie-Pelecky found herself compelled to understand why it happened. Soon, a growing list of scientific questions ("How do you build an enginethat can run at 9,000 rpm for three hours without blowing up?") steer her to meetings with engineers, ground crews and drivers who work together "at the limits of what we understand about aerodynamics, structural engineering and even human physiology." The first part of the book deals with materials, and looks at how combustion, power and aerodynamics work together to maximize speed. But it's the driver and his crew who win the race, and Leslie-Pelecky gets plenty of time with the men behind the machines, joining Ray Evernham's crew to watch him race, and taking a turn behind the wheel herself. Along the way, the nanotech specialist becomes an unlikely racing fan; this fun physics primer should give any NASCAR aficionado a similar appreciation for science.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Review
A physicist herself, Leslie-Pelecky is impressed by the scientific methods used on the track and surprised by the problem solving in the pits, an open-mindedness that is trickling up to management. . . . "The trick with science is making the public care about it," Leslie-Pelecky says. And an awful lot of people care deeply about NASCAR." -- ESPN Magazine 2008
Currently a condensed-matter physicist at the University of Nebraska, Leslie-Pelecky regards a NASCAR track as a living laboratory. In her new book she outlines the many ways in which engineers, mechanics and driverswittingly and unwittingly rely on physics to drive as quickly and as safely as possible. . . . She also thinks the science of NASCAR could be an ideal way to make physics compelling to students bored by traditional teaching. "It would be a great course for anyone interested in science but afraid of science," she says. -- Peter Gwynne -- Physics World March 2008
Diandra Leslie-Pelecky] has produced one of the most intriguing and educational books ever written about the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. "The Physics of NASCAR" may be one of the most intellectually challenging books you've read in a while. That's a good thing, because Leslie-Pelecky does a splendid job of balancing the hard-core scientific aspects of the sport (there are a lot of them) with the human side.-- Mark David -- Daytona News Journal, February 10, 2008
The author, a physicist and devoted NASCAR fan, explains in clear, simple terms what goes into making a NASCAR vehicle, from design to development to construction to test-driving. Along the way, she introduces us to some of the sport's key players and teaches us (painlessly) more about the physics of speed racing than we ever thought we needed to know. NASCAR fans will flock to this book. -- David Pitt -- Booklist March 1, 2008
To understand what is happening on the track and in the garage here at Daytona, you need either a crash course in aerodynamics or the guidance of Dr. Leslie-Pelecky and her new book, The Physics of Nascar. -- John Tierney -- New York Times "Science Section" 2/12/2008
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