Biophysics For Dummies (eBook)

Ken Vos, PhD, is a professor at the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Ken has been teaching an introductory biophysics course since 1998 and won the University of Lethbridge's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2008. His research interests include topics in biophysics with application to cancer treatment.

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Started with Biophysics 5

Chapter 1: Welcoming You to the World of Biophysics 7

Chapter 2: Interrogating Biophysics: The Five Ws and One H 19

Chapter 3: Speaking Physics: The Basics for All Areas of Biophysics 25

Part II: Calling the Mechanics to Fix Your Bio -- Biomechanics 47

Chapter 4: Bullying Biomechanics with the Laws of Physics 49

Chapter 5: Sitting with Couch Potatoes -- Static Equilibrium 77

Chapter 6: Building the Mechanics of the Human Body and Animals 105

Chapter 7: Making The World Go Round With Physics -- Dynamics 139

Chapter 8: Looking at Where Moving Objects Go -- Kinematics 165

Part III: Making Your Blood Boil -- The Physics of Fluids 187

Chapter 9: Understanding the Mechanics of Fluids and Cohesive Forces 189

Chapter 10: Going with the Fluid Flow -- Fluid Dynamics 209

Chapter 11: Breaking through to the Other Side -- Transport, Membranes, and Porous Material 235

Part IV: Playing the Music Too Loud -- Sound and Waves 253

Chapter 12: Examining the Physics of Waves and Sound 255

Chapter 13: Grasping How Animals and Instruments Produce Sound Waves 275

Chapter 14: Detecting Sound Waves with the Ear 293

Chapter 15: Listening to Sound -- Doppler Effect, Echolocation, and Imaging 305

Part V: Interacting Subatomic Particles' Influcence on Biological Organisms 315

Chapter 16: Charging Matter: The Laws of Physics for Electricity, Magnetism, and Electromagnetism 317

Chapter 17: Tapping into the Physics of Radiation 339

Chapter 18: Fighting the Big C -- But Not All Radiation Is Bad 359

Chapter 19: Seeing Good Biophysics in the Medical Field 375

Part VI: The Part of Tens 385

Chapter 20: Ten (or So) Tips to Help You Master Your Biophysics Course 387

Chapter 21: Ten Careers for People Studying Biophysics 391

Index 395