Man's physical universe. A survey of physical science for colleges

Abstract

General education seeks to push forward the development of a good life. The educational experience which it provides is rich to the extent that it deals with the problems of life today. Briefly, this course is designed to bring from the archives of physical science the most important facts and generalizations which have any bearing on these problems. I have attempted to survey the phenomena of the physical universe with particular reference to man's immediate environment, to present a knowledge of the vast and only partially explored setting of our civilization, to envisage the great problems of the origin and evolution of the universe and the relation of man to the universe, to review briefly the present status of the nature and distribution of the resources which supply human needs and man's ability to utilize them, and to show how man is gaining control over the forces of nature and harnessing them to do his work. I have attempted to explain the more important principles and the relationships which have been found to aid in an understanding of them. Continuity and panoramic completeness have been attempted by integrating the material both with problems and principles, as well as by the historical approach. Breadth is striven for, rather than depth. I have attempted to present much more than mere "tidbits" of knowledge.