{"product_id":"how-round-is-your-circle-where-engineering-and-mathematics-meet-9780691149929","title":"How Round Is Your Circle?: Where Engineering and Mathematics Meet","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow do you draw a straight line? How do you determine if a circle is really round? These may sound like simple or even trivial mathematical problems, but to an engineer the answers can mean the difference between success and failure. \u003ci\u003eHow Round Is Your Circle?\u003c\/i\u003e invites readers to explore many of the same fundamental questions that working engineers deal with every day--it's challenging, hands-on, and fun. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e John Bryant and Chris Sangwin illustrate how physical models are created from abstract mathematical ones. Using elementary geometry and trigonometry, they guide readers through paper-and-pencil reconstructions of mathematical problems and show them how to construct actual physical models themselves--directions included. It's an effective and entertaining way to explain how applied mathematics and engineering work together to solve problems, everything from keeping a piston aligned in its cylinder to ensuring that automotive driveshafts rotate smoothly. Intriguingly, checking the roundness of a manufactured object is trickier than one might think. When does the width of a saw blade affect an engineer's calculations--or, for that matter, the width of a physical line? When does a measurement need to be exact and when will an approximation suffice? Bryant and Sangwin tackle questions like these and enliven their discussions with many fascinating highlights from engineering history. Generously illustrated, \u003ci\u003eHow Round Is Your Circle?\u003c\/i\u003e reveals some of the hidden complexities in everyday things.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Bryant\u003c\/b\u003e is a retired chemical engineer. He was lecturer in engineering at the University of Exeter until 1994. \u003cb\u003eChris Sangwin\u003c\/b\u003e is lecturer in mathematics at the University of Birmingham. He is the coauthor of \u003ci\u003eMathematics Galore!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50514312298770,"sku":"9780691149929","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_de2d4836-f2d9-45d6-b106-d89985b5f43f.jpg?v=1730979204","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/how-round-is-your-circle-where-engineering-and-mathematics-meet-9780691149929","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}