About This Book
The Vision: Physics You Can See and Touch
What if you could reach into the world of physics and play with it?
Traditional physics textbooks show you static diagrams and equations. This book gives you interactive simulations where you can drag sliders, change parameters, and watch physics unfold before your eyes. When you adjust the angle of a projectile and see its path change in real time, something clicks that no equation can teach.
This is not a replacement for your physics class—it's a companion that makes the invisible visible.
Why This Book Exists
The story of Michael Faraday captures why I created this textbook. Faraday had no formal mathematical education. Yet his extraordinary ability to visualize the world around him made him one of the greatest physicists in history. His invention of the electric motor and his description of magnetic fields are foundations of modern technology. He combined immense curiosity with a visualization skill he developed from a young age.
I've been fortunate to share a similar gift—the ability to visualize abstract concepts. In my case, it's the motion of data through computer systems and how knowledge can be represented in concept graphs. But I believe this ability originated with my childhood curiosity about how current flows from batteries to motors. That curiosity drove me to build my own stereo equipment in high school.
Today my shop overflows with electronics projects, from simple LEDs to complex AI robots. It has been a lifelong joy. But looking back, none of these skills would have been possible without hands-on access to batteries, motors, resistors, and microcontrollers.
Here's the tragedy: Many students today have the curiosity but lack access to the tools. They can't afford a shop full of electronics. They can't watch a motor spin or see an LED light up in response to their own wiring. My hope is that this book's interactive simulations can bridge that gap—giving every student a virtual electronics bench where physics comes alive.
Why Now?
Several factors came together to make this book possible:
- 30 years of dreaming: Since reading Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age in 1995, I've imagined what a truly interactive, adaptive textbook could be
- Generative AI: Tools like Claude Code now let me build sophisticated simulations rapidly
- MicroSim expertise: I've developed techniques for creating small, focused, interactive demonstrations
- Time and passion: Retirement gave me the freedom to pursue this labor of love
- A supportive community: Friends and educators who believe this approach can transform how students learn physics
How to Use This Book
This book is designed for exploration. There's no single "right" way to use it.
Start with Curiosity
Search for any concept that interests you. The search function finds relevant chapters, simulations, glossary terms, and stories.
Follow the Chapters
The Chapters build systematically from foundational concepts to advanced topics. Each chapter includes explanations, diagrams, and links to relevant MicroSims.
Play with MicroSims
The MicroSims are the heart of this book. These interactive simulations let you experiment with physics concepts directly. Adjust a pendulum's length and watch its period change. Launch projectiles at different angles. Build circuits and see current flow. Play first, then read the theory—or the other way around. Both work.
Get Inspired by Stories
The Stories section contains graphic-novel-style narratives about the physicists who discovered these principles. Meet Faraday, who rose from poverty to invent the electric age. Follow Marie Curie through her groundbreaking work on radioactivity. These aren't dry biographies—they're illustrated adventures that show how curiosity, persistence, and creativity drive scientific discovery.
Deepen Your Understanding
Use the Glossary for quick definitions, the FAQs for common questions, and the Quizzes to test your knowledge. The Learning Graph shows how all 200+ concepts connect to each other.
An Invitation
Physics isn't just formulas to memorize for a test. It's the operating system of the universe—the rules that govern everything from falling apples to orbiting planets to the electricity powering your screen right now.
This book invites you to stop being a passive observer and become an active explorer. Drag that slider. Change that parameter. Break things and see what happens.
The best physicists aren't those who memorize the most equations. They're the ones who never stop asking "what if?"
Welcome to physics you can see, touch, and play with.
Dan McCreary January 1, 2026