In some of the problems given in this book we offer the use of what seem to be utterly unsuitable instruments and objects in order to determine various quantities. The problems, however, can be solved if these objects are applied with due skill.

This is a wonderful little book by V. Lange titled Physical Problems for Robinsons, 116?., 116!. This book is in line with that of Perelman’s works and is an excellent book on Back of the Envelope / Order of Magnitude kind of physics with experiments, with really unsuitable instruments to measure the physical quantities. You actually become a Robinson Crusoe-esque physicist, who can also do anything!

This book has little likeness to a school collection of problems, since in solving many of them items of knowledge from many different divisions of physics may be required. Therefore the author decided to divide the problems into groups according to the situation in which the task is to be performed. In each group the problems are arranged in the order of increasing difficulty, though certainly the author’s opinion on the complexity of the problem need not necessarily coincide with the reader’s.

The book is intended, in the first place, for pupils of “O” level classes, who have already mastered a considerable amount of knowledge in physics, but there are many problems which pupils who only have started to study this wonderful science will be able to cope with. It seems that the book can prove useful to teachers of secondary school, for example, in compiling a questionnaire for a school party devoted to “entertaining physics”.

Update: A translation of this book was done in Bengali, I do not know of any other translations, any inputs would be great.

The book was translated from the Russian by V. Zhitomirsky and was first published by Mir in 1976.

You can get the book here.

CONTENTS
FOREWORD 17
PROBLEMS:
At Home 113
On a Ramble 118
On the Lake 120
During a Journey 122
In the School Lab I23
At the Factory 127
In Outer Space I29
HINTS AND POINTERS 132
SOLUTIONS OF THE PROBLEMS 1 40