Horizon Information Portal

e-branch

Home

My Account/Renew Loans

Find Magazine Articles & more

Storm in a teacup : the physics of everyday life / Helen Czerski.

by Czerski, Helen, 1978-

View full image

W.W. Norton & Company, c2016.

Physics -- Miscellanea.

9780393248968 (hc.)

Alternate title:

Physics of everyday life

First American edition 2017.

275 pages ; 25 cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Popcorn and rockets -- What goes up must come down -- Small is beautiful -- A moment in time -- Making waves -- Why don't ducks get cold feet? -- Spoons, spirals and Sputnik -- When opposites attract -- A sense of perspective.

"A physicist explains daily phenomena from the mundane to the magisterial. Take a look up at the stars on a clear night and you get a sense that the universe is vast and untouchable, full of mysteries beyond comprehension. But did you know that the key to unveiling the secrets of the cosmos is as close as the nearest toaster? Helen Czerski provides the tools to alter the way we see everything around us by linking ordinary objects and occurrences, like popcorn popping, coffee stains, and fridge magnets, to big ideas like climate change, the energy crisis, or innovative medical testing. She guides us through the principles of gases ("Explosions in the kitchen are generally considered a bad idea. But just occasionally a small one can produce something delicious"); gravity (drop some raisins in a bottle of carbonated lemonade and watch the whoosh of bubbles and the dancing raisins at the bottom bumping into each other); size (the action of the water molecules that cause the crime-scene stain left by a puddle of dried coffee); and time (why it takes so long for ketchup to come out of a bottle). She provides answers to vexing questions: How does water travel from the roots of a redwood tree to its crown? How do ducks keep their feet warm when walking on ice? Why does milk, when added to tea, look like billowing storm clouds? You may never look at your toaster the same way. Helen is a physicist, oceanographer and broadcaster. She currently works at UCL (University College London) and is a science presenter for the BBC. Visit her webpage at helenczerski.net"--Provided by publisher.

Horizon Information Portal 3.24_8902M

© 2001-2013 SirsiDynix All rights reserved.

Horizon Information Portal