'A quite delightful book on the joys, and universality, of physics.
Czerski's enthusiasm is infectious because she brings our humdrum
everyday world to life, showing us that it is just as fascinating
as anything that can be seen by the Hubble Telescope or created at
the Large Hadron Collider.' - Jim Al-Khalili Our world is full of
patterns. If you pour milk into your tea and give it a stir, you'll
see a swirl, a spiral of two fluids, before the two liquids mix
completely. The same pattern is found elsewhere too. Look down on
the Earth from space, and you'll find similar swirls in the clouds,
made where warm air and cold air waltz. In Storm in a Teacup, Helen
Czerski links the little things we see every day with the big world
we live in. Each chapter begins with something small - popcorn,
coffee stains and refrigerator magnets - and uses it to explain
some of the most important science and technology of our time. This
is physics as the toolbox of science - a toolbox we need in order
to make sense of what is around us and arrive at decisions about
the future, from medical advances to solving our future energy
needs. It is also physics as the toy box of science: physics as
fun, as never before.
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My review
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 | Review
by: Tanya K.
In the author's own words: "this book is about linking the little things we see every day with the big world we live in. It's a romp through the physical world, showing how playing with things like popcorn, coffee stains and refrigerator magnets can shed light on Scott's expeditions, medical tests and solving out future energy needs."
This book is definitely a "romp" through the physical world, managing to be entertaining, energetic, accessible and educational at the same time, without bogging the reader down with too much formal detail, lengthy explanations or equations.
Czerski begins each chapter with something small and familiar that we will have seen many times but may never have thought about, and uses it to explain the relevant fascinating physics phenomenon. By the end of each chapter, the reader will see the same patterns explaining some of the most important science and technology of our time. This book provides a good deal of basic general knowledge and shows how physics laws we observe on Earth are applicable universally.
Czerski has a chatty, informal style of writing interspersed with personal anecdotes she usually uses to make a relevant point (which I didn't find as annoying as the ubiquitous author interviews and fashion commentary found in other books). Each chapter covers a theme or physics law (e.g. waves, electromagnetism, surface tension, gravity) and then discusses several useful, common or interesting real-world applications in bite-sized chunks to demonstrate the concept - everything from popcorn, fluorescent scorpions, floating eggs, toast, sloshing tea, bubbles, mail rockets, elephant trunks, steam locomotives, candles, ocean and air currents to Sputnik, the Hubble Telescope, and wi-fi etc. I found her inclusion of experiments that anyone can do at home (e.g. all the egg experiments, the raisins in the fizzy bottle, pH indicator cabbage and the toast experiment) to be a nice addition to a general physics popular science book.
Czerski has an infectious passion for physics. While her explanations aren't terribly detailed; they are accessible, entertaining, understandable, not overly simplified, and extremely fascinating. The examples she chooses are also different - I doubt readers will look at their toasters, tea or eggs in quite the same way again!
I found Storm in a Teacup made for an enjoyable reading experience, providing information that was new to me about how and why ordinary "stuff", and ultimately, the world works.
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