Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook453 pages4 hours
Atoms Under the Floorboards: The Surprising Science Hidden in Your Home
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Using the modern home as a springboard, Atoms under the Floorboards introduces the reader to the fascinating and surprising scientific explanations behind a variety of common (and often entertainingly mundane) household phenomena, from gurgling drains and squeaky floorboards to rubbery custard and shiny shoes.
Packed with facts and fun, each chapter focuses on a feature in each of the areas and slowly unpicks the science behind it.
* Is it better to build skyscrapers like wobbly jellies or stacks of biscuits?
*Can you burn your house down with an electric drill?
*How many atoms would you have to split to power a lightbulb?
*How can a raincoat be waterproof and breathable at the same time?
Atoms under the Floorboards answers all these questions, and hundreds more. You'll never look at your home the same way again ...
Packed with facts and fun, each chapter focuses on a feature in each of the areas and slowly unpicks the science behind it.
* Is it better to build skyscrapers like wobbly jellies or stacks of biscuits?
*Can you burn your house down with an electric drill?
*How many atoms would you have to split to power a lightbulb?
*How can a raincoat be waterproof and breathable at the same time?
Atoms under the Floorboards answers all these questions, and hundreds more. You'll never look at your home the same way again ...
Unavailable
Author
Chris Woodford
Chris Woodford has been a professional science and technology writer for 25 years. After graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in natural sciences, he has gone on to write, co-write and edit a number of science education books, including the best-selling Cool Stuff series. He runs www.explainthatstuff.com, dedicated to explaining the science behind familiar, everyday things.
Related to Atoms Under the Floorboards
Related ebooks
Lightning Often Strikes Twice: The 50 Biggest Misconceptions in Science Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Praise of Simple Physics: The Science and Mathematics behind Everyday Questions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Everyday Life: An Entertaining and Enlightening Examination of Everything We Do and Everything We See Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInventology: How We Dream Up Things That Change the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whatever Happened to the Metric System?: How America Kept Its Feet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maths on the Back of an Envelope: Clever ways to (roughly) calculate anything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plato's Alarm Clock: And Other Amazing Ancient Inventions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Time Machine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYour Daily Math: 366 Number Puzzles and Problems to Keep You Sharp Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaterials: Engineering, Science, Processing and Design Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElectrified Sheep: Glass-eating Scientists, Nuking the Moon, and More Bizarre Experiments Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Success through Failure: The Paradox of Design Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Reckoning: Calculating Without Instruments Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow Round Is Your Circle?: Where Engineering and Mathematics Meet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It All Adds Up: The Story of People and Mathematics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sundials: Their Construction and Use Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Calculate Quickly: Full Course in Speed Arithmetic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Time and Clocks: A Description of Ancient ans of Measuring Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConnections Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Engineering: A Beginner's Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Passion for Mathematics: Numbers, Puzzles, Madness, Religion, and the Quest for Reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Physics: Try This at Home: Do it yourself physics for the fearful Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gentle Art of Mathematics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParallax: The Race to Measure the Cosmos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing for Computer Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Riddles in Mathematics: A Book of Paradoxes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rocket Science: From Fireworks to the Photon Drive Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Home Improvement For You
Complete Do-it-Yourself Manual Newly Updated Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ultimate Guide: Wiring, 8th Updated Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic, Second Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Guide to Building Your Own Home and Saving Thousands on Your New House Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5World's Best Life Hacks: 200 Ingenious Ways to Use Everyday Objects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Book of Home Organization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/552 Prepper Projects: A Project a Week to Help You Prepare for the Unpredictable Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Elements of Style: Designing a Home & a Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Order from Chaos: The Everyday Grind of Staying Organized with Adult ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Everything Guide to Living Off the Grid: A back-to-basics manual for independent living Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Declutter Like a Mother: A Guilt-Free, No-Stress Way to Transform Your Home and Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Book of Clean: Tips & Techniques for Your Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Homegrown & Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The New Bohemians Handbook: Come Home to Good Vibes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Self-Sufficient Backyard Homestead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/510,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Small Apartment Hacks: 101 Ingenious DIY Solutions for Living, Organizing and Entertaining Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Simple Organizing Wisdom: 500+ Quick & Easy Clutter Cures Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan: Discover the Joy of Spending Less, Sharing More, and Living Generously Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Unclutter Your Life in One Week Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for Atoms Under the Floorboards
Rating: 3.875 out of 5 stars
4/5
8 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book contains all the information that we "learned" in science class in school and/or at the science museum and forgot soon afterwards. Going back as an adult with more experience in the world, the innovations and discoveries in this book can be related to your experiences, making the information more interesting and relevant to our lives. I'm giving it a 3 because it took me so long to read, which means it could've been more interesting. Irrelevant information creeps up every chapter and the sidebars say almost the same thing as the main text.
Just one note for American readers: the author is British and measurements are metric, so you have to think a little harder regarding specific locations and read the parentheses to know how many miles x number of km is. Some people find that annoying, but I like getting information from people who aren't American every now and then.
My food for thought quote: "What are you actually like? Can you sum yourself up in nothing but numbers? And, if the answer is 'no', why do we suppose we can compress a Picasso painting into digital photos or squash a Beethoven piano sonata into an MP3 file?" - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5There’s a reason for everything and everything is explainable. From bicycle wheels to dust on the bookshelf, everything has a story. Chris Woodford is the kind of person who has to understand everything inside out. I had a friend whose wife feared to bring anything home because she knew he would seize it and dismantle it and put it back together only after he was satisfied he understood exactly how it worked. Then maybe she could use it. I got the same feeling reading Atoms Under the Floorboards. Woodford has been this way all his life, and he relates stories from his childhood to prove it. It’s very user friendly and entertaining.There are fascinating insights into things we take for granted (pretty much everything) like why our fingers wrinkle when soaked a long time, how self-cleaning windows do their thing, or how the three different types of glue work and their resulting advantages and problems. I also appreciated his description of atoms as nothing like the artwork we’re used to seeing. They’re more like a speck of dirt at center field in a stadium. He manages to avoid most of the math, replacing it with stories and illustrations that make the journey fascinating. He combines a childlike fascination with scientific curiosity.My favorite story concerns tea leaves and why they concentrate in the center of the cup instead of covering the entire bottom. The answer was provided in a scientific paper by a certain A. Einstein in 1926. Blissfully, there an index in Atoms Under the Floorboards, so you can look at what’s happening when you are faced with the issue at hand.David Wineberg