How to Dunk a Doughnut: The Science of Everyday Life - Softcover

Fisher, Len

3.34

261 ratings by Goodreads

9780143034384: How to Dunk a Doughnut: The Science of Everyday Life

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143034383 ISBN 13: 9780143034384

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2004

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Reveals the scientific principles behind familiar objects and activities, rendering the scientific process accessible through explanations of how such activities as shopping, boiling an egg, throwing a boomerang, and sports are connected to key scientific questions. Reprint.

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About the Author:

Len Fisher is an honorary research fellow in the Department of Physics, University of Bristol, England. The author of more than eighty scientific papers, Fisher has made more than 200 radio and television appearances worldwide.

From Publishers Weekly:

Science is a way of life more than a set of answers, according to Fisher, an English physical chemist and Ig Nobel Prize winner. In his delightful book, he uses " `the science of the familiar' as a key to open a door to science, to show what it feels like to be a scientist, and to view from an insider's perspective what scientists do, why they do it, and how they go about it." Each of his nine chapters focuses on relatively mundane affairs-the best way to dunk a doughnut, how to catch a fly ball, how simple tools function, how to throw a boomerang, how an egg and a sperm manage to unite to form a new life-and each poses scientific questions about the underlying premises and principles involved. Real scientific lessons are embedded in each chapter (Fisher nicely explains the three laws of thermodynamics, for example, as well as the difference between heat and temperature), and the thoroughly engaging anecdotes serve to bring the process of science and the people who conduct scientific investigations to life. He successfully shows how science influences all aspects of our lives and how the "consequences of any particular scientific discovery are often not obvious, even to the discoverer." This view is increasingly important as politicians regularly favor applied research over the pure research so essential for meaningful progress. Fisher's humor and readability could go a long way toward making his perspective acceptable to a wide public. 70 illus., and charts. Scientific American Book Club alternate selection.
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