Light Action! Amazing Experiments with Optics (SPIE Press Monograph Vol. PM150) - Softcover

Vicki Cobb; Josh Cobb; Theo Cobb

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0819458511 ISBN 13: 9780819458513

Publisher: SPIE Publications, 2005

Synopsis

Faster than anything in the universe! Sustainer of life as we know it! What is this miraculous, mysterious thing? It's light. And you can be its master with optics, the science of the future. Optics lets you:

- Bend light around corners
- Stop time with a pair of sunglasses
- Capture light on a silver tray
- Magnify pictures with an ice cube
- Pour light into your palm
- Project a big-screen image from your small TV
- Fool a doorbell with a bike reflector!
Once you get your head and hands into optics, the world will never look the same again. That's a promise.
Dozens of experiments.
Illustrated by Theo Cobb.
Ages 11 and up.

About this title

About the Author:

Vicki Cobb, a New York City native, received her bachelor's degree in zoology from Barnard College and her master's degree in secondary science education from Columbia University. She has written many science-related books for young readers, and was the creator and host of The Science Game, a television show. Ms. Cobb lives in Mamaroneck, New York, with her two sons.

From Booklist:

Gr. 5-8. Cobb presents information about optics and explores its basic principles through activities. Various aspects of light are covered: shadows, direction, focus, reflection, color, waves, energy, polarization, prism effects, and human perception of light; and the experiments follow. For instance, a chapter entitled "Light Benders" describes the history, functions, and practical applications of lenses, beginning with several pages of explanation, and proceeds through a series of simple demonstrations. These include observing the patterns of light at the bottom of a swimming pool, making a lens from ice in a mold (using half a tennis ball), and "grinding" an ice lens using hot water. While not experiments in the classic sense, the activities are simple and well designed and will give students basic knowledge. Cheerful line drawings and diagrams illustrate the text. Carolyn Phelan

About this edition

• Publisher: SPIE Publications
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0819458511
• ISBN 13: 9780819458513
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208