Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life - Softcover

Czerski, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393355470 ISBN 13: 9780393355475

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2018

Synopsis

“[Czerski’s] quest to enhance humanity’s everyday scientific literacy is timely and imperative.”―Science

Storm in a Teacup is Helen Czerski’s lively, entertaining, and richly informed introduction to the world of physics. 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 provides answers to vexing questions: How do ducks keep their feet warm when walking on ice? Why does it take so long for ketchup to come out of a bottle? Why does milk, when added to tea, look like billowing storm clouds? In an engaging voice at once warm and witty, Czerski shares her stunning breadth of knowledge to lift the veil of familiarity from the ordinary.

About this title

About the Author

Helen Czerski is a physicist at University College London’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and a science presenter for BBC. She writes a monthly column for BBC Focus magazine called “Everyday Science” that was shortlisted for a Professional Publishers Association award.

Review

“Helen Czerski’s engaging debut book seeks to demystify physics in everyday life, so whether you know your refraction from your reflection, or find the entire subject incomprehensible, this should be an invaluable primer.”
- The Guardian

“Excellent... an ideal gift for any scientifically inquisitive person, including children or adults who retain a child's sense of wonder. Robert Hooke would have loved it.”
- John Gribbin, The Wall Street Journal

“In an age when any questions we have about the workings of the world are instantly answerable via Google, physicist Czerski pushes us to resist the search engine.... [W]hy not learn some simple physics so that you can try to puzzle things out for yourself?”
- Scientific American

“Delightful....Replete with historical detail....Storm in a Teacup will entertain and educate any person with a healthy curiosity about the natural world.”
- Physics Today

“This book is charming, accessible and enthusiastic. Helen invites you in to see the world through her eyes and understand how a physicist think. It’s a wonderful way to discover the hidden scientific connections behind the ordinary and everyday.”
- Hannah Fry, author of Hello World

“A delightful book on the joys and universality of physics. Czerski 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, author of Life on the Edge

“Storm in a Teacup is a course in physics, but it’s less like a classroom than a long walk with a patient, charming, and very, very learned friend. Czerski has a remarkable knack for finding scientific wonders under every rock, alongside every raindrop, and inside every grain of sand.”
- Jordan Ellenberg, author of How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0393355470
• ISBN 13: 9780393355475
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288