The Way Science Works

Hundreds of illustrations and photographs, accompanied by informative essays by experts in the field, outline a wide variety of scientific concepts, theoretical principles, and technological advances in such fields as medicine, transportation, information technology, and space.

This interesting and useful work is intended for laypeople seeking information on science and technology in a nontechnical format. For that reason, it is purposely nonmathematical in treatment. Abundantly illustrated throughout with approximately 350 four-color drawings and 200 photographs, it was compiled in Great Britain.

The book is organized in two parts. The first has seven chapters with two-page spreads explaining how 94 things work, ranging from nuclear power to compact discs. Detailed cross-sections illustrate each entry. At the bottom of the pages are "Connections," cross-references to related topics (e.g., "High Fidelity" connections include "Telephones," "Radio," "Sound Recording," etc).

The second part of the book, "Principles," surveys 30 scientific principles, also in a two-page format. For example, "Properties of Matter" covers 12 topics, including chemical bonding, solids, gases, and liquids. This section does not have any cross-references. Rounding out the volume is a page of units of measurement and a glossary of 164 terms. The index notes illustrations, captions, and boxed text.

The excellent single-volume The Encyclopedia of How It Works (A & W, 1977) and the multivolume How It Works (Marshall Cavendish, 1978) are very popular but are now dated. The Way Science Works will be a welcome addition to middle-school, high-school, and public libraries seeking to update their collections of popular materials on technology.