- 120 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About This Book
For the millions who remain curious about the world around them, but gained little from science at school, this book offers a way forward. Based on live discussions with adults from all walks of life, each chapter begins with an everyday experience, like swallowing a pill or watching a bee on a flower. The main scientific ideas underlying each topic are then explored, so that understanding of a set of fundamental concepts builds up gradually throughout the book.
In contrast to more traditional approaches to science learning, topics range freely across the subject areas. The story of Covid, for example includes aspects of biology, chemistry, mathematics and social behaviour. Plain English is used throughout and mathematical expressions are avoided. Key points are illustrated with clear diagrams and photographs.
By drawing on questions and perspectives of ordinary people, the book offers an introduction to basic ideas in science as a whole, rather than any one particular subject. For the adult wishing to make good a gap in their understanding it provides a starting point for entering the rich world of popular science.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Author
- Introduction
- One How Do Pills Know Where to Go?: The Shape and Nature of Drug Molecules Dictate Where They Act
- Two Singing and Navigating – The Extraordinary Feats of Ordinary Birds: What Science Tells Us about Bird Song and Migration
- Three The Colour of Light: The Nature of Light and Colours of the Spectrum
- Four Why We Look Like Our Parents – A Bit: The Story of Genes, Chromosomes and DNA
- Five Atmospheric Rivers: Rain, Humidity and the Water Cycle
- Six The Perennial Question of Sex: How Plants Reproduce
- Seven The Geometry of Ice: What Lines on an Icy Pond Reveal about the Underlying Structure of Matter
- Eight Very Small and Very Busy: Life Inside the Cell What Goes on Inside Our Human Cells
- Nine Enzymes: Familiar to Brewers and Cheesemakers, but What Are They?
- Ten Sugar, Carbs and Type 2 Diabetes: The Substances behind the Surge in Diabetes 2
- Eleven Sticking Together: The Science of Adhesion
- Twelve A Nice Warm Shower: What’s the Difference between Heat and Temperature?
- Thirteen Why Your Ears ‘Pop’: What Popping Tells Us about Pressure, the Middle Ear and the Atmosphere
- Fourteen Making Decisions: Evidence from Experimental Psychology about How We Make Choices
- Fifteen COVID-19: Viruses, Lungs and Epidemics: The Basic Science of the Pandemic
- Sixteen COVID 19: Immunity, Vaccines and Variants: The Immune System and How Vaccines Stimulate It
- Seventeen Energy and the Climate Emergency: Greenhouse Gases, Energy and Heat Pumps
- Eighteen Electricity: What It Is and Where It Comes From
- Nineteen Reflections