Product Description

Why does a ball bounce? Why does a balloon burst? How can a stone move on its own? Television scientist and historian Adam Hart-Davis brings you the answers to 100 essential questions about life, the universe and everything, fully illustrated with his own superb colour photographs. A passionate scientist, Adam's aim is to make complex ideas as easy to understand as possible, and his photographs are stunning in their simplicity: from spiders' webs to water drops, from sparks from a plug to a match Igniting - you can see science in action and close up.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #196305 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From the Publisher
See science in action with this fully illustrated guide by a popular TV presenter and author

From the Author
This book is about my love for photography and science.
I have enjoyed photography since I was given a Brownie Cresta at the age of about ten, and I remember taking a picture of our cat asleep on the bird table. When I was 18, I spent a year doing Voluntary Service Overseas in India, and took hundreds of photographs in that vast and fascinating country. I started using slides then, on my brother's advice, in order to be able to give talks about my travels later. In the late 1970s I began to take my photography more seriously.
Meanwhile I have spent my whole working life trying to explain science ideas, in words and pictures. Whether the question is ‘How does a balloon burst?’ or ‘Why do icicles have bubbles up the middle?’, I want to tease out the answer. Photographs may pose the question, or they may help to provide a solution, but for me at least they are part of the beauty of science.
In this book you will find some truly scientific pictures, some pictures of mundane things that I find scientifically interesting, and some pictures that cannot be called scientific at all, but are included because they give me excuses to tell stories.
The logical way to write a book like this would be to compile a list of 101 interesting questions, and then set about taking photographs to answer them. I did it the other way round. I looked for 101 good photographs, wrote what I hope are interesting things about them, and then tried to think of sensible questions.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it and looking at the pictures as much as I enjoyed writing it and taking them.

Adam Hart-Davis

About the Author
Multitalented Adam Hart-Davis is a scientist, photographer, writer and broadcaster. He has presented programmes including What the Tudors Did for Us, What the Victorians Did for Us and Science Shack. Adam is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and acts as a judge in many photographic competitions including Novartis.