The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day
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Description
Physics professor, bestselling author, and dynamic storyteller James Kakalios reveals the mind-bending science behind the seemingly basic things that keep our daily lives running, from our smart phones and digital “clouds” to x-ray machines and hybrid vehicles. Most of us are clueless when it comes to the physics that makes our modern world so convenient. What’s the simple science behind motion sensors, touch screens, and toasters? How do we glide through tolls using an E-Z Pass, or find our way to new places using GPS? In The Physics of Everyday Things, James Kakalios takes us on an amazing journey into the subatomic marvels that underlie so much of what we use and take for granted. Breaking down the world of things into a single day, Kakalios engages our curiosity about how our refrigerators keep food cool, how a plane manages to remain airborne, and how our wrist fitness monitors keep track of our steps. Each explanation is coupled with a story revealing the interplay of the astonishing invisible forces that surround us. Through this “narrative physics,” The Physics of Everyday Things demonstrates that—far from the abstractions conjured by terms like the Higgs Boson, black holes, and gravity waves—sophisticated science is also quite practical. With his signature clarity and inventiveness, Kakalios ignites our imaginations and enthralls us with the principles that make up our lives. Read more
Publisher : Crown
Publication date : May 15, 2018
Edition : Reprint
Language : English
Print length : 256 pages
ISBN-10 : 0770437753
ISBN-13 : 56
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.19 x 0.67 x 7.94 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #125,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #15 in Physics of Electricity #35 in Relativity Physics (Books) #64 in Electrical & Electronics (Books)
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Kindle
A very nice presentation that does an excellent job of emphasizing the meaningful applications of physics in everyday life. So if you were asking ``What can the Higgs particle do for me?'' this book will not answer that question, but it will show you the role of physics in things, such as cars, toasters etc..., the importance of which can hardly be denied. It will show you how toasting a bagel involves a large number of various physical disciplines (thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and electrodynamics, to name the most important). Of course, you may not need to read everything in sequence, but you will get a good general impression of to what extent physics is involved in everyday life, whether it is the several machines one uses, or simple facts which one knows by experience, but the cause of which may remain obscure (why, for example, does blowing on your coffee cool it down? what happens when the traffic grinds to a halt? The book gives interesting explanations to such doubts). Over all, a very nice book.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2017 by Francois Leyvraz
Format: Paperback
This book gives a good basic outline of the physics involved in many of the technologies we use. A nice example is the explanation of how the GPS works, how your device is actually communicating with several satellites, and how Einstein's Theories of Special Relativity and General Relativity have to be taken into account by these devices. Also interesting were the explanations of X-ray scanners and magnetic resonance imaging. Of course I must admit that I am one of the science-trained readers alluded to in the footnote on page 82, so I could add that while the nuclear spins themselves undergo quantum jumps, the bulk expectation values do precess about the magnetic fields as described classically. I am looking forward to explanations of how computer and smartphone displays work and how they can have such impressive resolution...I haven't finished the book.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2019 by hbren
Format: Kindle
The author uses everyday life to explore physics concepts. The explanations are generally quite good though without mathematics. Nothing wrong with the explanations given the audience though I personally would have preferred a bit more nuance in the explanation of flight. Overall, a good reminder of physics being used all around us in the modern world.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2025 by Kyle B.
Format: Kindle
The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day by James Kakalios “The Physics of Everyday Things” is an average book that describes the science behind an ordinary day. Physics professor and bestselling author James Kakalios engages the curiosity of the reader by describing the physics behind our modern daily conveniences. This curious 225-page book includes the following seven chapters: 1. You Begin Your Day, 2. You Drive into the City, 3. You Go to the Doctor, 4. You Go to the Airport, 5. You Take a Flight, 6. You Give a Business Presentation, and 7. You Go to a Hotel. Positives: 1. A well-written book. 2. An excellent topic, explaining the physics behind an ordinary day. 3. Great idea of describing the science of modern everyday conveniences. 4. Describes key concepts of physics. “Moving electric charges, as in a current, generate a magnetic field (this is known as Ampere’s law); the faster they move, the larger the magnetic field.” 5. Applies the science behind everyday conveniences. “A toaster employs the first law of thermodynamics, which states that for any closed system, the total amount of work and heat must remain unchanged.” 6. Makes good use of quotes by scientists to help explain concepts. “To paraphrase theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler, in general relativity, matter tells space how to bend, and space tells matter how to move.” 7. Elevators explained. “An elevator is essentially a pulley, with a cable that loops over a cylindrical drum. One end of the cable is affixed to the elevator car and the other to a counterweight. The size of the counterweight is chosen to reflect the weight of the car with its average occupancy, typically 40 percent of the maximum capacity of the car. By making the counterweight as close as possible to the weight of the car, we minimize the energy needed to raise or lower the elevator car.” 8. The basis of ultrasound imaging. “The fact that the speed of sound varies with the density of the medium is the basis of ultrasound imaging.” 9. Explains how information is stored on your credit card. “Information about your charge account is stored on your credit card in different forms: the account number itself is printed on the front of the card; there is a quarter-inch-wide magnetic stripe running along the length of the card; and, in some versions, a memory chip is embedded within the card. Each storage mechanism uses different physical principles.” 10. The science of flying. “The energy to rotate the propeller comes from the combustion of fossil fuel, essentially the same physics that leads to rotational kinetic energy in a car. Greater speeds, necessary for larger lifting forces, are achieved using a jet engine.” 11. The science behind everyday office equipment. “Converting documents into a series of voltages, and these voltages back into a printed copy, is why a single device can function as a scanner, a fax machine, a printer, and a copier: it’s all the same physics!” 12. Radiation explained. “Any energy emission—whether of sound, electromagnetic waves, or high-speed subatomic particles (electrons, protons, neutrons, or combinations thereof) ejected from a nucleus—is termed “radiation” by physicists.” 13. Debunks myths. “The damage done to the cells by the ionizing radiation does not result in new, unstable radioactive nuclei, and thus irradiated food is not itself radioactive. This confusion between “radioactive” and “irradiated” is unfortunate, with the very terms so emotionally charged that many will avoid any process that involves nuclear decay, even at the cost of preventable sickness and death.” 14. Explains why we don’t have flying cars. “As just mentioned, it takes a considerable amount of energy to keep a car levitated in the air, and the vehicle needs to carry the source of this energy with it.” 15. Notes included. Negatives: 1. Falls short of the goal of effectively explaining physics to the layperson. 2. Rudimentary stick illustrations. 3. Reader must understand the key recurring concept of changing electric currents create changing magnetic fields. Otherwise, you will fail to follow a lot of what the author is trying to convey. 4. At times, a dry tedious read. 5. No formal bibliography. In summary, the execution of a great idea falls quite short. Clever idea to use everyday life to illustrate physics but I feel that laypersons will struggle with this book. The illustrations left a lot to be desired as well. There are much better books available for the public. On the other hand, if you have a basic understanding and curiosity for physics this book will meet your satisfaction. Average to good depending on your perspective. Further recommendations: “For the Love of Physics” by Walter Lewin, “The Trouble With Physics” by Lee Smolin, “Seven Brief Lessons on Physics” by Carlo Rovelli, “Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field: How Two Men Revolutionized Physics” by Nancy Forbes and Basil Mahon, “The Man Who Changed Everything: The Life of James Clerk Maxwell” by Basil Mahon, “The Electric Life of Michael Faraday” by Alan Hirshfeld, and “Tesla” by W. Bernard Carlson.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2019 by Book Shark
Format: Paperback
I read the negative reviews for this book and that is when I knew it would be a fun read. There aren't many pictures, but the author does a good job explaining capacitors, circuits and semiconductors and will come back to remind the audience about how these are used in a similar manner by different devices. It is fairly straightforward and does take a little work for people with a science background, but all in all a good read. Also loved the analogy and explanation for electrons in an auditorium and how they fill space, move, emit light and create current. Highly recommend!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2019 by Bama Fan
Format: Hardcover
It’s truly an amazing and interesting book. Please do yourself a favor and read this.
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2021 by Josh A
Format: Hardcover
Physics is hard. Everybody knows that, and knows that Physics is a subject best avoided unless you are some sort of rocket scientist or nerd. This is a horrible attitude. Sure, Physics and the mathematical analysis of complicated systems can get very complicated and involved, and is indeed the domain of trained scientists and engineers. But at its basic levels, Physics is the explanation of life. It is the reason your toaster manages to prepare your breakfast without killing you, or why your air conditioner lets you live in the American Southwest. James Kakalios makes a commendable effort at taking the complexity and scariness out of the physical sciences and explain them in everyday, common language. === The Good Stuff === * Kakalios goes out of his way to keep the discussion grounded in reality. The format of the book is “a life in the day of…”, and it traces the interactions during a typical day with our subject and the myriad of technologies that surround us. Along the way we discuss toasters, elevators, automated highway toll systems (EZ-PASS), automobiles and a number of other products. In each case, the author starts with the basic physics behind what is going on, then explains how it is put in practice in everyday life. * The language is, for the most part, high-school level grammar and vocabulary. You find some unusual words (frequency, voltage, oscillator), but for the most part you can infer their meaning and stay focused on the narrative. * The discussions are mostly self-contained. Pretty much everything you need to understand a technology is within the chapter, and the chapters do not build upon one another. While the book will reward you for taking more time to read and understand the details presented, you can also read it somewhat less completely, and still understand the main concepts and ideas. * Even though I already understood nearly all of the technologies discussed, I still enjoyed reading the book. There is always some value in reading alternative explanations for things you already think you understand, and there were a few tidbits that I either never knew or had forgotten somewhere along the way. === The Not-So-Good Stuff === * My major concern is the target audience. Kakalios picks a very specific target audience, and as an engineer, I am not a good judge of how appropriate that target is. For example, there is an excellent discussion of how a refrigerator works to pump heat from the interior to the exterior. To compete this discussion, the author introduces and explains some basic principles of thermodynamics. These concepts are a bit counter-intuitive, and you are probably not going to immediately grasp them from a one page discussion. The problem is that the book seems targeted toward a group of people who understand-or can be easily taught- the basics of thermodynamics, but who do not already understand how a refrigerator works. === Summary === I enjoyed the book, and believe that most anyone with an interest in how the world works will find it a worthwhile effort. Some of the material seems a bit more complicated that might be appropriate, but it is certainly explained well enough that it can be used either for a rough overview, or to stimulate interest in finding more information. === Disclaimer === I was able to read an advance copy through the courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2017 by Andy in Washington
Format: Paperback
It was a fun read. I like the concept that we can understand common things though the perspective of hard science
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2018 by JFHMD