How Things Work Today (Scientific American)

Description

Computers, mobile phones, smart cards, biotechnology, and genetics are all having a major impact on the way we lead our lives at the beginning of the 21st century. Surrounded by this bewildering array of new technology, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. How Things Work Today, based on "Working Knowledge", the successful monthly column in Scientific American magazine, puts us back in touch with the world we live in by revealing the secrets of the new technologies that are shaping the future. More than 100 topics are explained in readily understandable terms with the aid of specially commissioned three* dimensional illustrations, cross-sectional diagrams, exploded views, and colour photographs. To place each technology in its relevant context, the book is divided into seven chapters: The Urban and Domestic Environment, Communications and Leisure, Transport, Crime and Security, Power and Industry, Medicine and Research, and Space. Visually exciting and clearly written by a team of professional science and technology writers, How Things Work Today is an essential book for anyone who wants to develop their understanding of the modern world.