Inflight science a guide to the world from your airplane window

Description

Over icy seasUp into the sunlight; Voyage to the heart of the Sun; Why is the sky blue?; Why does the Sun keep shining?; Taking a trip through a quantum tunnel; Crossing flight paths; Leaving a trail in the sky; Is there life out there?; Going walkabout; Travelling through bumpy air; The flash of lightning; A static charge; Making lightning; Electricity on the move; There's safety in metal boxes; Grounded by the ash; Volcanic eruption; In the radiation zone; Fooled by a natural high; A cosmic collision; Cabin Life; Pressure on the blood supply; Catching up with jet lag.;Crossing the time zonesWhat jet lag is (and isn't); Taming jet lag; Resorting to medication; Is there a jet lag north/south divide?; A moving experience; Relatively interesting; Galileo's big idea; In the jet stream; The special one; Anti-ageing flights; A nice cup of tea; Hearing food; Technology in Flight; Following your course on the map; Projecting the world; At the bleeding edge of technology; Keeping the screen flat; Bartholin's crystal wonder; Giving light the liquid crystal twist; Taking your hi-tech with you; The view from the flight deck; Following the guidance of inertia.;Tracking your way through the airEinstein's accelerating revelation; The feeble force; Gyroscopic gyrations; Distant Views and Back to Earth; Viewing the distant mountain peaks; As old as the hills; It's cold on them thar hills; The icing on the mountain; Around the bend with a siphon; The vacuum solution; Meeting the night sky; A view of Venus; The amazing Moon; The changing face of the man in the Moon; Welcome to the galaxy; The street light fantasia; The amazing eye; Making up a picture of the world; Eyes wide; First touch on the runway; Final steps; Picture credits; Index.;Rotation and climbingUnder pressure; Wing work; Control surfaces in action; Exploring the Landscape; The mystery of the fields; On the Nazca plains; Chalk marks the spot; The traces of the past; Following the water course; Fascinating fractals; The making of meanders; How does your town grow?; The infinite coast; Gravity always wins; From river to sea; Water, water everywhere; Time and tide wait for no one; On the crest of a wave; What colour is the sea?; Above the Clouds; Into the clouds; An adventure in cloud-spotting; All the way to cloud 9; No pot of gold for an endless rainbow.;There are few times that science is so immediate as when you're in a plane. Acclaimed science writer Brian Clegg shows how you stay up there - but that's only the beginning. Inflight Science explains the ever-changing view, whether it's crop circles or clouds, mountains or river deltas, and describes easy-to-do experiments, from showing how a wing provides lift to calculating the population of the towns you fly over. You'll learn why the coastline is infi nite in length, the cause ofthunderstorms and the true impact of volcanic ash on aircraft engines. Fascinating facts to discover include;Cover; Title page; Copyright; Contents; List of illustrations; About the author; Disclaimer; Dedication; At the Airport; Terminal boredom; An airport divided; Bag check; Testing the air; A lesson in detection; Body scan; Who do you think you are?; The science of superstition; Taking to the Sky; Aircraft basics; Fuelling flight; The greenhouse effect's good side; Flying the green way; Getting moving; Big radar is watching you; Something on the air tonight; Sat nav on the flight deck; The universal language; The latest model on the runway; How Newton's laws get you going; Joining the jet set. Cover Title page Copyright Contents List of illustrations About the author Disclaimer Dedication At the Airport Terminal boredom An airport divided Bag check Testing the air A lesson in detection Body scan Who do you think you are? The science of superstition Taking to the Sky Aircraft basics Fuelling flight The greenhouse effect's good side Flying the green way Getting moving Big radar is watching you Something on the air tonight Sat nav on the flight deck The universal language The latest model on the runway How Newton's laws get you going Joining the jet set. Rotation and climbingUnder pressure Wing work Control surfaces in action Exploring the Landscape The mystery of the fields On the Nazca plains Chalk marks the spot The traces of the past Following the water course Fascinating fractals The making of meanders How does your town grow? The infinite coast Gravity always wins From river to sea Water, water everywhere Time and tide wait for no one On the crest of a wave What colour is the sea? Above the Clouds Into the clouds An adventure in cloud-spotting All the way to cloud 9 No pot of gold for an endless rainbow. Over icy seasUp into the sunlight Voyage to the heart of the Sun Why is the sky blue? Why does the Sun keep shining? Taking a trip through a quantum tunnel Crossing flight paths Leaving a trail in the sky Is there life out there? Going walkabout Travelling through bumpy air The flash of lightning A static charge Making lightning Electricity on the move There's safety in metal boxes Grounded by the ash Volcanic eruption In the radiation zone Fooled by a natural high A cosmic collision Cabin Life Pressure on the blood supply Catching up with jet lag. Crossing the time zonesWhat jet lag is (and isn't) Taming jet lag Resorting to medication Is there a jet lag north/south divide? A moving experience Relatively interesting Galileo's big idea In the jet stream The special one Anti-ageing flights A nice cup of tea Hearing food Technology in Flight Following your course on the map Projecting the world At the bleeding edge of technology Keeping the screen flat Bartholin's crystal wonder Giving light the liquid crystal twist Taking your hi-tech with you The view from the flight deck Following the guidance of inertia. Tracking your way through the airEinstein's accelerating revelation The feeble force Gyroscopic gyrations Distant Views and Back to Earth Viewing the distant mountain peaks As old as the hills It's cold on them thar hills The icing on the mountain Around the bend with a siphon The vacuum solution Meeting the night sky A view of Venus The amazing Moon The changing face of the man in the Moon Welcome to the galaxy The street light fantasia The amazing eye Making up a picture of the world Eyes wide First touch on the runway Final steps Picture credits Index.