Science Magpie: a Miscellany of Paradoxes, Explications, Lists, Lives and Ephemera from the Wonderful World of Science

Description

From the Large Hadron Collider rap to the sins of Isaac Newton, The Science Magpie is a compelling collection of scientific curiosities. Expand your knowledge as you view the history of the Earth on the face of a clock, tremble at the power of the Richter scale and learn how to measure the speed of light in your kitchen. Skip through time with Darwin's note on the pros and cons of marriage, take part in an 1858 Cambridge exam, meet the African schoolboy with a scientific puzzle named after him and much more.;Cover; Title Page; Dedication; CONTENTS; INTRODUCTION; 'HYMN TO SCIENCE'; HOW DO THEY DO IT?; THE SCIENTIST; VALUE JUDGEMENTS; THE TRUE MEASURE OF THINGS (PART 1); AS EASY AS Al, Be, Cs; THE SQUARE OF SCIENTIFIC DELIGHTS; VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF OCKHAM'S RAZOR; NAME THAT NUMBER; THE 'GREATEST EQUATION EVER'; TO MARRY OR NOT TO MARRY, THAT IS THE QUESTION; 'A CHEMIC UNION'; BINARY BASICS; THE ENERGY OF RICHTER; SCIENCE'S MOLECULE OF THE YEAR/BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD; GEOLOGICAL TIME PIECE; 'TWIN LIMB-LIKE BASALT COLUMNS'; MNEMONIC FOR REMEMBERING THE GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALE; 'MOSQUITO DAY' Cover Title Page Dedication CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 'HYMN TO SCIENCE' HOW DO THEY DO IT? THE SCIENTIST VALUE JUDGEMENTS THE TRUE MEASURE OF THINGS (PART 1) AS EASY AS Al, Be, Cs THE SQUARE OF SCIENTIFIC DELIGHTS VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF OCKHAM'S RAZOR NAME THAT NUMBER THE 'GREATEST EQUATION EVER' TO MARRY OR NOT TO MARRY, THAT IS THE QUESTION 'A CHEMIC UNION' BINARY BASICS THE ENERGY OF RICHTER SCIENCE'S MOLECULE OF THE YEAR/BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD GEOLOGICAL TIME PIECE 'TWIN LIMB-LIKE BASALT COLUMNS' MNEMONIC FOR REMEMBERING THE GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALE 'MOSQUITO DAY' THE ETYMOLOGY AND SCRABBLE SCORE OF SOME COMMON SCIENTIFIC WORDSTAKING ACID A GOOD INDICATOR OF ... I HOLY SEE THE ERROR OF MY WAYS RABBIT, RABBIT, RABBIT-RABBIT, RABBIT-RABBIT-RABBIT, RABBIT-RABBIT-RABBIT-RABBIT-RABBIT BAN DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE! SOLAR ECLIPSES GALORE 'A REMARKABLE BOOK, SURE TO MAKE A MIGHTY STIR' 'THE FOUR STAGES OF PUBLIC OPINION' 'ENDLESS FORMS MOST BEAUTIFUL' ARE YOU CLEVERER THAN A FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD ... FROM 1858? BY DEGREES BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION THREATENED SPECIES THE BIG FIVE THE LAST 500 MILLION YEAR EVOLUTION OF VERTEBRATES THE TORINO IMPACT HAZARD SCALE. THE 10 MILLION BOOKTHE POETS' SCIENTIST WHEN LEFT CAN BE RIGHT AND RIGHT CAN BE WRONG THE SCIENTIFIC EQUIVALENT OF: HAVE YOU READ A WORK OF SHAKESPEARE'S? YOU CAN'T WIN, YOU KNOW THE MPEMBA EFFECT MAXWELL'S DEMON HOTTER THAN HELL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE 'THE CHEMICAL HISTORY OF THE CANDLE' WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT'S IN YOUR GENES, SIZE ISN'T EVERYTHING WOULD YOU ADAM AND EVE IT? EUCLID'S ALGORITHM THE PERIODIC SNAIL MAKING THE STANDARD MODEL THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER RAP THE RELATIVE HARDNESS OF BEING YOUR READING LIST FOR THIS WEEK IS ... WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF? WHY IS THE SKY DARK AT NIGHT?UNWEAVING THE RAINBOW THE NEW ATLANTIS A PLURALITY OF WORLDS IN EVERY EARRING A LAW BY ANY OTHER NAME ... JUST NOT MY CUP OF TEA A PRIME DETERMINER FOR GOODNESS SAKE, SHOW YOUR WORKING 'THE DEGREE OF OPACITY' REAL MOLECULES WITH SILLY NAMES THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES BRITAIN'S FIRST PROFESSIONAL FEMALE SCIENTIST THE BIRTH OF THE QUANTUM THE DEFINITION OF A PLANET THE INTERSTELLAR PIONEER THE TRUE MEASURE OF THINGS (PART 2) NATURE AND NURTURE ONE CLEAR, UNCHANGED, AND UNIVERSAL LIGHT ANOTHER HUE UNTO THE RAINBOW ON A NEW KIND OF RAY. CENTENARY ICONS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYMEASURING THE SPEED OF LIGHT USING CHOCOLATE, A MICROWAVE AND A RULER 'SPACE SHIFTED ABOUT LIKE A SWAN THAT CAN'T SETTLE' RELATIVELY SPEAKING ROYAL SOCIETY PRIZE FOR SCIENCE BOOKS THE BOOK THAT CAUSED A PARADIGM SHIFT PRACTICAL POLITICS TYPES OF IONISING RADIATION THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON TO DECAY WITH PRECISION GOING NUCLEAR IN A SPORTS HALL AN UNHOLY TRINITY IN COLD BLOOD MORE THAN THE GERM OF AN IDEA A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ATOM WOULD THE REAL SCHRODINGER'S CAT PLEASE STAND UP TO A MEASURABLE INFINITY AND BEYOND.