Fun look at science and technology

I had enjoyed a previous James Kakalios book, The Physics of Superheroes, so I had high expectations for this book and I wasn’t disappointed. I tend to take modern technology for granted, but this book made me stop and appreciate the discoveries and inventions that make my modern life what it is. Next time I plug my GPS into my car, for example, I will have a better appreciation for it. Likewise for a lot of the things I use every day. Kakalios writes with a great sense of humor and explains the science very clearly. I also liked the way the story is structured, just following a day in the life of Kakalios, but stopping to examine the technology in the course of daily activities. I recommend this book for anyone interested in science.

While it's an interesting read, I found myself seeking more, deeper explanations of things and jumping to other references.

I would highly recommend gearing the book towards University and college students.  It has real potential and applications in the educational world! :)
 
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read.

I love books that bring the world of science, which is too often abstract, into our everyday worlds. And popularizing science, the mission of these books, is a laudable goal. But it's harder than you might think, as this book so aptly demonstrates.

The key to popularization is to help the reader understand something scientific or mathematical by relating it to an image we all understand. For example, you'll never forget how hard it is to access something specific on a tape if you have the difficulty of rolling up toilet paper in your mind.

Unhappily, the author rarely gives us these everyday metaphors, good or bad. Instead his explanations read like something out of a high school textbook. It's not the full-blown technical language of the scientific journal, but it also isn't something a reader years from science classes will enjoy.

I found myself reading it without insights into the physics of everyday things, but with a feeling I was reading a manual -- not good for popularization.

I actually took a couple years of physics in college (engineering) and sometimes had a hard time following this book and knowing what was going on.  I have to admit, I also didn't care for the flow - it explained things as a person went through their day.  That seemed like it would be great, but since physics is pretty complex, it would probably have been much easier to follow if topics were grouped together.

Fun and fascinating. A look at everyday things, from wake up time to bed time. Interesting without being boring.

I'm sorry but I found this book extremely tedious and couldn't finish it. The cover art was deceiving making it seem like it would be light and entertaining, but it read more like a text book.

Similar to other general non-fiction books that explain the inner working of the things of your daily life.  Because there are other, better organized (and more clearly explained) books in this vein.  I would recommend the How Things Work books to this one for interested readers.

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 tool 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.

Fun to read. There are other books telling the technology behind everyday items but this book goes a level deeper. The reader is walked through a normal day, starting with the alarm going off, making toast, going through a toll both with E‑ZPass, etc with a deep explanation of what makes these items work. The book at times explains the science from an atomic level without, in most cases, scaring off the layman. Interesting read.

I was introduced to Prof. Kakalios's work via his book The Physics of Superheroes and greatly appreciated his sense of humor and ability to speak physics in a language I can understand. Probably the best part about this book is a great resource on answering questions like "how do batteries work?" or "how does my phone store music and play it to me?" Turns out quantum physics plays a much bigger role in our daily life than we'd originally think.

Kakalios uses as much plain language as possible in his explanations. I was able to understand everything he talked about. This book was made for people with little-to-no background in physics. I don't think you'd even need a high school course in physics to understand Kakalios' explanation of how your toaster works. 

I also appreciate that Kakalios goes into detail about the physics of medical equipment (in this particular "day" you go to the doctor's office). We often think of X-rays, MRIs and thermometers as strictly in the field of medical science. In fact, the principals that these technologies are built from are physics based. 

This is a great book if you've ever wondered how something like Wi-Fi, batteries, noise-cancelling headphones, planes, etc. work. It's also a great book for answers to kids' questions about how things work. If you or your child have an interest in learning how things in the world around you work, I highly recommend The Physics of Everyday Things

Loved this book!  It is so relevant and engaging....my tweens and teens were a big fan, too.  We will be purchasing hard copies to keep in the homeschool library for future use.  It has real-world examples, and explains each concept thoroughly, so that even the beginner can understand, but the more advanced student is still engaged.