Review of "Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life" by Helen Czerski

Helen Czerski is a British physicist and oceanographer who popularizes science for the general public.

Author Helen Czerski

In 'Storm in a Teacup' Czerski explains how laws of physics control everyday phenomena. For example, imagine you have a bowl of raw eggs and a bowl of boiled eggs in the fridge, and you forget which is which.



Here's what you do: Take an egg from each bowl, and spin them on a smooth surface. After a few seconds, touch each egg lightly, just to stop the spinning. The cooked egg will remain still, but the raw egg will start twirling again. This happens because the cooked egg is a solid object, but the raw egg is a shell with liquid inside; the liquid keeps turning and drags the shell along with it.


Egg spinning experiment

Czerski's book contains nine chapters, each of which connects physics laws with real life. The author includes examples in each chapter, with explanations of how the science principles work.

∞ CHAPTER ONE: Popcorn and Rockets - about the behavior of gases

In this chapter, Czerski discusses why popcorn pops; the reason sperm whales shut their lungs to dive for food; why dough rises; how straws work; the strength of air pressure; how elephants drink; how steam engines operate; how rockets work; and more.


In this experiment, air pressure pushes the boiled egg into the flask

Interesting fact: In the early 1900s, German Gerhard Zucker tried to deliver mail by rocket; it didn't work.


Gerhard Zucker with his rocket

∞ CHAPTER TWO: What Goes Up Must Come Down - about gravity

In this chapter, Czerski discusses why raisins dance in fizzy drinks; why you feel funny in fast elevators; how plant seeds know which way is up; how scales work; the electro-hydraulic Tower Bridge in London; buoyancy; water currents that circle the planet (and take thousands of years for a round trip); and more.


Raisins dance in fizzy drinks because of gravity and gases


Water currents circle the planet

Interesting fact: In 1876, Maria Spelterini crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope, using a long horizontal pole to maintain balance.




Maria Spelterini crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope

∞ CHAPTER THREE: Small is Beautiful - about tiny things

In this chapter Czerski writes about Robert Hooke (b. 1635) using a primitive microscope to view all sorts of things (sand, hair, silk, fly eyes, razor blades, etc.); fat globules (cream) rising in milk; tuberculosis bacteria spreading through air; surface tension; how cotton towels absorb water; how water moves from the roots to the leaves of redwood trees; and more.


Sand under a microscope

Interesting fact: When milk was delivered before homogenization, little birds would peck holes in the aluminum bottle tops to drink the cream.


Bird drinking cream from a milk bottle

∞ CHAPTER FOUR: A Moment in Time - about the speed at which things happen

In this chapter, Czerski writes about why it's hard to get ketchup out of a bottle; how snails use mucus for locomotion; why earthquakes cause landslides; why pigeons bob their heads when they walk; how mountains are worn away over millennia; how canal locks work; why a cup of tea sloshes when you walk with it; how to control swaying of tall buildings; fossil fuels; the world approaching equilibrium; and more.


It's hard to get ketchup to flow because it's viscous


Landslide

Interesting fact: a water molecule in a drop of rain may 'hop' 200 billion times in one second.


Raindrops are made of water molecules

∞ CHAPTER FIVE: Making Waves - about waves

In this chapter, Czerski discusses water waves; why most fish are silver colored; light waves; reflection and refraction; lightning and thunder; how toasters brown bread; dolphin whistles and myriad other sounds in the ocean; the Titanic sending out radio waves; modern telecommunications; and more.


Light is refracted when it passes from air to water (or vice versa)

Interesting fact: 250 years ago in Hawaii, every king, queen, chief, and chiefess owned a surfboard, and royal prowess at the national sport was a great source of pride.


Duke Kahanamoku statue at Waikiki beach in Hawaii

∞ CHAPTER SIX: Why Don't Ducks Get Cold Feet - about the movement of atoms and molecules

In this chapter, Czerski discusses how crystals form; why clothes/towels don't dry during monsoon weather in India; glass and glass-blowing; why ducks' feet don't get cold; heat flow from hotter to cooler objects; refrigeration; global warming; and more.


Formation of salt crystals in water

Interesting fact: Albert Einstein - before developing the Theories of Special and General Relativity - laid out a rigorous mathematical explanation of Brownian motion (the random motion of particles suspended in a liquid or a gas).


Brownian Motion

∞ CHAPTER SEVEN: Spoons, Spirals, and Sputnik - about inertia and motion

In this chapter, Czerski discusses spinning; centrifugal force; astronauts, g-forces, and weightlessness; chefs twirling pizza dough; why toast falls with the butter side down; ballerinas; the earth's axis; and more.


The ballerina spins faster when she pulls in her arms


Chef twirling pizza dough

Interesting fact: In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, trebuchets were used to hurl 200-pound rocks over hundreds of yards, to demolish castles.


Example of a trebuchet hurling a car

∞ CHAPTER EIGHT: When Opposites Attract - about magnetism, electricity, and electromagnetic fields

In this chapter, Czerski writes about permanent magnets; static electricity; electric shocks; batteries; televisions; the earth's magnetic field; plate tectonics; the generation of electricity; electromagnetism; wind turbines; and more.


Unbalanced charges result in static electricity

Interesting fact: The small heavy block that sits in the middle of a laptop cable is an AC/DC adapter that converts the AC current from the outlet into the DC current the laptop needs.


Laptop cable

∞ CHAPTER NINE: A Sense of Perspective - about life-support systems

In this chapter, Czerski summarizes the manner in which life support systems of the human body, planet earth, and civilization interact. This section interweaves information from previous chapters to present a picture of humanity interrelating with physics and nature.

Interesting fact: Though we think of ourselves as living in a modern society, we rely on infrastructure built by previous generations, sometimes decades ago, sometimes centuries ago, and sometimes millennia ago.


The Great Wall of China was built in the third century BCE

In addition to the above topics, Czerski writes about her research on the physics of the ocean surface. In one instance, this involved Helen being on a ship miles from shore in rough seas, and lowering a 36-foot-long yellow buoy with a variety of measurement devices strapped to it.


Helen Czerski on a 2018 ocean research expedition to the North Pole

Czerski also shares personal anecdotes, such as her enjoyment of springboard diving, but not highboard diving; snails repeatedly eating her plant seedlings, no matter how elaborate her precautions; cycling in London's Olympic velodrome, where riders go up the sides of the track; participating in a trebuchet contest (launching a boot); her love of tea breaks; and other things.


Cyclists in a velodrome

This is an informative and interesting book, the main drawback being the lack of diagrams and pictures. Nevertheless, the narrative is illuminating and fun....and there's always Google.

Highly recommended.

Review of "Bring the House Down: A Novel" by Charlotte Runcie

 

Alex Lyons is the chief theatre critic for a London newspaper.....

.....and his colleague Sophie Rigden is the junior culture writer and obituary writer. While Sophie's pieces tend to be bland and people-pleasing, Alex's reviews are sharp and zingy, and - if he doesn't like a show - cruel.



Right now, Alex and Sophie are away from London, reporting from the month-long arts festival of the Edinburgh Fringe.


Edinburgh Fringe

Alex and Sophie are staying in a large shabby flat the newspaper rents every year, a noisy place that smells from the communal rubbish bins three floors below.



Alex is assigned to review a one-woman show called 'Emergence - She', written and performed by Hayley Sinclair. The presentation, meant to be edgy and current, is about the climate emergency, the patriarchy, and the looming end of the world.



Alex HATES Hayley's show, and his review includes the following comments:

"The only thing to look at, for the entire hour, is an unfortunate person called Hayley Sinclair, droning....on and on and on....about how the world is getting hotter, and we're all going to die, and it's all the fault of corporations and governments mostly run by men."

"The best you can say about Hayley Sinclair's one-woman show about the looming climate apocalypse and its links to the patriarchy is that she's probably right. Yes, the world is probably going to end at some point. Unfortunately, Hayley herself is so tedious.....that after you've endured the first ten minutes of [the show], you'll be begging for the world to end much sooner than scheduled."

"The only thing I learned during Hayley's tirade was that sugar maple tree sap production is endangered by warming temperatures, which are making harvested maple sap less sweet, and ultimately causing it to lose it lose its taste entirely. Huh."

Alex pens his review immediately after Hayley's performance, gives the show one star out of five, and sends it to his newspaper.



Feeling peckish, Alex then walks to the Traverse Theatre Bar, where Hayley Sinclair happens to be relaxing after her debut. Alex and Hayley strike up a conversation and - though Alex knows he's written a vicious, personal, career-ending review of Hayley's show - he spends the night with her in his flat.





The next morning, when Sophie and Alex are in the kitchen, Hayley - showered and dressed - walks in, opens the newspaper, and sees the scathing review of her show beside a byline picture of Alex.



Hayley turns to the critic and asks, "You wrote this?" Alex tries to respond, but Hayley tells him "Just f*uck off" and storms out. Alex thinks he's off the hook, and has a good war story for his colleagues back in London, but he's VERY VERY WRONG.



That afternoon, signs for 'Emergence-She' are covered with new posters reading:

Now called: THE ALEX LYONS EXPERIENCE

Sophie, the narrator for this novel, goes to Hayley's new show and describes the experience. The performance opens with Hayley saying "You know how, every so often, one of your friends tells you a story about someone who's done something so horrible to them that at the end, you say, I cannot f*cking believe he did that? I'm going to tell you a story like that tonight."



Hayley DRAMATICALLY describes how Alex wrote a piece that would destroy her budding career, then f*cked her. Hayley goes on to completely eviscerate Alex and finally asks the audience, "Which of your friends has a horror story about a man like this? We've all got one, haven't we?"

When the women in the theatre respond 'YES YES YES', Hayley tells them to call their friends and tell them what Alex Lyons did, and who he really is, and that they're not alone.



The response is beyond viral: videos of Hayley's show multiply online; tickets sell out for the run of the show; newspapers run articles; Hayley is interviewed on television shows; hundreds of women write Hayley about their terrible experiences with men; etc.



Alex makes excuses to Sophie, explaining he didn't do anything wrong; people have one-night stands; Hayley enjoyed sleeping with him; yada yada yada. Alex thinks the 'scandal' will blow over, but the public condemnation (among women) continues to escalate.



It doesn't help that Alex is a nepo baby, son of the famous actress and director Dame Judith Lyons. Worse yet for Alex, scores of females publicize their own terrible experiences with the critic, exposing him as a heartless entitled creep who uses women then drops them like a hot potato. Alex has not only broken hearts, he's ruined careers and never looked back.



As Sophie tells the story, she also talks about herself. Sophie has an infant son Arlo with her partner Josh; is still mourning the death of her mother two years ago; and is ambivalent about her career as a culture writer.



Sophie understands female rage towards Alex but feels a bit sorry for him because Alex grew up amongst the neurotic, self-centered glitterati in Dame Judith's circle. Morevoer, Alex was second-string to his mother's career. Sophie knows this isn't an excuse for Alex's bad behavior, but he's a friend and colleague, and Sophie is torn.



Things play out as they will, with all the protagonists learning a little something about themselves.

This is a funny, insightful look at male entitlement; critics; the theatre world; parenthood; the newspaper business; the Edinburgh Fringe; and more. Highly recommended.


Street act at the Edinburgh Fringe

Thanks to Netgalley, Charlotte Runcie, and Doubleday for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "The Killing Stones: A Detective Jimmy Perez Mystery" by Ann Cleeves

In this 9th book in the 'Detective Jimmy Perez' series - set in Scotland's Orkney Islands - Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez investigates the death of his best friend.

The Orkney Islands, an archipelago off the north coast of Scotland, is composed of numerous towns and hamlets. Transportation from place to place often involves ferries, boats, and small planes.




The Orkney Islands

Background: Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez was based in Shetland for years, but has now moved to the Orkney Islands with his partner Willow Reeves and their four-year-old son James. Willow is a detective inspector as well, currently on semi-maternity leave because she's almost 8-months pregnant.







Jimmy's relocation to the Orkney Islands thrills his best friend since childhood, Archie Stout, an Orcadian farmer with a wife Vaila, and teenage sons Lawrie and Iain.





*****

After visiting a relative in Aberdeen, Willow returns to the Orkney Islands by ferry and finds a note from Jimmy that reads:

Archie Stout is missing and Vaila is frantic. I've managed to get a boat to Westray. I'll phone you in the morning. So sorry. I miss you and love you.

It turns out Archie Stout has been murdered near an old archaeological dig on Westray, his head smashed with one of a pair of Neolithic artifacts called the Westray Story Stones. The large brick-shaped stones, usually exhibited in the Westray Heritage Center, have spirals carved on one side and Viking runes on the other side.



Detectives from Glasgow are slated to investigate Stout's homicide, but it's almost Christmas, and they make excuses not to come. Thus it falls on Jimmy and Willow to look into Archie's death, with assistance from Orcadian police officers Ellie Shearer and Phil Bain.



The investigators interview Archie's family, friends, and acquaintances, and Westray business owners, residents, and visitors. The detectives learn that Archie was generous, fun, and well-liked, but also had a quick temper and cheated on his wife.

The people that come to interest the police, as possible suspects or witnesses, include:

⦿ Rosalie Greeman - an English artist and jewelry-maker that Archie was wooing. This caused gossip in the community and distress in Archie's home.



⦿ Vaila Stout - Archie's wife, who's unhappy about his philandering;



⦿ Bill and Annie MacBride - owners of the Pierowall Hotel, which has rooms and a bar. Archie inherited a part-ownership in the lodge and refused to sell.



⦿ Barbara and Tony Johnson - a married couple staying at the Pierowall Hotel. Tony is a professor who wrote a book about Westray history and the famous Neolithic stones. Tony is somewhat famous for talking about his research on the telly.



⦿ Godfrey Lansdown - an elderly bird-watcher who stays at the Pierowall Hotel for a few weeks every winter, in remembrance of his deceased wife.



⦿ George Reilly - an Englishman who teaches high school in the Orkney Islands, and puts on pantomimes with singing and dancing. Reilly is writing a children's book about Westray history.



⦿ Nat Wilkinson - a troubled man who sometimes helps out on the Stout farm. As a youngster, Nat saw his abusive father accidentally drown, and he has a history of drug problems.



Much of the book has Jimmy, Willow, and their police assistants speaking to the same people again and again, trying to eke out clues about Archie's murder.



This involves a good bit of traveling back and forth by car, ferry, and small plane; having endless cups of tea; and checking numerous alibis. Oddly the detectives seem to have no interest in forensic evidence. There's no mention of DNA, fibers, fingerprints, whatever.


Orkney Islands Ferry

Two additional murders complicate the investigation, especially when the detectives can't discern obvious motives. Jimmy eventually gets a piece of information that helps him uncover the killer, but in my view, Anne Cleeves doesn't play fair with readers. The resolution seems to come out of left field, with almost no clues being scattered beforehand.

On the upside, the ambiance of the beautiful Orkney Islands is wonderfully illustrated, as is the lifestyle of the Orcadians, who are descended from Germanic people, Scandinavians, and Vikings.


Orkney Islands youngsters dressed as Vikings

I was especially intrigued by an event called The Ba', a kind of medieval football game played during the Christmas holidays.


The Ba'

I'm a longtime fan of the Jimmy Perez books and the 'Shetland' TV show that features the detective. For me though, this novel is a slight disappointment. There's too much talking and interviewing people and it got boring (for me). Still, I'd recommend the book to fans of the series.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Kenny Blyth, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Anne Cleeves, and Macmillan audio for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars