
Title:
Furry logic : the physics of animal life
Author:
Added Author:
Publication Date:
2016
Publication Information:
London, UK ; New York, NY, USA : Bloomsbury Sigma, 2016.
©2016
Physical Description:
304 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 23 cm.
ISBN:
9781472914095
Abstract:
"The animal world is full of mysteries. Why do dogs slurp from their drinking bowls while cats lap up water with a delicate flick of the tongue? How does a tiny turtle hatchling from Florida circle the entire North Atlantic before returning to the very beach where it hatched? And how can a Komodo dragon kill a water buffalo with a bite that is only as strong as a domestic cat's? These puzzles--and many more besides--are all explained by physics. From heat and light to electricity and magnetism, Furry Logic unveils the ways that animals exploit physics to eat, drink, mate and dodge death in their daily battle for survival. Science journalists Matin Durrani and Liz Kalaugher also introduce the great physicists whose discoveries helped us understand the animal world, as well as the experts of today who are scouring the planet to find and study the animals that seem to push the laws of physics to the limit. Presenting mind-bending physical principles in a simple and engaging way, this book is for anyone curious to see how physics crops up in the natural world. It's more of a 'howdunit' than a whodunit, though you're unlikely to guess some of the answers."--Dust jacket.
General Note:
Includes index.
Contents:
Introduction : furry physics -- Heat : the warm-up chapter -- Forces : the big push -- Fluids : when things get stickier -- Sound : good vibrations -- Electricity and magnetism : let the sparks fly -- Light : a final physics fandango -- Conclusion : life, the universe and everything.
Language:
English