Inflight Science
A Guide to the World From Your Airplane Window
by Brian Clegg
Mem. Ed. $13.99
Pub. Ed. $16.95
You pay $1.99
Bonus Content
Inflight Science
The next time you fly on a plane, be sure to bring along Inflight Science. Packed with amazing insights from physics, chemistry, engineering, geography, and other fields, this engaging book explains how there are few times when science is so immediate as when you’re on a flight.
Did you know that if you flew across the Atlantic Ocean every week for 40 years you would be one-thousandth of a second younger than your identical twin? Or that the jet stream winds are so fast that a plane traveling west to east within them can fly at supersonic speeds? Or that with good visibility and total darkness, the human eye is so sensitive that you could see a single candle from the cruising height of a plane?
Brian Clegg relates these tidbits, and explains the ever-changing view outside the window of your airplane seat—whether it’s crop circles or clouds, mountains, or river deltas. He shows how a wing provides lift, details how you can calculate the population of the towns you fly over, and explains why that pretty coastline is infinite in length. And although it’s unlikely you’ll ever fly in the vicinity of an active volcano, we also get an insight on the true impact of volcanic ash on aircraft engines.
Why wouldn’t you be able to open the plane’s hatchway in mid-flight, even if you wanted to? (Hint: think about how air pressure works.) What forces produce such cloud formations such as the thunderhead cumulonimbus, and the lightning bolts emanating from them? And how does the flat-screen monitor embedded in the back of the seat in front of you work? These are among the astonishingly wide range of questions that Clegg answers.
Inflight Science is a voyage of discovery perfect for any journey—even if it’s just in your armchair.
Softcover : 224 pages
Publisher: Totem Books ( September 01, 2011 )
Item #: 13-448346
ISBN: 9781848312418
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 8.5 inches
Product Weight: 9.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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