Theo Gray's Mad Science

Want to make subatomic radioactive particles dance? Or mix sodium and chlorine to create smoke that will salt popcorn? Or launch a model rocket with Oreo cookie filling? Sure you do—and Mad Science shows you how. Each of these 55 experiments—culled from Theo Gray’s Popular Science columns—is adorned by color photographs providing a front-row seat to split-second chemical reactions and more.

The book is divided into seven sections: “Experimental Cuisine,” “Doomsday DIY,” “Raw Power,” “Playing with Fire,” “Heavy Metal,” “Natural Wonders,” and “Twisted Shop Class.” Gray’s playful attitude is reflected in the names of some of his experiments: “Cooking at –320°F,” for example, shows you how to make ice cream in 30 seconds using liquid nitrogen, and “Blowing (Up) Bubbles” offers a dramatic demonstration of how to make exploding hydrogen bubbles. Meanwhile, “Making Small Change Smaller” shows how copper coils and magnetic fields can be used to literally shrink metal coins, and “Homemade Titanium” explains how, with lots of heat, some flowerpots and common chemicals, you can turn raw ore into a shiny metal.

To further enhance the hands-on experience, Gray includes step-by-step instructions for nearly every experiment. Not only are they visually arresting, but each experiment also explains a principle of elemental science in a unique and compelling way. For example, you’ll learn to ignite a phosphorus sun by suspending half a gram of white phosphorus in a globe filled with pure oxygen, and whip up a batch of homemade nylon thread by linking the molecules of hexamethylenediamine and sebacoyl chloride.

Whether you want to make ice cream with liquid nitrogen or build a battery out of copper sulfate, Mad Science is for you.




Praise for Mad Science

“Fabulous...a beautiful introduction to hands-on chemistry.”
—Oliver Sacks, author of Uncle Tungsten

“I’ve spent 22 years working with Theo Gray on creating software, seeing him find simple ways to do the seemingly impossible. You’re in for a treat here when he applies the same creativity and insight to revealing the science of everyday things.”
—Stephen Wolfram, creator of Mathematica^® and author of A New Kind of Science

“What good is [my] Nobel Prize...if it doesn’t produce admiration for science writers such as Theo Gray, whose skillful work helps convert young students into serious researchers?”
—Leon Lederman, winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics