Description

Why exactly is the Earth round?

How is it that boomerangs can turn in mid-air?

And why do cats always land on their feet?

It’s time to stop thinking in straight lines…

‘A wonderfully fascinating book with answers to so many everyday questions you never knew you needed to know.’ Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters

From the solar system to spinning tops; hurricanes to hula hoops; powerplants to pendulums, one mysterious force shapes almost every aspect of our lives. A force which, despite its ubiquity, continues to confound, baffle and surprise.

Artfully moving between astrophysics and anthropology, The Science of Spin provides a sweeping journey through space and time, from the creation of the Earth to the advent of the ‘fidget spinner’. Charting the development of engineering and technology from the earliest prehistoric drills to the turbine engine, critically acclaimed author and scientist Roland Ennos presents a riveting account of human ingenuity and the seemingly infinite ways spin affects our daily lives.

Publisher Review

‘This is a wonderfully fascinating book with answers to so many everyday questions you never knew you needed to know. The explanations are lucid and so clear that the one thing it doesn’t do is cause your head to spin.’ — Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters ‘More than a few authors have found success with books that look at a broad swath of history, ideas or science through the lens of a single topic… Roland Ennos elevates this approach to dizzying heights in The Science of Spin… The physics are fascinating.’ — Wall Street Journal ‘The book has a gentle, friendly tone… A book that provides a good overview of the science of rotation, and enthusiastically shows that spin can cause a global revolution in more ways than one.’ — TLS ‘An original and highly engaging insight into how our universe works, encompassing black holes, the cotton mills of the industrial revolution, the biomechanics of walking and more!’ — Paul Sen, author of Einstein’s Fridge ‘The Science of Spin is a delightful book, equally entertaining and enlightening. Read it and you will come away with a better understanding of our world and how it works.’ — Ricochet ‘From the movement of cricket balls to the shielding of the Earth’s atmosphere and even black holes, this delightful and easy-to-follow book won’t leave your head spinning.’ — Physics World