Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life

Physics is one of those topics that is math-heavy, requires students to memorize a ton of formulas, and expects them to pick out the appropriate formulas for any given problem. Most students learn enough to get their grades and forget a lot of it after the final exam. Given our technologically advanced (and advancing) world, anything that simplifies science and provides us with a conceptual understanding of our world is warmly welcomed.

This book is one of those that shuns the formulas and focuses on physics concepts. Each chapter starts with something common that we can observe. It then explains the physical concepts that make our world work and applies those concepts to other more advanced work. The objective is to show that the same concepts that drive the mundane are the underpinnings for the complex. Each of the nine chapters is devoted to a specific aspect of physics, and the chapter tries to explore all facets of that aspect.

While the anecdotes do make the subject matter more relatable, the narrative does get long-winded and sometimes grating. For readers without prior background in the topic, following the conceptual discussion may be difficult. What this book does well is link the mundane with the complex, and for that reason it is a book worth having on the shelf.