Ingenious ideas

The scene: a grey Saturday in January. The problem: post-holiday blahs. The solution? Well, how about making a clock out of paperclips? Or a combination helicopter and elevator? What about a cannon that shoots carrots, a four-foot-tall set of dominoes or a rocket railroad? The Ultimate Book of Saturday Science contains instructions for all of these projects, plus 67 others, from the ingenious mind of industrial scientist and author Neil A Downie. A few of the experiments, such as the vacuum bazooka, require only common household objects (perhaps supplemented by the local DIY store) and could be built by children with minimal adult help. Most, however, require more specialized components, including motors, power supplies, lenses and chemicals (and that’s just in the first chapter, which is devoted to “simple but subtle” projects). Indeed, many of the book’s experiments are best tackled with the help of a teacher, science-club mentor or family member with access to a half-decent electronics workshop. The rocket railroad, for example, is a fairly complex piece of equipment, and the assembly instructions are probably not detailed enough for children or mechanical novices to follow. Another project, a musical instrument called a Heliracket, is a little simpler, and looks like more fun than a barrelful of puppies – but you’ll need a supply of helium gas, multiple space hoppers and an ocarina (!) to make it. The bottom line is that most of these “Saturday science” experiments are going to require a fair amount of planning on the preceding Thursdays and Fridays. However, those willing to put in the effort will get a real kick out of this book.

• 2012 Princeton University Press £19.95/$29.95pb 576pp

Ingenious ideas, junior version

For kids who like building stuff, but aren’t yet old enough to whip up their own armour-piercing carrot cannons, Caroline Alliston’s two Technology for Fun books offer a gentler introduction to science experiments. The first book contains 30 “design and make” projects that many primary school children will be able to build on their own, using little more than office supplies, basic woodworking tools and the contents of a recycling bin. A good example is a “zip wire” for teddy bears, which features a pulley made from a wooden skewer, two CDs and the tops of milk bottles. The 14 experiments in the second book are slightly more complex, and require a basic suite of electronic components, including batteries, leads and a couple of different types of motors. If your house’s junk drawer lacks any of these things, the books’ website, www.technologyforfun.co.uk, lists a few companies that can supply parts for projects such as a paddle-powered toy boat and an electric paper-dart launcher. The science behind these contraptions is not explained in much detail, but the books are a good starting point for younger experimentalists.

• 2012 Alliston Publishing £5.00pb 58pp

Scepticism for beginners

Electroconvulsive therapy sometimes helps people with severe depression, but we don’t know why. There is no evidence that homeopathy works, or that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Most chiropractic treatments do not work either, although for some types of back pain, they may be as good, or bad, as conventional medicine. On the other hand, humans really have walked on the Moon, we really are contributing to climate change, and we really do share a common ancestor with monkeys. These, in brief, are the messages of Darryl Cunningham’s Science Tales: Lies, Hoaxes and Scams, a graphic novel about “controversial” scientific topics that arguably should not be controversial at all. Cunningham’s book is not specifically aimed at children or young adults, but his simple, clear prose and clever illustrations – which mix pen-and-ink cartoons with photographs and reproductions of newspaper headlines – make it particularly well suited as a beginner’s guide to the scientific method.

• 2012 Myriad Editions £11.99hb 176pp

Fusion goes on tour

Plasma physicist Melanie Windridge spent a lot of time on the road in 2010. As the Institute of Physics’s official Schools and Colleges Lecturer that year, she travelled all over the UK, giving talks about nuclear fusion to students at 35 different schools. She also blogged about her experiences, and these blog entries form the basis of Star Chambers: the Race for Fusion Power. Clearly written and lavishly illustrated, the book combines explanations of fusion physics with brief glimpses of the author’s life on the road, and its 130 pages are speckled with diagrams, photos and data from actual fusion experiments. There is even a “movie” of sorts, thanks to some cleverly placed time-lapse photos. The author’s on-the-scene anecdotes of bad weather and occasional tourist jaunts seem better suited to a regularly updated blog than a static book published two years after the fact. However, if Star Chambers helps bring Windridge’s travelling tokamak tale to a wider audience, this is surely a good thing.

• 2012 White Label Books £12.00pb 130pp