Cool Stuff and How It Works
We revel in working and playing with high-tech gadgetry, addicted to our cell phones, computers, digital cameras, and MP3 Players and more, but we rarely stop to think how these things actually work. Even home appliances such as refrigerators and microwave ovens use technology that many people don't understand yet take completely for granted. This colorfully illustrated picture book uses advanced imaging technology such as X rays, scanning electron micrographs, and infrared thermograms, along with traditional graphics, to reveal the workings of all this and more, from the Internet and computers to advanced textiles, space-age materials, and medical marvels. Even conveniences as basic as a match and a lightbulb are dissected with brilliant photography. Includes numerous examples where man-made inventions mimic the example of nature, such as fluorescent lights from bioluminescence and Velcro from the burr plant. Summed up with a technology time line, biographies of groundbreaking inventors, and a glossary of "techno terms," this will rate high on the "cool" factor, whether at home, school, or library.David SiegfriedCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved