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FRIEDHOFFER, BOB. Toying Around with Science: The Physics Behind Toys and Gags. (Illus. by Linda Eisenberg.) NY: Walls, 1995. 95pp. $19.90. 94-49444. ISBN O-531-112152- Glossary; Indcx; C.I.P.
This little book would make quite a nice gift for a child, particularly for one curious about how things work The author admits to taking things apart when be was 9 or 10 years old to see bow they worked. I wonder bow many of today's scientists had that same curiosity as children. I did, and at an even younger age, on some quite expensive toys that were not built to be taken apart! The toys described in this book are selected because they were inexpensive and available to all. The book's value lies in the way it uses toys to illustrate the application of the basic laws of physics-those governing pressure magnetism, friction inertia linear and angular momentum, gyroscopic motion, sound and vibration, levers and mechanical advantage, and kinetic and potential energy. The 10-page "Review of Scientific principles" and the glossary, both al the end of e book, are highly valuable. The child who reads these two sections thoughtfully will be well prepared for high school physics, both in vocabulary and in the scientific practiced of using a few basic principles to explain a variety of phenomena. -- William A. Kemper, Metropolitan State College, Denver, CO
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