Physics for Beginners

Darran Stobbart (Author) Darran spent a decade as children's bookseller in Durham. He studied crime scene and forensic science at university. It's handier than you'd expect. He collects useless facts, and writes about lots of subjects - especially science. He is passionate about stories, music, and will talk about octopuses at great length. Rachel Firth (Author) Rachel spent 11 years studying and teaching philosophy at the universities of London and Oxford before joining Usborne. Since then she has written books on subjects ranging from knights, to food, to philosophy, as well as retelling folk stories, and writing children's versions of numerous novels. Minna Lacey (Author) Since joining Usborne, Minna has written books on everything from pirates and gladiators to jungles and oceans. She studied Maths and Philosophy at university and previously worked as a journalist and illustrator in London, Bogota and New York. In her spare time, she loves writing stories, drawing and playing the guitar.

What is physics?
Asking questions?
Physics is everywhere
What do physicists do?

Chapter 1: Forces & motion
What makes things move, what makes things stop, and why some things move faster and easier than others.

Chapter 2: Waves
How sounds travel, how light works, and the mysterious connection between electricity and magnetism.

Chapter 3: The speed of light and the shape of the universe
Albert Einstein came up with two of the most significant theories in modern physics: special relativity, which explores the speed of light, and general relativity, which unpacks the shape of the universe. But what actually ARE these theories?

Chapter 4: Nuclear and particle physics
Introducing the very smallest things physicists have discovered, and seeing what happens when they try to break those things apart into even smaller pieces.

Chapter 5: Quantum mechanics
The smallest particles don't seem to follow the same rules as bigger things. So what rules do they follow, and why don't they seem to make sense?

Chapter 6: Space
What is out there, beyond the Earth? And where exactly did it all come from?

Chapter 7: Unsolved mysteries
There are plenty of things physicists don't understand about how things work, whether on Earth or out in space. Discover some of the mysteries that YOU might help to solve one day.

Glossary
Index
Acknowledgments