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We Need to Talk About Kelvin, by Marcus Chown: (Faber, pounds 14.99)
The pleasant conceit of this elegant pop-physics pick'n'mix is that quotidian experiences "tell us" something deep about cutting-edge science. Staring out of the window "tells us" about the nature of light and quantum indeterminacy, at explaining which Chown excels, having had practice in his superb previous book, Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You . Other essays explain why things are solid or various, why the sun is hot, and so on. Chown writes very fluently, helping us to visualise things with matchboxes and Lego bricks, and he has a knack for the startling comparison. "Your stomach generates heat at a faster rate than an equivalent volume of the solar interior," he writes, and one thinks, oh, is it time for elevenses already?
Compared to Chown's previous book, the quality here is more variable: in particular, a fascinating essay on why there is so much...