big book o science

[paul wheaton]

The number one thing on my son's Christmas list this year is a big book of science. He's not talking about a particular book, he just wants to look things up ten times a day.
I tried searching on amazon, but somehow Harry Potter kept coming up (we already own all four).
He's 11 and his recent interests have been to make a hover board like the one in "Back to the Future 2" out of six vacuum cleaner engines (he researched vacuums on the internet for a month) and now he seems to be letting that idea go in favor of a sort of hang glider. We go through a fair amount of vinegar and baking soda because mixing it is just too fun.
It seems like he would eat up Bill Nye the Science Guy right about now, but his show doesn't seem to be around anymore.
Anyhoo ----- any suggestions on a book?

[Gail Schlentz]

Maybe you should be looking at college-level textbooks? Sounds like you've got a little Einstein there!! Congrats!

[paul wheaton]

Oh yeah, he asked me the other day how magnets were made for compasses before there was electricity. I told him I wasn't sure, but since electricity is what is used today, maybe lightning hitting a piece of iron would do the trick and then somebody would just have to discover that piece of iron.
Was I close?

[Barry Gaunt]

Take a look at this
-Barry
PS I just saw this in the reviews:

I still cannot figure out how to count binary even with the great explanations shown. I'll have to stick with the pictures that are very clear.

Looks OK for SCJP2 too!
[ December 12, 2002: Message edited by: Barry Gaunt ]

[Randall Twede]

originally magnets were made from lodestone. if you scraped metal on a piece of lodestone it would become magnetized. search google for "lodestone" to find out more.

[Jessica Sant]

The book Barry recommended is great -- a bit more scientific than this one... However, I loved flipping through this book when I was younger (It's actually a combination of 3 books):
Life's Imponderables: The Answers to Civilization's Most Perplexing Questions: Why to Clocks Run Clockwise? When Do Fish Sleep? Why Do Dogs Have wet noses?
[ December 12, 2002: Message edited by: Jessica Sant ]

[Jim Yingst]

Was I close?
I don't recall that being a primary source of natural magnets, but it seems like it could work. I believe the main natural source is iron-containing ores. Long ago when they were molten, the atoms were freer to move about, and since they were subjected to the Earth's magnetic field, they tended to orient themselves a certain way in response. (Much like a bunch of little compasses.) As the lava cooled, the atoms got locked in these configurations. So now when you pick up a piece of such ore, you've got a natural magnet. Pretty weak compared to what we can induce with electricity, but still detectable. (Float a lodestone on a piece of cork, and you can see it tend to orient itself with the earth's magnetic field.)
It was also possible to create manmade magnets without electricity. Take an iron rod, point it north, and hit it hard with a hammer along the axis. The vibrations temporarily free up some of the atoms, a little - and they have an opportunity to reorient themselves a bit, which again they'll tend to do according to the earth's magnetic field. So when the vibrations die down, the reoriented atoms are locked into their new positions. And again, you've got a magnet. Pretty weak - but you can improve the process by heating the rod, and using multiple strikes. And if you've already got other magnets, you can create a stronger magnetic field than that provided by the earth, which will make your next magnet even stronger...
[ December 12, 2002: Message edited by: Jim Yingst ]

[Don Bosco]

These books are very good.
howstuffworks

[Barry Gaunt]

Talking about magnets:
I gave my kid a compass a few weeks back. The red end now points SOUTH. That's my boy!
How on earth did he do that?
-Barry

[Jim Yingst]

How on earth did he do that?
Perhaps using one or more of

a powerful electromagnet

a hammer

a very hot oven

a red felt-tip marker

[Barry Gaunt]

Well, the compass is a plastic sealed liquid orienteering compass. So he did not use a hammer
because there are no fractures, the plastic would melt in an oven, and the damping liquid is still in the housing, so he did not use a felt tip.
So it's got to be the loud speakers or the television/computer screen.
Which end of a television is South?
-B

[Barry Gaunt]

Still on compasses:
Another interesting phenomenon is obtained after
shuffling around the apartment with wooly socks on.
Take the compass in one hand, and with one finger of the other hand make a small circular motion just above the compass. The compass needle follows the finger around the circle, and reverses direction when the finger reverses direction.
Nice example of moving charges generating magnetic fields - or for convincing Mum that you've got Harry Potter's power.
-B

[Cindy Glass]

Originally posted by Don Bosco:
These books are very good.
howstuffworks

This looked so cool that I actually ordered it from Amazon.

[Linda Jones]

Originally posted by Cindy Glass:

This looked so cool that I actually ordered it from Amazon.

Check out their website as well Cindy.
How Stuff Works
Linda

[paul wheaton]

The how stuff works is very cool.
I mentioned the same thing to a scientist friend and he said to look for "Van Nostrands Scientific Encyclopedia" - two volumes. Apparently it has the authoritative word on all that is scientific. Anybody familiar with it?
Compasses: I found out that compasses don't always work well around my house because the ground is rich in uranium.

[Jim Yingst]

I found out that compasses don't always work well around my house because the ground is rich in uranium.
Errr... I hope that's the only thing that doesn't work well as a result...
[ December 13, 2002: Message edited by: Jim Yingst ]

[Tony Alicea]

Paul:
I cannot let this question pass without my comments (Sorry for the delayed response)
When I was 12 I asked my parents for a TELESCOPE. I already had gotten the chemistry and biology kits/sets from GILBERT Co.
The telescope opened a new view of the Universe (even at that age) for me.
One thing is looking at static pictures of things... Another is seeing the:

• moons of Jupiter
• rings of Saturn
• phases of Venus
• phases of Mercury
• craters of the Moon "up close"


all this, as it is happening at the moment in real time (OK; minutes before but I digress... )
I went off to graduate #1 in Physics from the Univ. of PR much later.

[Guennadiy VANIN]

Originally posted by Jim Yingst:
It was also possible to create manmade magnets without electricity. Take an iron rod, point it north, and hit it hard with a hammer along the axis. The vibrations temporarily free up some of the atoms, a little - and they have an opportunity to reorient themselves a bit, ...

What is being shown at Primary School and then at high one being explained. McGyver used to save himself making magnets on-the-fly in that way.

Originally posted by Jim Yingst:
I believe the main natural source is iron-containing ores.

They are called magnetic anomalies. Magnets are quite crazy in those places as well as over any big metal deposits even not natural.
I recall that electromagnetic cranes do magnet metals only as far as there is electricity. The reason is very simple you cannot have strong (and controllable) magnetic field from "natural" magnets.