Contents
Contents : PART ONE - INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES [shaping our world - making life easier - building for strength (bridges, platforms, arch) - home improvements (vacuums, toilets, irons, locks) - weaving - clever cooks (microwaves, ovens, stoves, fridges) - yeast factory (fermentation) - staying well (antibiotics, anaesthetia) - power to the people (electricity, lights, heat, energy, sound) - creating energy (turbine, electric motor) - keeping in touch (letters, pens, printing press, telephones, telecommunications) - on the wire (telegraph) - world of sound (phonograph, radio, DVD, CD) - listen to this (how sound travels, sound waves, panpipes) - seeing more (telescope, microscope) - blow up (jam jar microscope, water drop magnifier) - picture shows (photography, cameras) - window on the world (television, movies) - screen scenes (tv picture, colour, digital images) - raw materials (bronze, steel, aluminium) - chemical change (electrolysis, heat changes, mixing things) - wait a second (time, clock, watch, sundials) - river of time (pendulum, water clock) - crossing the oceans (navigation) - driving ahead (invention of the wheel) - flying high (planes) - number crunchers (calculators, abacus, computers) - through the logic gate - things to come] PART TWO - MACHINES [what is a machine - powerful levers - balancing levers - (see-saw) - all kinds of levers - making levers work - wheels and axles - wheels at work - sloping ramps - wedges and screws - planes at work - lifting with pulleys - pulleys at work - gear wheels - making gears work - power for machines - wind and water power - engines and motors - hydraulics and pneumatics - liquid and air at work - machines at home - domestic help (home appliances - can opener, fridge, hairdryer, blender, toaster, washing machine) - transport machines (cars, bikes, planes) - building machines (loader, concrete mixers, excavators, earth movers, dump trucks) - on the farm (tractors, hay baler, milking machines, shears, traction engines) - making farm machines (Archimedean screw) - electronic machines (scales, mobile phones, personal computers) - machines in industry (manufacturing) - machines of the future (space shuttle, robots, androids) - automatic control (control disc, robot)] PART 3 - CAMERAS [you and your camera - what is a camera - how a lens works - experiment with light - coming into focus - make your own camera - using film - the right film - recording an image - the camera shutter - what an aperture does - the right exposure - letting in the light - printing - printing and projecting - wide and narrow - close-up shots - rocal lengths - lighting and flash - working with light - using filters - useful tips - special photography - amazing effects - moving pictures - animation - easy animation - cameras in science (microscopes, telescope, x-rays) - cameras and computing] PART FOUR - COMPUTERS [computer basics - all talk (Internet) - history of computers - breaking the code (binary code) - getting stuff in and out - storing and finding - hard disk storage - computer software - mouse care and mouse mat - working with words - my letterhead - home office - desktop publishing daily news - a splash of colour - computer graphics - create a photo poster - game for a laugh - designing fames - multimedia - virtual reality - the sound of music - the internet and e-mail - send an e-postcard - the world wide web - web culture - computers in everyday life - health and organization - changing lifestyles - glossary - index - acknowledgements