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The Undercover Scientist (Unabridged)
 
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The Undercover Scientist (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

by Peter J Bentley (Author), Roger May (Narrator)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Audio Download
  • Listening Length: 8 hours and 57 minutes
  • Program Type: Audiobook
  • Version: Unabridged
  • Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks
  • Audible Release Date: 5 Mar 2009
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B002SPZR5S
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Product Description

Undercover Scientist Peter Bentley is fascinated by the science of the everyday, and in this eye-opening book, organised in the form of one of those days when everything falls apart, he probes into the reasons why mishaps occur, from sleeping through the alarm to making the bathwater overflow.

As he does so he explains exactly what happens when you put metal in a microwave (the electric field inside the oven causes the metal to heat up like a light bulb filament) and why getting the juice from chilli peppers in your eye is so painful (the peppers contain a chemical that fools your nerve-endings into behaving as though they've been burnt). From there he goes on to show how these simple events form part of a pattern of scientific principles that govern everything around us.

If you want to find out how a diesel engine is able to run on chip fat or why lightning actually does strike the same place twice, The Undercover Scientist has all the answers.

©2008 Peter J. Bentley; (P)2009 WF Howes Ltd

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Scores of books deal with the science of everyday life, so finding an original angle becomes increasingly dificult. Peter Bentley has found one by introducing a protagonist who stumbles through the day, falling, breaking things, and so on. Every mishap leads to a scientific cause.

In the process the reader learns why it is important not to get stressed when a finger is stuck in a plastic bottle, how a pizza tray may ignite in a microwave and what to do with chewing gum in one's hair. Mr. Bentley covers a wide range of subjects, from chemistry and physiology to computers science and engineering. All subjects are dealt with in a way that is both funny and informative.

There are two downsides. First, 39 short chapters with the same structure (something goes wrong and the scientific background is sketched) may wear out the reader after some time. Secondly, mr. Bentley's style of writing is fine for popular science, but falls short for the fictional paragraphs that kick off each chapter.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You are waiting for a bus. Or you are sitting in your car waiting to pick up your children from school. You want to make good use of your time, but this is not the time for serious reading, because you could be interrupted at any time. You need a book that you can enjoy for anything from a few minutes to half an hour before you are interrupted. This is an ideal book for such occasions.

This book is packed with scientific knowledge. You may not actively seek knowledge in some of the topics introduced in this book, but once you've been told, you might find them interesting. For example, I never knew that chewing gum first appeared at least 9,000 years old (in the chapter "Coming Unstuck"). I also find the chapter "Ripping Yarn" interesting: I never paid much attention to the differences in weaving methods, but now I do. I look at them with my attention on the fiction that they create, which (I now know) was the main motivation behind weaving.

Each chapter is the result of hours, possibly days of research. It's a joy to be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of diligent research by the author. I find some of the research quite thorough. Not everyone will enjoy every chapter. The style of this book may not please everyone, but personally I find this an enjoyable book to read.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A covert appetiser 10 Aug 2009
Format:Paperback
The undercover scientist by Peter Bentley is an interesting book and Bentley should be commended for writing it. Overall there are many who will find it fascinating and if it furthers a developing curiosity in science he will have done us all a service.
There are a few quibbles however. The narrative structure in which each chapter starts with a mishap described in the second person present tense to be followed by an account of the underlying science behind the misfortune is rendered a little clunkily. As a result, the structure becomes a little tiresome midway into the book. The science description is a few notches down from the finest science writers such as Dawkins, Ridley et al and not nearly as engaging as Bill Bryson's a short history of nearly everything.
In the main Bentley borrows heavily from familiar science analogies, similies and metaphors to sketch technicalities which means his descriptions lack freshness but they do serve as an introduction to more detailed treatment of the material. This is the kind of book that should be in every school library; it is short enough to be read as a homework exercise and light enough to serve as an appetiser.
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