HOW COOL STUFF WORKS

by chris-woodford-ben-morgan, Ben Morgan

Bluetooth, HDTV, SEMs, PSP and Wii your world is full of cool gadgets and clever technology, do you want to know how it all works? From gadget-loving guys to curious kids, open up the cool lenticular cover and discover how all your favourite modern technologies work. Incredible images reveal what's inside your games console, how spies use GSM for covert operations, the world's fastest robot and virtual online worlds. A microscopic, X-rayed, cross-sectioned and close-up look at loads of amazing stuff! Now in paperback.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[Tim Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A coffee table book about technology, probably for teenagers. Gorgeously illustrated, but the text is pretty superficial. Still, what do you expect?

[Camillar · Rating 3 out of 5]

ISBN: 1405308370
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley, 2005

Content: topics include new and old technology, this book explains new advances in technology and the impact on modern society for example using mobile phones, email and the internet as an effective forms of communication. The book explores modern gadgets people use for pleasure, work and education although quite dated and basic seeing as there have been new advances in technology since then, I believe looking at old technology can get children thinking about how it has progressed.
Format: There is a lot of text and imagery however both are clear, easy to concur and colourful to maintain the readers interest. Fact boxes present extra details in a fun and interesting way; flaps reveal answers to questions throughout the book. Cool gadgets do appeal to young readers and it presents science and technology in an exciting way outlining the function of technology such as safety matches, electric guitars and motorbikes to voice recognition, MRI scans. Each section ends with a ‘What next?’ section. The final section of the book is a reference section with a timeline and glossary ("techno terms").
Illustrations: The information in the text is accompanied with detailed illustrations surrounded by captions and fact boxes. The pictures are bright, accessible and accurately represent information about objects.
Text: The text includes technological terminology and key words are explained clearly in the glossary. The font type is generally large and key information is bold to stand out from the body of the text and catch the reader’s attention. Text is divided into paragraphs and headers effectively divide the content in each section.
Interaction: The class can use this book to learn about technology, this can be a useful resource in science, design technology, IT and many other subjects in a cross curricular way. Children may refer to this for background reading and research surrounding technology to grasp a sound understanding of fundamental principles of technology in its usage and why it makes a positive impact in our everyday lives. I would recommend this book for independent and whole class reading for teaching non fiction work and the study of technology across the curriculum where this content is taught at lower and upper key stage 2.
Series: Cool stuff and how it works, Cool stuff exploded, The gadget book and how really cool stuff works.

[Ernastoblancochacon]

microwaves cooks 6 times faster then a normal oven

[Patricrk patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty basic, learned a little. surprised that the reference section didn't list Darwin but did list Mendel.