What Einstein Told His Barber: More Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions [Paperback]

Robert Wolke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2000

What makes ice cubes cloudy? How do shark attacks make airplanes safer? Can a person traveling in a car at the speed of sound still hear the radio? Moreover, would they want to...?

Do you often find yourself pondering life's little conundrums? Have you ever wondered why the ocean is blue? Or why birds don't get electrocuted when perching on high-voltage power lines? Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and acclaimed author of What Einstein Didn't Know, understands the need to...well, understand. Now he provides more amusing explanations of such everyday phenomena as gravity (If you're in a falling elevator, will jumping at the last instant save your life?) and acoustics (Why does a whip make such a loud cracking noise?), along with amazing facts, belly-up-to-the-bar bets, and mind-blowing reality bites all with his trademark wit and wisdom.

If you shoot a bullet into the air, can it kill somebody when it comes down?

You can find out about all this and more in an astonishing compendium of the proverbial mind-boggling mysteries of the physical world we inhabit.


Arranged in a question-and-answer format and grouped by subject for browsing ease, WHAT EINSTEIN TOLD HIS BARBER is for anyone who ever pondered such things as why colors fade in sunlight, what happens to the rubber from worn-out tires, what makes red-hot objects glow red, and other scientific curiosities. Perfect for fans of Newton's Apple, Jeopardy!, and The Discovery Channel, WHAT EINSTEIN TOLD HIS BARBER also includes a glossary of important scientific buzz words and a comprehensive index. -->

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Robert L. Wolke's What Einstein Didn't Know:

"Wolke is a glib and entertaining writer....This is the book for anyone who claims to be overwhelmed by the science of everyday things....It's a fun read."
--The San Diego Tribune

"Fascinating....Will provide hours of fun and knowledge for kids of any age (and we mean up to 90) and offer helpful tips and satisfy the curiosity of the average householder."
--Baton Rouge Advocate

From the Inside Flap

What makes ice cubes cloudy? How do shark attacks make airplanes safer? Can a person traveling in a car at the speed of sound still hear the radio? Moreover, would they want to...?

Do you often find yourself pondering life's little conundrums? Have you ever wondered why the ocean is blue? Or why birds don't get electrocuted when perching on high-voltage power lines? Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and acclaimed author of What Einstein Didn't Know, understands the need to...well, understand. Now he provides more amusing explanations of such everyday phenomena as gravity (If you're in a falling elevator, will jumping at the last instant save your life?) and acoustics (Why does a whip make such a loud cracking noise?), along with amazing facts, belly-up-to-the-bar bets, and mind-blowing reality bites all with his trademark wit and wisdom.

If you shoot a bullet into the air, can it kill somebody when it comes down?

You can find out about all this and more in an astonishing compendium of the proverbial mind-boggling mysteries of the physical world we inhabit.

Arranged in a question-and-answer format and grouped by subject for browsing ease, WHAT EINSTEIN TOLD HIS BARBER is for anyone who ever pondered such things as why colors fade in sunlight, what happens to the rubber from worn-out tires, what makes red-hot objects glow red, and other scientific curiosities. Perfect for fans of Newton's Apple, Jeopardy!, and The Discovery Channel, WHAT EINSTEIN TOLD HIS BARBER also includes a glossary of important scientific buzz words and a comprehensive index. -->

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dell (March 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440508797
• ISBN-13: 978-0440508793
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

READ Robert L. Wolke's blog at http://www.andthatsthewayitis.net

Robert L. Wolke received his B.S. in Chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now Polytechnic Institute of N.Y.U.) and his Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry from Cornell University. He has taught chemistry(in Spanish)at the University of Puerto Rico and the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela, and is now professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.
His books include Impact: Science on Society; Chemistry Explained; What Einstein Didn't Know; What Einstein Told His Barber; What Einstein Told His cook (nominated for both the James Beard Foundation's and the IACP's awards for best technical or reference book), and What Einstein Told His Cook 2 (also James Beard and IACP nominees). Further Adventures in Kitchen Science. His four "Einstein" books have been translated into more than 20 languages.
From1998 to 2007 he wrote a food science column (Food 101) for the Washington Post. His journalism awards include the James Beard Foundation's award for best newspaper column, the IACP's Bert Greene Award for best newspaper food writing, plus several awards from the Association of Food Journalists and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. In 2005 he won the American Chemical Society's Grady-Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public.
His extracurricular activities have included stand-up comic monologues and consulting for UNESCO in Bangladesh.
He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Marlene Parrish, a food journalist,

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

186 of 220 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Little Fast a Little Slow, June 20, 2002

By 

George Blondin (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Einstein Told His Barber: More Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions (Paperback)

What Einstein Told His Barber

by Robert L. Wolke

This book is imaginative and entertaining. It explains in simple terms the hows and whys
of many things we observe often but really don't understand.

His editor has done a fine job with spelling and punctuation, but he needs
someone to check his math:

p13 "In one experiment, out of 500 .30-caliber machine-gun bullets fired
straight upward, only four landed within 10 square feet
(3 square meters) of the gun".

While 10 feet is about 3 meters, 10 square feet is about 1 square meter and would
lie within 22 inches of the gun - not a very safe place to wait.

p26-27 "There is a certain speed called the ESCAPE VELOCITY, 25000 mph,
that an object must achieve to circle the Earth in stable orbit and
not fall down."

Actually the speed needed for circular orbit is less by a factor of
the square root of two, about 18000 mph. On p.121 the author has
astronauts orbiting at the proper speed.
Escape velocity launches an object into a parabolic trajectory which
Escapes (imagine that) the earths gravity and never returns.

p33 (and p.64) Speed of light 186,000 miles per second (3 million kilometers per second)

Oops! That should be 300,000 kilometers per second.

p81 Author computes 621 degrees Fahrenheit to be twice the absolute
temperature of 80F.

This should be 519.7F; but it is only because of sloppy conversion
from Fahrenheit to Celsius and back.

p103 (and p120) "Earth is sailing around the Sun at more than 10,000 mph
(10600 mph on p120)

It is actually about 66,675 mph - higher by a factor of 2 Pi (6.28...).
Apparently he used the distance TO the Sun instead of the distance AROUND
the Sun.

p106 The idea that "astoundingly realistic pictures of the oceans bottoms" are
created from satellite radar scans of the ocean surface which has
been modified by the gravitational effect of peaks and trenches on
the oceans bottom is absurd.

These detailed maps are created from side-scanning SONAR surveys.

p124 "... at the bottom of a ten mile shaft you'd weigh about 0.7% less than
at the surface."

10 miles down you are .25% closer to the center of the earth; the
mass of the sphere beneath you has decreased by about .75%.
Since gravity is proportional to Mass divided by the square of
distance, it has decreased about .25% (.9975^3/.9975^2 = .9975).
Apparently Prof. Wolke forgot about the nearness of you.

p150 Prof. Wolke lists the speed of sound as 740 mph at 0 deg C, 900 mph
at 20 deg C, and 947 mph at 27 deg.

His value at 0 deg is correct, but since speed of sound varies with
the square root of absolute temperature, the other values should be
767 mph and 776 mph.
He is as much as 22% high.

p170 "It isn't very unusual for two full moons to fall in the same month;
it happens about four times a year"

In fact, it is impossible to have more than 2 BLUE moons in a year;
and then they must be in January and March.

Because of the 29.5 day lunar cycle, a blue moon must fall in the
last half day of a 30 day month or the last day and a half of a 31
day month (February is impossible).
4 x .5 + 7 x 1.5 = 12.5 days per year. The chance of
any moon being 'blue' is 12.5 / 365.25 = .0342
There are 365.25 / 29.5 = 12.4 full moons per year.
This comes to .423 blue moons per year or 1 every 2.36 years;
about the same frequency as 4 full moons in one season.

p187 "dissolve a half teaspoon of salt in a half cup (250 milliliters) of
water.

1 liter is more than a quart; so a half liter is more than a pint;
so a quarter liter (250 milliliters) is more than a cup.

In summary, this book was a lot of fun to read, and has some good science
in it; but his numbers should be taken with a grain (0.065 gm) of salt..

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be the New Wiz Kid on the Block!, April 18, 2000

By 

"jvidal9289" - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Einstein Told His Barber: More Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions (Paperback)

I'll bet nobody ever fell asleep in Professor Wolke's chemistry class! With his informal, humorous and chatty style, he truly makes science not only fun but also genuinely easy to understand for even the most scientifically challenged of us. His new book covers the whole universe--literally! Professor Wolke takes you on a vicarious trip to the bottom of our oceans, to the depths of outer space and to many familiar and unfamiliar places in between. On the way you will be amazed (the frigid tile floor and the cozy mat in your bathroom are the same temperature!), entertained (Why are oceans salty?), and educated (it is NOT more humid in the summer time because warm air holds more moisture). And just because this is a fun, "bedside" book, do not for an instant assume that it is somehow not serious or useful because it is both! Here you will learn some very practical applications of science. For example, how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, and vice versa, without complicated formulas; how to eliminate wrinkles from your clothing; how to instantly defog your car's windshield and rear window! This is a book that you will be unable to put down (don't worry--it's not a long read), but one that you won't have to since you'll carry around its unforgettable lessons forever!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to Understand Science Books, February 4, 2002

By 

Mad Track (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Einstein Told His Barber: More Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions (Paperback)

As the title saids, this book is about answering real life conundrums. There is a lot of "what if" questions that are readily answer. A reader with some background in high school or college physics will enjoy this book. As a student getting a science PhD, I find this book very entertaining to read. It answers questions in understandable English.

Certain things I think can be explained a little better, like why the atmosphere is thinner at higher altitude. Or the difference between static friction and rolling friction. But these are just nicky-picky little things.

Overall, this book is a joy to read. If you are curious about how things in life work or scenarios that you take for granted(like why birds don't get electrocuted standing on wires), you should pick up this book. You'll undoubtebly learn a lot.