Peter Atkins Oxford University Press (2018)
It’s rare to find a study of physical laws that is also a bravura display of rarefied humour and experiential depth; but such is this gem by chemist Peter Atkins. Looking at both ‘inlaws’ and ‘outlaws’ — the deep structural laws of the cosmos and minor elaborations such as Robert Hooke’s law of elasticity — Atkins explores the conservation of energy; laws related to temperature, electricity and magnetism; and fundamental constants such as the speed of light. He also shows, in one mind-bending chapter, how something really did come from nothing at the moment of cosmogenesis.
Varun Sivaram MIT Press (2018)
In 2017, solar power became the fastest-growing new-energy source. Yet as energy-policy specialist Varun Sivaram details in his global survey, that surge will be unsustainable unless countries invest in solar innovation on three fronts: financial (to amass investment); technological (to capture and store solar energy); and systemic (to re-engineer electricity grids). Solar power will also have to grow 30-fold by 2050. Sivaram includes a raft of case studies, from current research on the photovoltaic materials called perovskites to Off Grid Electric, a start-up aiming to electrify swathes of Africa by 2019.
Adrian Lister Natural History Museum (2018)
A “young man of promising ability, extremely fond of geology”. That accolade given to Charles Darwin by the captain of the HMS Beagle, Robert FitzRoy, propelled the fledgling scientist on the ride of his life. As naturalist on the ship’s 1831–36 voyage to South America, Darwin came into his own as a geologist, illuminating the formation of coral reefs and continental uplift. And, as palaeobiologist Adrian Lister details in this deft, beautifully illustrated account, no less important were Darwin’s discoveries of gargantuan mammal fossils — including the 1.5-tonne giant sloth Mylodon darwinii.
James Nardi University of Chicago Press (2018)
Biologist James Nardi urges us to recall that it’s a jungle out there — in the back garden, that is. His companion guide to garden science is a learned romp through plant biology; solar energy and soil nutrients; the movement of vines; and “fellow gardeners”, from single-celled protozoans to beetles. Here, too, are experiments on the basics, such as photosynthesis, and a wealth of stunning images. These range from a prickly study of weed burrs to a scanning-electron-microscope shot of trichomes, hairs that stud tomato leaves like “dark lollipops” and give the plant its pungent odour.
Michael Brooke Princeton University Press (2018)
For 40 years, ornithologist Michael Brooke has traversed the seas in pursuit of seabirds — from Alexander Selkirk Island west of Chile to the Shiant Isles of the UK Hebrides. His tour of the ecological highlights is gripping in scope and in granular detail gleaned from observations of puffins, penguins, fulmars and more. Brooke begins at fledging and glides on through migration, navigation, breeding and myriad threats facing these avian wonders, from introduced predators and light pollution to overfishing and ocean plastic.
