The Science of Spin

Why exactly is the Earth round? How is it that boomerangs can turn in mid-air? And why do cats always land on their feet? It's time to stop thinking in straight lines… 'A wonderfully fascinating book with answers to so many everyday questions you never knew you needed to know.' Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters From the solar system to spinning tops; hurricanes to hula hoops; powerplants to pendulums, one mysterious force shapes almost every aspect of our lives. A force which, despite its ubiquity, continues to confound, baffle and surprise. Artfully moving between astrophysics and anthropology, The Science of Spin provides a sweeping journey through space and time, from the creation of the Earth to the advent of the 'fidget spinner'. Charting the development of engineering and technology from the earliest prehistoric drills to the turbine engine, critically acclaimed author and scientist Roland Ennos presents a riveting account of human ingenuity and the seemingly infinite ways spin affects our daily lives.

Roland Ennos is a visiting professor of biological sciences at the University of Hull. His previous books include The Wood Age: How Wood Shaped the Whole of Human History and Trees: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Structure. He lives in Hull.