But in a documentary, when the camera cuts from a scene on a beach to a scene ten kilometres under the sea, we have David Attenborough's calm voice guiding us here, the sudden cut is jolting, and though you know why Czerski is doing it, the technique grates when it's used for the fourth or fifth time in that chapter. This feels less like a book and more like a written-down Netflix nature documentary. The one real weakness of the book is in the writing style. Fortunately the quantum world does not make its presence felt in either tea or milk, so Czerski can leave this part of Physics alone. That's not a problem, per se, but it does mean that you have to pay increasing levels of attention - especially by the time you start reading about electromagnetism.
This is the 'everyday life' part of the book, but the further we venture into the science, the further we go from the everyday. The going is best in the early stages, as there are more areas of Physics for Czerski to explore from her living room or kitchen. Czerski's skill is to make sure it never gets too tricky, but focusing on the science of everyday objects - such as how the fact that boiled eggs are solid while raw eggs are liquid inside means that they behave differently when you spin them. 'Storm in a Teacup' is an accessible guide to Physics, a science that gets complicated very quickly when you have to study it at school and beyond.
Hers if the kind of self-assured, endearing nerdishness that doesn't wait to see if you're on board: she pulls you along, anticipating your head-scratching at every fluorescing scorpion and swirling drop of milk in your teacup." ( The Irish Times ) "In a friendly, chatty style that includes anecdotes from her personal and professional life, Czerski manages to make spilled coffee fascinating tree growth astonishing telecommunications intuitive." ( Physics World ) Werbetext The little fascinations we left behind in childhood are but her jumping-off points for the really, really big picture. It's a wonderful way to discover the hidden scientific connections behind the ordinary and everyday." ( Dr Hannah Fry ) "Helen Czerski's absorbing Storm in a Teacup stands head and shoulders above other popular science books. Helen invites you in to see the world through a her eyes and understand how a physicist thinks. Fun, fascinating and brilliantly well written - 'Right there, in my teacup, I can see the storm.' Me too and I know what it is now." ( Marcus Brigstocke ) "This book is charming, accessible and enthusiastic. It is rare that someone can explain that which seems endlessly complex and makes you feel like in fact you'd understood it all along. It'll carry you gently to the peak and show you how stunning and beautiful the view is. Czerski’s enthusiasm is infectious because she brings our humdrum everyday world to life, showing us that it is just as fascinating as anything that can be seen by the Hubble Telescope or created at the Large Hadron Collider." ( Jim Al-Khalili ) "If you've ever felt like understanding how things work is just too big a mountain to climb then read this book. "A quite delightful book on the joys, and universality, of physics.