Over 100,000 readers have relied on Trefil to gain a better understanding of physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth sciences, and biology. The book focuses on the great ideas in each field while showing readers how core scientific principles connect to their daily lives. The sixth edition emphasizes important themes and relationships, along with new real world connections. Scientific American has been added to the book along with completely updated examples. The presentation also employs a more visual approach that includes new illustrations and visuals. In addition, new problems help readers answer the big questions in science.
1. Science: A Way of Knowing: How do you know what you know? 2. The Ordered Universe: Why do planets appear to wander slowly across the sky? 3. Energy: Why must animals eat to stay alive? 4. Heat and the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Why is it easier to make an omelet from an egg than to make an egg from an omelet? 5. Electricity and Magnetism: What is lightning? 6. Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation: What is color? 7. Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity: Can a human ever travel faster than the speed of light, at "warp speed"? 8. The Atom: Why are there so many different materials in the world? 9. Quantum Mechanics: How can the electron behave like both a particle and a wave? 10. Atoms in Combination: The Chemical Bond: How does blood clot? 11. Materials and Their Properties: How have computers gotten so much faster? 12. The Nucleus of the Atom: How do scientists determine the age of the oldest human fossils? 13. The Ultimate Structure of Matter: How can antimatter be used to probe the human brain? 14. The Stars: How much longer can the Sun sustain life on Earth? 15. Cosmology: Will the universe end? 16. Earth and Other Planets: Is Earth the only planet with life? 17. Plate Tectonics: Can we predict destructive earthquakes? 18. Earths Many Cycles: Will we ever run out of fresh water? 19. Ecology, Ecosystems, and the Environment: Are human activities affecting the global environment? 20. Strategies of Life: What is life? 21. The Living Cell: What is the smallest living thing? 22. Molecules of Life: What constitutes a healthy diet? 23. Classical and Modern Genetics: Why do offspring resemble their parents? 24. The New Science of Life: Can we cure cancer? 25. Evolution: How did life emerge on the ancient Earth?