Ka-Boom! - by David Darling (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

David Darling travels through space and time to find the largest, smallest, stickiest, loudest, quietest, fastest, slowest, heaviest and brightest...

What's the brightest light on Earth? The coldest corner of the universe? The blackest material ever made? The most poisonous substance in nature?

'You will learn something new in every chapter, on every page and probably in every paragraph. Hugely entertaining.' Kit Yates, author of The Maths of Life and Death

Ka-boom! probes extremes of size and speed, depth and density, and reveals the stickiest, sweetest, smelliest and nastiest substances known to science.

In an unabashed celebration of the exceptional, David Darling takes an enlightening journey through the universe's weirdest and most wonderful extremes.

• Travel to far-flung galaxies in pursuit of habitable planets and extra-terrestrial life.
• Journey to the rainforests of South America and discover the top-speed of the notoriously sluggish sloth.
• Find out how Earth's hardiest creatures - tardigrades or 'water bears' - ended up living on the moon.
• And meet the scientists and engineers using these quirks of nature to design faster computers, produce greener energy and revolutionise space travel.

Review Quotes

'Darling serves up a fun, informative, and quirky overview of some fascinating science facts... There's something for everyone in this quick and engaging read... Even inveterate science geeks should enjoy this time spent with fascinating facts.' --Booklist

'Who doesn't love a superlative?... Ka-Boom! - The Science of Extremes is both refreshing and absorbing... delightfully described with an understated humour... This book is a fact-nerd's heaven. But, despite its subtitle, it is so much more than a list of interesting facts and figures. Read up on the fascinating extremes of the Universe and entertain your guests at dinner parties!' --BBC Sky at Night,

'Fascinating... A kind of cross between the Guinness Book of Records and the most engaging of popular science bestsellers, Ka-boom! is an absorbing journey into the realms of the largest and smallest, the fastest and the slowest, and the blackest and the brightest.' --Daily Mail

'Ka-Boom is jam-packed full of extreme facts. Throughout the book Darling provides entertaining answers to questions you never even knew you had. You will learn something new in every chapter, on every page and probably in every paragraph. Hugely entertaining.' --Kit Yates, author of The Maths of Life and Death

About the Author

David Darling is a science writer, astronomer and musician. He is the author of nearly fifty books, including the bestselling Equations of Eternity. Together with Agnijo Banerjee, he is the co-author of the Weird Maths trilogy and The Biggest Number in the World. He lives in Dundee, Scotland.