Like many kids his age, my 8-year-old son is fascinated by science. I took him to science ‘shows’ and lectures for kids on both sides of the Atlantic, and bought him a massive stack of kids’ science books. What I noticed is that he was getting lost in the excitement of experiments with test tubes, lightnings, and explosions, and missed the actual science facts behind the flashy lab action. Most science books for young readers are too expansive and systematic for his age, and the books written for elementary school kids are too simplistic.

So I wrote this book with the goal of explaining assorted middle- and high-school-level concepts of physics and chemistry to elementary school kids in a way that lets them easily grasp each idea:

• 2-page bite-size chapters, each focusing on one natural phenomenon

• easy for independent reading from 2nd grade up

• lots of big colorful photo illustrations.

Now my son is walking around impressing friends and strangers by randomly divulging science facts, such as the structure and polarity of water molecules, the properties of hydrogen and helium that stem from their atomic weight, and the coherency of a laser beam. Mission accomplished! We have shifted our focus from explosions and bubbles to actual science facts.

2H2 + O2 2H2O What is this?

Why, it’s a chemical reaction of hydrogen burning, also called combustion.

Yes, a second-grader is entirely capable of explaining such things to anyone.

Here are the subjects we cover in this book.

Seeing colors - the nature of light, photons, light reflection, RGB, the color wheel

Rainbows, diamonds - prisms, light refraction

Colors of the sky - light wavelengths, visible light, light scattering

X rays, UV rays - electromagnetic radiation, invisible portions of the spectrum

Lasers - properties of laser beams, spatial coherence, laser-emitting devices

Glass - transparency, UV vs visible light

Mirrors - specular reflection

Oil, water, soap - chemical polarity, structure of water and soap molecules

Ice - states of matter, structure of ice, density

Ocean water - NaCl, freezing point

Hot air balloons - temperature and density

Bubbles and drops of water - surface tension, compactness, interference colors

Carbonated drinks - carbon dioxide, oxygen cycle

Metal and plastic - thermal conductivity

Air - gravity, weight, atmospheric pressure, sea level, elevation

Helium balloons - the periodic table, chemical elements, atomic weight, hydrogen, helium, blimps

Fire and water - oxygen atoms, hydrogen atoms, reactive elements, combustion

Electricity - conductors and insulators

Lightning - static electricity and static discharge

Rust and tarnish - oxidation and oxides

Plants - chlorophyll, photosynthesis, carbohydrates

Flames - burning, flame zones, candles vs gas burners

Diamonds and graphite - crystalline forms of carbon