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The Science of Spin: How Rotational Forces Affect Everything from Your Body to Jet Engines to the Weather
From the masterful author of The Age of Wood , a “fascinating” ( The Wall Street Journal ), “original and highly engaging insight into how our universe works, encompassing black holes, the cotton mills of the industrial revolution, the biomechanics of walking, and more” (Paul Sen, author of Einstein’s Fridge ).
From the time humans first used rotating bobbins to twist thread or whirled slings around their heads to throw stones, people have found spin fascinating and baffling in equal measure. Now, in The Science of Spin , Roland Ennos shows how rotational motion dominates the workings of the world around us. It has shaped the solar system, galaxies, and black holes. It controls our climate and weather—from the pattern of trade winds to the local formation of hurricanes and tornadoes. Harnessing the power of spin helped launch civilization, from the first developments of the wheel to the systems that now add force the industrial world—propellers, turbines, centrifugal pumps, electric motors, and computer disk drives. Even our own bodies are complex systems of rotating joints and levers.
Yet scientists tend to ignore the simple and straightforward. So, in the 17th-century they developed the science of mechanics to explain the phenomenon of the orbit of the planets rather than how machines work. But few people realize how spin makes our planet habitable, or how it has been tamed by engineers to make our lives more comfortable.
With “lucid and clear” (Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters ) explanations, Ennos presents a new approach to mechanics that not only helps us better understand the world, but also reveals unlikely links between tightrope walkers and tyrannosaurs, catapults and tennis players, stunt cars and long jumpers. He shows us that by opening our minds, we can all learn to move about more gracefully, play sports more successfully and safely—and ensure that, like cats, be sure to always land on our feet. “There’s plenty to ponder” ( Kirkus Reviews ) in this highly entertaining and informative read demonstrating that, whether it be natural or engineered, spin is what really makes the world go round.
From the time humans first used rotating bobbins to twist thread or whirled slings around their heads to throw stones, people have found spin fascinating and baffling in equal measure. Now, in The Science of Spin , Roland Ennos shows how rotational motion dominates the workings of the world around us. It has shaped the solar system, galaxies, and black holes. It controls our climate and weather—from the pattern of trade winds to the local formation of hurricanes and tornadoes. Harnessing the power of spin helped launch civilization, from the first developments of the wheel to the systems that now add force the industrial world—propellers, turbines, centrifugal pumps, electric motors, and computer disk drives. Even our own bodies are complex systems of rotating joints and levers.
Yet scientists tend to ignore the simple and straightforward. So, in the 17th-century they developed the science of mechanics to explain the phenomenon of the orbit of the planets rather than how machines work. But few people realize how spin makes our planet habitable, or how it has been tamed by engineers to make our lives more comfortable.
With “lucid and clear” (Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters ) explanations, Ennos presents a new approach to mechanics that not only helps us better understand the world, but also reveals unlikely links between tightrope walkers and tyrannosaurs, catapults and tennis players, stunt cars and long jumpers. He shows us that by opening our minds, we can all learn to move about more gracefully, play sports more successfully and safely—and ensure that, like cats, be sure to always land on our feet. “There’s plenty to ponder” ( Kirkus Reviews ) in this highly entertaining and informative read demonstrating that, whether it be natural or engineered, spin is what really makes the world go round.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 18, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 5, 2023
Just talked about things that spin. Didn't really bring anything exciting.
January 17, 2024
This book does not due the science of spin justice. First off, it is poorly written. It reads like a high school essay and the writing is not engaging or organized. As someone who has studied physics in college, the explanations did not sit well with me. Some of what he argues is questionable and made me even more confused. You can tell, especially early in the book, this is not the author's expertise area and it shows. There were also a couple type error/mistakes in the diagrams which made his arguments even harder to follow. The diagrams were also for the most part not helpful at understanding what was being explained.
Not only that, but the content of the book is highly lacking. There are places were more explanation is needed and thoughts are left unfinished. There are also places where there is too much rambling. An example of this is when the author randomly interjects his opinions which have nothing to do with spin and should belong in an opinionated, political science book instead. The facts should be objective. Another irritating thing about this book is how close-minded the author seems to be. Rarely is any other nation besides England and occasionally America brought up when explaining the history of spin. Clearly people of all continents had ideas to contribute to our understanding, and this book makes that quite one-sided. I cannot unrecommend this book enough. While the synopsis sounded promising, the intent is not executed well at all.
Not only that, but the content of the book is highly lacking. There are places were more explanation is needed and thoughts are left unfinished. There are also places where there is too much rambling. An example of this is when the author randomly interjects his opinions which have nothing to do with spin and should belong in an opinionated, political science book instead. The facts should be objective. Another irritating thing about this book is how close-minded the author seems to be. Rarely is any other nation besides England and occasionally America brought up when explaining the history of spin. Clearly people of all continents had ideas to contribute to our understanding, and this book makes that quite one-sided. I cannot unrecommend this book enough. While the synopsis sounded promising, the intent is not executed well at all.
August 9, 2023
The Science of Spin is an enjoyable journey through the many places that spin shows up in our world. The book explores the effects of spin in three areas – the planet, technology, and the human body – with a writing style that forgoes equations in favor of approachable diagrams and explanations.
The planet section covers solar system formation, planetary orbits, weather patterns, tides, and magnetic fields. At first, I wondered what spin has to do with magnetic fields, but it turns out that their interaction keeps us from dying from solar radiation. The Earth’s spin creates deep molten currents of magnetic material, producing an enveloping field that shields us from the sun’s bombardment and also creates beautiful auroras.
The technology section was the most interesting to me as an engineer. It tracks how spinning equipment evolved and expanded into society over time, from drop spindles to airplanes. A big focus is the use of rotating wheels to power machines, first by water, then steam, and finally electricity. I always enjoy when a book centers on a particular theme and tells the story of innovation through it, like looking at a different facet of the same diamond. The author couples several moments in industrial history together that I would not have expected and shows the through-line of spin in them all.
The human body section is more about rotation than spin and covers how humans stand, walk, run, throw, hit, and twist. Our joints allow such flexibility of motion that we can balance and propel objects with surprising efficiency, never mind the astounding accomplishments of athletes. Thanks to a particularly helpful diagram on arm position, I FINALLY have a sense of how gymnasts initiate and control their twists in the air, a topic that completely baffled me during my brief childhood foray into gymnastics (I quickly grew too tall for the uneven bars and pivoted to dance).
At the end, the author includes a thought-provoking chapter on how scientists’ reliance on math has perhaps held them back from looking at and understanding the world of spin in both its simplicity and complexity. Coupled with the idea that many innovators knew no formal science as such, but simply played around with concepts as they best understood them and created quite clever machines, he makes a powerful argument for why we should think carefully about automatically starting with a formula when exploring new territory.
I was mildly disappointed that some topics were left unexplored, such as atomic spin (briefly touched upon in the closing chapter) and how the human body responds to dizziness (more related to inner ear anatomy, but still relevant I think). However, with such a long list of topics already included, I suppose the author can be forgiven.
The Science of Spin is the valuable addition to science writing we didn’t know we needed. You can read it quickly like I did, skimming over the detailed explanations to get a feel for the whole first, then returning to specific sections to read more carefully. Or you can proceed slowly, digesting each new piece of insight fully before moving to the next. Either way, The Science of Spin offers readers a pleasurable journey towards discovering more of this wonderful, amazing world we live in.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book. All opinions are entirely my own.
The planet section covers solar system formation, planetary orbits, weather patterns, tides, and magnetic fields. At first, I wondered what spin has to do with magnetic fields, but it turns out that their interaction keeps us from dying from solar radiation. The Earth’s spin creates deep molten currents of magnetic material, producing an enveloping field that shields us from the sun’s bombardment and also creates beautiful auroras.
The technology section was the most interesting to me as an engineer. It tracks how spinning equipment evolved and expanded into society over time, from drop spindles to airplanes. A big focus is the use of rotating wheels to power machines, first by water, then steam, and finally electricity. I always enjoy when a book centers on a particular theme and tells the story of innovation through it, like looking at a different facet of the same diamond. The author couples several moments in industrial history together that I would not have expected and shows the through-line of spin in them all.
The human body section is more about rotation than spin and covers how humans stand, walk, run, throw, hit, and twist. Our joints allow such flexibility of motion that we can balance and propel objects with surprising efficiency, never mind the astounding accomplishments of athletes. Thanks to a particularly helpful diagram on arm position, I FINALLY have a sense of how gymnasts initiate and control their twists in the air, a topic that completely baffled me during my brief childhood foray into gymnastics (I quickly grew too tall for the uneven bars and pivoted to dance).
At the end, the author includes a thought-provoking chapter on how scientists’ reliance on math has perhaps held them back from looking at and understanding the world of spin in both its simplicity and complexity. Coupled with the idea that many innovators knew no formal science as such, but simply played around with concepts as they best understood them and created quite clever machines, he makes a powerful argument for why we should think carefully about automatically starting with a formula when exploring new territory.
I was mildly disappointed that some topics were left unexplored, such as atomic spin (briefly touched upon in the closing chapter) and how the human body responds to dizziness (more related to inner ear anatomy, but still relevant I think). However, with such a long list of topics already included, I suppose the author can be forgiven.
The Science of Spin is the valuable addition to science writing we didn’t know we needed. You can read it quickly like I did, skimming over the detailed explanations to get a feel for the whole first, then returning to specific sections to read more carefully. Or you can proceed slowly, digesting each new piece of insight fully before moving to the next. Either way, The Science of Spin offers readers a pleasurable journey towards discovering more of this wonderful, amazing world we live in.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book. All opinions are entirely my own.
June 26, 2024
I usually enjoy science books, but this one did not impress me. (Full disclosure: I majored in Biology and Chemistry and minored in Mathematics in college, but never particularly liked physics.) While there were some interesting anecdotes and information, it was very hard for me to follow, and it read like a physics textbook without vivid pictures. While the author did include some diagrams, they were hard for me to follow.
I did enjoy the story of the development of four wheeled carriages. Originally all four wheels were fixed on an axel and carriages were prone to tipping on poor roads. Later a steering system was designed which allowed the front wheels of the carriage to turn and were joined by a tie-rod and rack and pinion steering which made the carriage much more stable. The system was patented in 1818 and was known as the Ackermann linkage. The inventor of this design was a successful doctor and polymath, a composer of poems and a pioneer in both the anti-slavery and feminist movements. His name was Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, the pioneer of evolution.
Another story I found interesting was about London and New York in the 1890s. At the time tradesmen moved their goods and services around on carts and wagons pulled by horses. Aristocrats also had private stables behind their town homes including carriage houses. In 1890s London had over 300,000 horses for transport alone and New York had around 500,000. This created an obvious problem. In 1894, the Times of London wrote, “In 50 years, every street in London will be buried under nine feet of manure.” This became known as “The Great Horse Manure Crisis.” Fortunately, this didn’t happen, because withing 20 years, human and motor powered vehicles were developed.
This is not a must read for me but perhaps physics majors might enjoy it.
I did enjoy the story of the development of four wheeled carriages. Originally all four wheels were fixed on an axel and carriages were prone to tipping on poor roads. Later a steering system was designed which allowed the front wheels of the carriage to turn and were joined by a tie-rod and rack and pinion steering which made the carriage much more stable. The system was patented in 1818 and was known as the Ackermann linkage. The inventor of this design was a successful doctor and polymath, a composer of poems and a pioneer in both the anti-slavery and feminist movements. His name was Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, the pioneer of evolution.
Another story I found interesting was about London and New York in the 1890s. At the time tradesmen moved their goods and services around on carts and wagons pulled by horses. Aristocrats also had private stables behind their town homes including carriage houses. In 1890s London had over 300,000 horses for transport alone and New York had around 500,000. This created an obvious problem. In 1894, the Times of London wrote, “In 50 years, every street in London will be buried under nine feet of manure.” This became known as “The Great Horse Manure Crisis.” Fortunately, this didn’t happen, because withing 20 years, human and motor powered vehicles were developed.
This is not a must read for me but perhaps physics majors might enjoy it.
June 26, 2023
Thank you to Goodreads and Scribner for the advance readers copy of The Science of Spin: How Rotational Forces affect Everything from your Body to Jet Engines. The book is an overview of how rotation (spin) is used in a variety of items that impact humans' everyday life. The author does a great job at reaching the reading public with a complex topic using lay terms. However, while appealing, this also left me with the belief that the information presented was either overly simplified or missing much more than presented.
The first part focused on explaining how rotation works on the world, specifically focusing on planet Earth. I was a bit disappointed with the spin in technology chapter, specifically the bit about using drop spindles/creating yarn. This section starts by referencing the incomplete/inaccurate assumptions of the past regarding "women's work," but then only spends approximately 2 pages on using a drop spindle. In some sudden shift, the drop spindle becomes a child's toy, the YoYo. The last half of the book focused on spin related to the human body and sports, which was interesting.
The first part focused on explaining how rotation works on the world, specifically focusing on planet Earth. I was a bit disappointed with the spin in technology chapter, specifically the bit about using drop spindles/creating yarn. This section starts by referencing the incomplete/inaccurate assumptions of the past regarding "women's work," but then only spends approximately 2 pages on using a drop spindle. In some sudden shift, the drop spindle becomes a child's toy, the YoYo. The last half of the book focused on spin related to the human body and sports, which was interesting.
May 30, 2023
An interesting read focused on an unexpected physics subject. The title might've been Rotation rather than Spin, since the last half of the book is about human athletics, which mostly involve incomplete rotations, but let's write that off as the editor putting his own spin on things (sorry).
I enjoyed the first half, which talked about the subject on large and small scales - atoms, the universe, and a few things in-between. The latter half, as I said, was about human applications, and that is not a subject I follow. While that content was interesting, the application is hit or miss for me, depending on whether he was talking about the development of better tools and weapons (interesting) or the sports (not).
I enjoyed it overall, I learned a few things I didn't know or had forgotten, and I'm glad I read it. You don't need to be a science geek to enjoy it, as there is no math involved. Worth a look if you're so inclined
I enjoyed the first half, which talked about the subject on large and small scales - atoms, the universe, and a few things in-between. The latter half, as I said, was about human applications, and that is not a subject I follow. While that content was interesting, the application is hit or miss for me, depending on whether he was talking about the development of better tools and weapons (interesting) or the sports (not).
I enjoyed it overall, I learned a few things I didn't know or had forgotten, and I'm glad I read it. You don't need to be a science geek to enjoy it, as there is no math involved. Worth a look if you're so inclined
August 20, 2023
I mostly listened to this book because it was available and i had run out of things to listen to on the libby app. This is a purely "educate you" book and it does a good job by going from the very big (cosmos level big) to the fairly small (humans kinesiology). The book starts from how the universe likely began, cosmos level stuff, how stars are formed and black holes, and how the known universe is in motion in spins, to historical uses of spin in the expected (wheels & windmills) to the unexpected (sawmills are really just a variation of spins, but i never thought about it that way).
In every chapter, you're going to learn something new about why this base motion of spin is probably one of the most important forces in both little things like our human mobility (walking is basically controlled falling), and gigantic forces. You'll learn facts like "ancient folks would never use logs to roll a boat across two different rivers because the act of moving logs from the end of the boat to the head of the boat is basically impossible for any long amount of time, in fact, they probably mostly use sleds to drag the boats across any large amount of land" and how many different ways there are of using a wheel to propel a boat (under water, over water, in between water, and the pros & cons of each).
For the chapters where you already know the mechanics, its probably boring, but for the stuff you never knew, its stuff that'll stick to your head.
There's no grand treatsie about how spin will save your life or kickstart some other industry, you read this book for the love of just getting knowledge about something that's fairly intuitive, but you might not have known for sure how it worked.
Recommended becuase its relatively short and sweet.
In every chapter, you're going to learn something new about why this base motion of spin is probably one of the most important forces in both little things like our human mobility (walking is basically controlled falling), and gigantic forces. You'll learn facts like "ancient folks would never use logs to roll a boat across two different rivers because the act of moving logs from the end of the boat to the head of the boat is basically impossible for any long amount of time, in fact, they probably mostly use sleds to drag the boats across any large amount of land" and how many different ways there are of using a wheel to propel a boat (under water, over water, in between water, and the pros & cons of each).
For the chapters where you already know the mechanics, its probably boring, but for the stuff you never knew, its stuff that'll stick to your head.
There's no grand treatsie about how spin will save your life or kickstart some other industry, you read this book for the love of just getting knowledge about something that's fairly intuitive, but you might not have known for sure how it worked.
Recommended becuase its relatively short and sweet.
October 23, 2024
This book aims to deliver a holistic understanding of how spin brings function to our world. From energy, to weather, to the human body, the physics of spin are a natural part of the efficiencies we have come to normalize.
I appreciated the history moments that Ennos shared about (the history of the wheel for example). There are some great insights discovered from this.
It felt like this text targeted someone in between a lay person and a hobby physicist. At some points I was over my head in terminology, and in other moments it was alive and accessible. I like reading something that will challenge me, and I was able to retain and share new discoveries from this book.
I appreciated the history moments that Ennos shared about (the history of the wheel for example). There are some great insights discovered from this.
It felt like this text targeted someone in between a lay person and a hobby physicist. At some points I was over my head in terminology, and in other moments it was alive and accessible. I like reading something that will challenge me, and I was able to retain and share new discoveries from this book.
June 19, 2023
This book did an excellent job of explaining complicated physics in a way that almost anyone can understand. If you hated physics in high school or college, don't worry, this book won't bring back memories of struggling through assignments or lectures. I had never previously considered the effect of spin on the earth, other than superficially. It really was a fascinating read and the diagrams helped immensely at visualizing the concepts discussed in each chapter.
I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway, all opinions are my own.
I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway, all opinions are my own.
July 7, 2023
There were some things I really loved about this book. The anecdotes are great and I thought that Dr. Ennis gave great histories of the study or application of spin. I also loved how every chapter started, with a meaningful story or application. However, I didn’t think that the science was adequately explained for a popular science book. Since there is a lot of science in the book, this had a major impact on the rating I gave the book. Thank you to Edelweiss and Scribner for the digital review copy.
September 1, 2023
I will give a final rating when I finish, but when an author of the science of spin mistakes revolution for rotation, one has to be wary. I'll stick with it for now.
I am glad I stayed with this book. I raised my rating from one star to four. There is much to be said for the interesting ways we encounter spin in our lives. I loved hearing out about the biomechanics of waking, running, and throwing.
The only ding I have is Ennos goes out of his way to belittle mathematical descriptions of spin. My impression is he not very good at physics and math.
I am glad I stayed with this book. I raised my rating from one star to four. There is much to be said for the interesting ways we encounter spin in our lives. I loved hearing out about the biomechanics of waking, running, and throwing.
The only ding I have is Ennos goes out of his way to belittle mathematical descriptions of spin. My impression is he not very good at physics and math.
June 14, 2023
Fun read bit complicated but that's because I don't follow math well
July 30, 2024
Ennos helps simplify the complex physics of spin and rotation. A fun book, especially the section on body mechanics.
November 10, 2023
I liked how each chapter got you pretty familiar with how something worked, like a pump. Definitely a curiosity read and personally enjoyed the broad examples.
August 18, 2023
The concept of "spin," and a book about things that spin, is fresh and fascinating. Very much look forward to delving into this book. Thank you!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews