- The Way Things Work
::"For the Unknown Instructors album, please refer to "
The Way Things Work (album) "Infobox Book
name = The Way Things Work
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption = Book cover for "The Way Things Work"
author =David Macaulay
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country =United States
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Educational
publisher =Houghton Mifflin
release_date = 1988
media_type =
pages = 400
isbn = ISBN 0395428572
preceded_by =
followed_by ="The Way Things Work" is a book by
David Macaulay . It is intended to serve as an entertaining introduction to everydaymachine s. It covers machines as simple aslever s andgear s and as complicated asradio telescope s andautomatic transmission s. Its most notable feature is its illustrations: every page consists primarily of one or more large diagrams describing the operation of the relevant machine. These diagrams are informative but playful; most feature the internal workings of the machines being operated bywoolly mammoth s. The book's concept was later developed into a short-lived animated TV show (produced by Millimages [http://www.millimages.com/site/tv/prod.php?lang=en&tv_id=6] and distrubuted bySchlessinger Media ), aDorling Kindersley interactive CD-ROM, and aboard game ."The New Way Things Work"
A newer version, "The New Way Things Work", released on October 26, 1998, contains additional text on the workings of microchips.
One edition, published by
Houghton Mifflin , has ISBN 0395428572.Latest edition, published byDorling Kindersley in 2004. ISBN 1405302380.Table of Contents for "The New Way Things Work"
Part One--The Mechanics of Movement
* Introduction
* TheInclined Plane
*Levers
* TheWheel andAxle
*Gears and Belts
* Cams andCranks
*Pulleys
*Screws
* Rotating Wheels
* Springs
*Friction Part Two--Harnessing the Elements
* Introduction
*Floating
* Flying
* Pressure Power
* ExploitingHeat
*Nuclear Power Part Three--Working with Waves
* Introduction
*Light and Images
*Photography
*Printing
*Sound andMusic
*Telecommunications Part Four--Electricity and Automation
* Introduction
*Electricity
*Magnetism
* Sensors and DetectorsPart Five--The Digital Domain
* MakingBinary digits
* Storing Bits
* Processing Bits
* Sending Bits
* Using Bits/Digital Systems
* Epilog"Eureka!"--The Invention of Machines"Technical Terms"
"Index"
Trivia
*At the end of "The New Way Things Work", there is a section called "Eureka!" It explains the history of machines, from the simple invention of the
wedge to very modern invention ofrobot s.
*At the beginning of the chapter The Digital Domain, the mammoth meets the man behind the digital domain, Bill. A line follows that states, "Mammoth cautiously entered Bill's gates," referring toBill Gates . Another such reference is where information arrives in the form of apples: 'Bill considered the apple rather low-tech and a little behind the times,' which refers to the ongoing PC/mac rivalry.
*"The New Way Things Work" has exactly 400 pages, excluding the ones made of construction paper. The last word is "Vladimir".
*The chapter aboutnuclear power is the only chapter that does not have a livemammoth in it (however, there is a nuclear concrete mammoth).
*A family "ride" involvinganimatronics and a3-D film based on the book was one of the original attractions at theSan Francisco Metreon , but closed in2001 .
*The New the Way Things Work removed two pages; one page demonstrated the working of a mechanical coin-operated parking meter.
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