Theo Grays Mad Science Experiments You Can Do at Home But Probably Shouldnt

"What a magnificent book. It's gorgeous, playful, and draws you in." --Adam Savage, cohost of Mythbusters

 "Theodore Gray...has attained a level of near superhuman geekery that the rest of us can only mutely admire." --Cecil Adams, "TheStraight Dope"

 "Gray's encyclopedic knowledge and contagious enthusiasm transport us to deep intellectual realms while never sacrificing a sense of wonder and, above all, fun." --Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings, Musicophilia, and Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood

In Mad Science, Theodore Gray launches a toy rocket using the energy released from an Oreo cookie, ignites a phosphorus sun by suspending half a gram of white phosphorus in a globe filled with pure oxygen and creates a homemade hot tub by adding 500 pounds of quicklime to water. These are just a few of the 54 experiments included in this astonishing book that demonstrates essential scientific principles in ways you were likely never exposed to in school.

Every experiment in Mad Science is accompanied by full-color photographs that provide a front-row seat to rarely seen chemical reactions and glorious subatomic activity. To further enhance the hands-on experience, Gray includes step-by-step instructions for nearly every experiment. Following all of the safety guidelines, readers can even re-create some of the experiments in the book.

Mad Science is the perfect book for anyone fascinated by all things chemical, electrical, or explosive, and who loves a vicarious thrill.

"This is a fabulous book, and a real education, too - a beautiful introduction to hands-on chemistry. Theo Gray brings us dozens of experiments in minute, clear, and loving detail, and each one becomes a door onto the marvels of how chemicals react. Whether he is showing us how to make table salt from its violent elements, or, in a quieter vein, to make one's own nylon thread or "lead" pencils, Gray's encyclopedic knowledge and contagious enthusiasm transport us to deep intellectual realms, while never sacrificing a sense of wonder and, above all, fun."

--Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings, Musicophillia, Uncle Tungsten, and many others Oliver Sacks

--Stephen Wolfram, creator of Mathematica® and author of A New Kind of Science

Stephen Wolfram

"What a magnificent book. It's gorgeous, playful, and draws you in. Every single photo shows not only a deep love of science in the abstract, but also a tinkerer's love of the STUFF of science; the tools and glass, the clay and metal, and all the things that make science accessible to everyone."

--Adam Savage, star of MythBusters Adam Savage

What good is this Nobel Prize around my neck if it doesn't produce admiration for science writers such as Theo Gray, whose skillful work helps convert young students into serious researchers."

--Leon Lederman, winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics Leon Lederman

"Theo's MAD SCIENCE is destined to inspire and spark the imaginations of the next generation of makers, tinkerers, engineers and mad scientists!"

--Phillip Torrone, Senior Editor of Make magazine Phillip Torrone

"Theodore Gray has attained a level of near superhuman geekery that the rest of us can only mutely admire."

--Cecil Adams, The Straight Dope Cecil Adams

In Mad Science, Theodore Gray launches a toy rocket using the energy released from an Oreo cookie, ignites a phosphorus sun by suspending half a gram of white phosphorus in a globe filled with pure oxygen and creates a homemade hot tub by adding 500 pounds of quicklime to water. These are just a few of the 54 experiments included in this astonishing book that demonstrates essential scientific principles in ways you were likely never exposed to in school.

Every experiment in Mad Science is accompanied by full-color photographs that provide a front-row seat to rarely seen chemical reactions and glorious subatomic activity. To further enhance the hands-on experience, Gray includes step-by-step instructions for nearly every experiment. Following all of the safety guidelines, readers can even re-create some of the experiments in the book.

Mad Science is the perfect book for anyone fascinated by all things chemical, electrical, or explosive, and who loves a vicarious thrill.

Culled from his column Gray Matter, which has been a favorite of Popular Science readers for years, these experiments have been expanded to include even more of the fascinating science behind them, as well as hundreds of additional images. Every experiment is accompanied by stunning full-color photographs that provide a front-row seat to split-second chemical reactions and glorious subatomic activity.

Gray's writing is fresh, hip, and makes the science exciting and easy to understand. Not only are the experiments visually arresting, each one explains a fascinating principle of elemental science in a unique and irresistibly compelling way.

Mad Science is the perfect book for anyone-of any age, who is fascinated by all things electrical, chemical, or explosive, and who loves a vicarious thrill.

Theodore Gray is the author of The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe; Theo Gray's Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do At Home, But Probably Shouldn't; Mad Science 2: Experiments You Can Do At Home, But Still Probably Shouldn't; and Popular Science magazine's "Gray Matter" column. With his company Touch Press, Gray is the developer of best-selling iPad and iPhone apps, including The Elements, Solar System, Disney Animated, The Orchestra, The Waste Land, and Skulls by Simon Winchester. He lives in Urbana, Illinois.

Theodore Gray is the author of the bestselling book The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe and Theo Gray's Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do At Home, But Probably Shouldn't. He is the author of Popular Science magazine's monthly column, "Gray Matter" and the proprietor of periodictable.com. He is also cofounder of Touch Press, an ebook company that is defining the future of publishing, and the cofounder of Wolfram Research, creators of the world's leading technical software system, Mathematica© and Wolfram ? Alpha™. He lives in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.