Kirkus Reviews QR Code
FROM RAINDROPS TO VOLCANOES by Duncan L. Blanchard

FROM RAINDROPS TO VOLCANOES

By

Pub Date: Aug. 11th, 1967
Publisher: Doubleday

It's a truism in science that the simplest questions are the hardest to answer. What makes it rain? Why do waves foam and bubble? Mr. Blanchard, ex-Navy weatherman, now a research scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, presents an enthusiastic account of what is and isn't known about sea surface meteorology. He explains why raindrops are not tearshaped but more like hamburger buns; how water splashing on water creates tiny Jet fountains; and how salt particles get to ride high in the air. He then relates these minute surface studies to the eruption of Surtsey--the volcanic island recently formed off the coast of Ireland (of which he gives a vivid first-hand account). Like many others in the Science Study Series, this is clearly aimed at young readers with do-it-yourself glints in their eyes; some who haven't will find the information fascinating anyhow.