‘A lively, intelligent and persuasive history of speech...Expertly and patiently explained’ The TimesWhy are human beings the only animals that can speak? And why does it matter?If you’ve ever felt the shock of listening to a recording of your own voice, you realise how important your voice is to your personal identity. We judge others – and whether we trust them – not just by their words but by the way they talk: their intonation,...

Hove, west of its immediate neighbour Brighton, was a small fishing village on the Sussex coast until its development in the early nineteenth century as a fashionable seaside resort for wealthy Londoners following the patronage of the prince regent, later George IV. Elegant Regency estates and large Victorian mansions were built in Hove, most of which survive today, albeit as flats, and the town is also characterised by the wide boulevards and avenues laid down in that era. Sussex Cricket ...

This definitive guide covers the design and application of absorbers and diffusers in acoustics. Surface diffusion is a relatively young subject area, and diffuser design, application and characterisation are often not well understood. Although there is greater knowledge of absorption, it is also informed by new research. As two of the main design tools for altering the acoustic conditions of rooms, the correct use of absorbers and diffusers is important to the creation of quality acoustic...

As an acoustic engineer, Trevor Cox has spent his career eradicating unwanted noises – echoes in concert halls, clamour in classrooms. Until the day he heard something so astonishing that he had an epiphany: rather than quashing rare or bizarre sounds, we should be celebrating these sonic treasures.This is the story of his investigation into the mysteries of these Sonic Wonders of the World. In the Mojave Desert he finds sand dunes that sing. In France he discovers an echo that tel...

This book has been produced for children's entertainment, and the sole purpose is to bring educational information and interesting facts, in a very fun way, through your eBook reader!The quiz questions have been compiled specifically with children in mind. This eBook is easy to navigate around as there are links to all of the questions and answers rounds. It has been purposely formatted for kids to easily understand.A whole host of educational subjects and topics have been ...

Map UseWith a topographic map in front of you and the basic information in this booklet to augment it you may get more out of using the map.Written by Mors Kochanski

A deeply panoramic tour of the night, from its brightest spots to the darkest skies we have left.A starry night is one of nature's most magical wonders. Yet in our artificially lit world, three-quarters of Americans' eyes never switch to night vision and most of us no longer experience true darkness. In The End of Night, Paul Bogard restores our awareness of the spectacularly primal, wildly dark night sky and how it has influenced the human experience acros...

The soundscape--a term coined by the author--is our sonic environment, the ever-present array of noises with which we all live. Beginning with the primordial sounds of nature, we have experienced an ever-increasing complexity of our sonic surroundings. As civilization develops, new noises rise up around us: from the creaking wheel, the clang of the blacksmith’s hammer, and the distant chugging of steam trains to the “sound imperialism” of airports, city streets, and factories. The author c...

Every culture on Earth has music. Every culture that's ever existed has had it, but we don't exactly know why. Music is not like food, shelter, or having opposable thumbs. We don't need it to live, and yet we can't seem to live without it. Glenn Dixon travels the globe exploring how and why people make music. From a tour of Bob Marley's house to sitar lessons in India, he experiences music around the world and infuses the stories with the latest in brain research, genetics, and evolutionar...

You see it every night in the night sky, but how much do you really know about the moon? Here are some things you may not know.Do you know:What one thing is different about our moon from every other moon we have found?What kind of atmosphere is there on the moon?How many sides of the moon do we see?What happened to the footprints of the astronauts that stood on the moon?Find out in this book, and surprise and amaze your friends with these fun fact...

One bright February afternoon on a beach in Cornwall, GavinPretor-Pinney took a break from cloudspotting and started watching thewaves rolling into shore. Mesmerised, he wondered where they had comefrom, and decided to find out. He soon realised that waves don't justappear on the ocean, they are everywhere around us, and our livesdepend on them.From the rippling beats of our hearts, to the movement of food throughour digestive tracts and of...

The Secret Museum is a unique treasure trove of the most intriguing artifacts hidden away in museum archives from all over the world – curated, brought to light, and brought to life by Molly Oldfield in a beautifully illustrated collection.Who knows what’s hidden from view? Locked away in cabinets, secure storage and aircraft hangars.Most of a museum’s collection never gets seen. It sits in the quiet dark of an archive waiting for a treasure hunter or obsessive researcher t...