CHECK IT OUT:

For most of us, our study of science consists of high school or college courses. While our formal instruction usually ends there, the influence that science exerts on our daily lives does not. So, where should the scientifically minded turn for information about these forces? Here are a few books at the Newport Beach Public Library that are both fun and informative about the physical world around us.

 Ira Flatow is a veteran NPR science correspondent and host of a popular science radio program. During his 35 years as a journalist, he has interviewed scientists and researchers. In “Present at the Future,” he discusses what these conversations have revealed about global warming, nanotechnology, space travel, stem-cell research and more. Flatow also explains the science behind more mundane matters such as why your shower curtain sticks to you.

 Quirks and Quarks, a popular radio program, has introduced listeners to the world of science for more than 30 years. In “The Quirks and Quarks Guide to Space,” Jim Lebans provides illuminating answers to the 42 essential questions about “life, the universe, and everything,” to borrow Douglas Adams’ famous phrase. Learn how fast we’re moving through space, why stars are blue and whether there is intelligent life elsewhere.

 In “Elephants on Acid,” Alex Boese, creator and curator of www.MuseumofHoaxes.com, has cataloged dozens of scientific oddities from bizarre but actual experiments. The anecdotes range from well-known studies, such as the Stanford Prison Experiment, to amusing, lesser-known endeavors from modern science history. Is it possible to restore life to the dead? Would cockroaches survive a nuclear war? Can people tickle themselves? Boese provides answers to these questions and more.

 “The Simpsons,” the longest-running animated program in prime-time television history, will begin its 20th season this fall. While Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and the other residents of fictional Springfield have become iconic, pop-cultural references, how many of us have considered the science behind the show itself?

In “What’s Science Ever Done for Us,” Paul Halpern does exactly that. Halpern, a physics and math professor at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, looks beyond the make-believe to the real concepts behind various episodes such as whether androids could ever have consciousness, whether time-travel is really possible, and whether genetics can explain why Homer is dimwitted while Lisa is so smart.

 Michael Sims is the author of several nonfiction books, and he has written extensively on science for a number of publications. In “Apollo’s Fire,” he takes the reader on a celestial tour of an ordinary day from dawn until after nightfall. Along the way, he unravels the mysteries of the colors at dawn, the characteristics of shadow, the way light interacts with atmospheric particles, and how the human eye adjusts to darkness. Sims mixes science with mythology and literature. He invokes the Greek tragedians and Gary Cooper (for “High Noon,” appropriately) along with Darwin and Galileo in this delightful narrative.

These are just a few of the specimens that await armchair scientists at the Newport Beach Public Library.

CHECK IT OUT is written by staff of the Newport Beach Public Library. Use your Newport Beach Public Library card to reserve these titles at www.newportbeachlibrary.org or call (949) 717-3800 and press 2.