Using the modern home as a springboard, Atoms Under the Floorboards presents the fascinating and surprising scientific explanations behind a variety of common (and often entertainingly mundane) household phenomena, from gurgling drains and squeaky floorboards to rubbery custard and shiny shoes.

Packed with facts and fun, each chapter focuses on the objects and processes familiar in everyday life and slowly unpicks the science behind them. For example, the chapter on how buildings work introduces static and dynamic forces in explaining why buildings (and their foundations)...