The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics is a 2600-page tome of random facts and figures, from the speed of sound in various media to the chemical composition of the human body.
My sixth-grade teacher’s copy was one of the most fascinating objects of my childhood, and it still makes me giggle with delight.
To give a taste of what the book is like, here’s an abridged version of section 15-39 “Density of various solids”. The idea that someone would need a handy reference for the density of cardboard, sandstone, butter, and thirty-eight different kinds of wood is hilarious — but they must be the most interesting person in the world!
| Material | Density |
|---|---|
| Amber | 1.06–1.11 |
| Asbestos | 2.0–2.8 |
| Asphalt | 1.1–1.5 |
| Beeswax | 0.96–0.97 |
| Bone | 1.7–2.0 |
| Brick | 1.4–2.2 |
| Butter | 0.86–0.87 |
| Cardboard | 0.69 |
| Chalk | 1.9–2.8 |
| Charcoal, oak | 0.57 |
| Charcoal, pine | 0.28–0.44 |
| Clay | 1.8–2.6 |
| Cork | 0.22–0.26 |
| Diamond | 3.51 |
| Gelatin | 1.27 |
| Glass | 2.4–2.8 |
| Granite | 2.64–2.76 |
| Ice | 0.917 |
| Iron, cast | 7.0–7.4 |
| Limestone | 2.68–2.76 |
| Paper | 0.7–1.15 |
| Polyethylene | 0.92–0.97 |
| Porcelain | 2.3–2.5 |
| Quartz | 2.65 |
| Rubber, hard | 1.19 |
| Sandstone | 2.14–2.36 |
| Sugar | 1.59 |
| Wood, balsa | 0.11–0.14 |
| Wood, bamboo | 0.31–0.40 |
| Wood, cedar | 0.49–0.57 |
| Wood, mahogany | 0.66–0.85 |
| Wood, oak | 0.60–0.90 |