Suspicious Lab of Physics PhD Kim Sang-wook 0: The Birth of Physics Idea (Hardcover)

Author Kim Ha-yeon · Publisher Owlbook · Publication Date 2026-07-22 · ISBN 9791176610858

About the Book

No more difficult physics! Physics made easy.

What comes to mind when you hear the word "physics"? Do you immediately think of complex laws and intricate mathematics that make your head spin? Most people know the equation F=ma, but they don't truly understand its meaning. What about the law of action and reaction, or the second law of thermodynamics? At this point, many might wave their hands and ask why they need to know such things. However, physics is not just about these laws and equations. Physics is in our everyday lives. In fact, everything we experience is physics. As the meaning of the word "physics" (物理) implies, it is the "reason/principle (理)" of "all things (物)" in the world. "Professor Kim Sang-wook's Suspicious Lab of Physics" easily explains physics stories that we encounter every moment, focusing on examples and narratives. "Seeing words written on a blackboard," "jumping and returning to the ground," "salt and sugar having different tastes." Can you believe that physics is hidden in such seemingly simple things? Discover the living and breathing physics around us with this book.

Meet mischievous, living physics.

Physics is invisible. Therefore, it is difficult for children to understand the abstract phrase "physics is alive." To solve this problem and visually show children physics concepts, the setting of physics concepts being alive and acting was used. These actual living physics concepts were given the name "Ideas." These Ideas cause mischief and incidents related to their physics concepts around Professor Kim Sang-wook, Geon-woo, Taeri, and Haena. Through "Professor Kim Sang-wook's Suspicious Lab of Physics" series, children will not only naturally learn each physics concept by experiencing the interesting phenomena caused by the Ideas but also learn how closely each physics concept is related to our lives. Furthermore, by seeing the charming and cute Idea characters that best embody the characteristics of each physics concept, children will be able to approach physics one step closer.

Unleash your pure curiosity with this book.

We encounter science in every moment of our lives. We wake up to the alarm of our cell phones in the morning, eat meals cooked with home appliances, and laugh and cry together while watching TV. However, adults tend to think of science as belonging only to experts and scholars. Even though our lives are closely intertwined with science, science is common sense and culture for us living in the modern age. What about children? Children have pure curiosity. They might try to burn paper with a magnifying glass or float a paper boat in water. And they do this without professional theories or knowledge of convex lenses or buoyancy. Everything starts with curiosity. If we can maintain and develop children's pure curiosity about science, it might not be difficult for science to become common knowledge. I hope that "Professor Kim Sang-wook's Suspicious Lab of Physics" can be a book that awakens children's curiosity about physics and, without stopping there, motivates them to want to learn proper knowledge about physics.

Editor's Note

Understanding physics makes science easy.

Can you believe that we were all scientists in our childhood? If you've ever dug into the ground because you were curious about what was inside, walked endlessly to try and reach the end of a rainbow, or disassembled a toy to see how it worked, then you were a scientist. Perhaps a scientist is someone who has kept and cherished their childhood interests. If so, shouldn't we strive to ensure our children don't lose interest in science?

Among sciences, physics is special. It's no exaggeration to say that the discipline we call science today began with Newton's physics in the 17th century. Roughly speaking, modern science is an activity performed using the language and concepts of physics, with physical methods. This is like calculating atomic structures in chemistry, discussing energy in life sciences, using quantum mechanics in electrical engineering, and applying the theory of relativity in astronomy. This is because physics deals with the most fundamental principles present in all of nature. Therefore, it is difficult to understand science without knowing physics.

If you don't become a scientist, do you not need to know physics? Modern times are an era of science and technology. The significant changes that have occurred over the past 200 years are largely the result of science and technology. This means that we are now living in an age where we cannot survive even a single moment without science and technology. Science is no longer just knowledge for experts but has become common sense and culture for those living in modern times.

Children already know and even love many difficult topics that physics deals with. Examples include black holes, the Big Bang, time machines, teleportation, invisibility cloaks, atomic bombs, and parallel universes, which are frequently featured in sci-fi movies. However, when they encounter textbook physics armed with mathematics, they lose interest. To truly understand physics, one eventually needs to know mathematics, but mathematics is not essential for understanding physics as general knowledge. In fact, for physicists, an intuitive understanding of nature is often more important than rigorous equations. Therefore, I believe it is more important to awaken the curiosity about physics that children already possess and to motivate them to want to learn proper knowledge.

When I received the publishing proposal, I was reminded of my childhood, when I occasionally read science learning comics. I was deeply absorbed in stories about dinosaurs and insects, but I remember stories about physics being boring. I even imagine that if I had found physics stories as entertaining as dinosaurs or insects back then, I might have pursued the dream of becoming a physicist earlier.

While preparing this series, Dr. Kang Shin-cheol and I compiled essential physics concepts, and based on that, writer Kim Ha-yeon created stories that children would truly love. I particularly like the setting where I appear and solve mysteries with the children, and in that process, important physics concepts emerge one by one. Above all, I expect children to be even more immersed thanks to the wonderful and adorable illustrations by artist Jung Soon-gyu. I hope that many children will fall in love with physics after reading this book, which we created with our best efforts.

Physicist Kim Sang-wook


Synopsis

How were the physics Ideas that move the world born?
A special time travel with Professor Kim Sang-wook!

Uncle Kim Sang-wook wakes up two days after retrieving all the Ideas. But the moment of relief is short-lived as Timos, the time Idea, suddenly appears and offers to show them the moment the Ideas were born. Thus begins a special 24-hour time travel. Galileo, Newton, Faraday, Einstein... While traveling through time, Uncle Kim Sang-wook not only witnesses the great discoveries of scientists who changed the world but also experiences the historical moments when physics concepts such as motion and gravity, electricity and magnetism, light, time, and atoms were born... What did the physics Ideas look like when they were born? Uncle Kim Sang-wook and the scientists embark on their most special time travel!


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Table of Contents

About the Author … 2
Editor's Note … 4
Characters … 8
Prologue … 10

Chapter 1. Grumpy but Great … 16
Secret Research Log ① How to Understand Motion and Gravity

Chapter 2. The Bookbinding Boy Who Lights Up the World … 42
Secret Research Log ② Unraveling the Secret of Electricity and Magnetism

Chapter 3. The Man Who Loved Thermometers … 64
Secret Research Log ③ Changes in Thinking Surrounding Heat and Energy

Chapter 4. What Color Does This Look Like to You? … 90
Secret Research Log ④ Light and Sound, a World Connected by Waves

Chapter 5. The Patent Office Worker Who Unraveled the Secret of Time … 110
Secret Research Log ⑤ The Endless Quest to Understand Time

Chapter 6. A Single Sheet of Paper That Bounced Back a Cannonball … 132
Secret Research Log ⑥ A Scientist's Perspective on Atoms

Cookie … 154