Stuff Matters - Softcover

Miodownik, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0670920533 ISBN 13: 9780670920532

Publisher: Viking, 2013

Synopsis

* * * Winner of the 2014 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books * * * Stuff Matters by Mark Miodnownik is a unique and inspiring exploration of human creativity. 'Enthralling. A mission to re-acquaint us with the wonders of the fabric that sustains our lives' Guardian Everything is made of something... From the everyday objects in our homes to the most extraordinary new materials that will shape our future, Stuff Matters reveals the inner workings of the man-made world, the miracles of craft, design, engineering and ingenuity that surround us every day. From the tea-cup to the jet engine, the silicon chip to the paper clip, from the ancient technologies of fabrics and ceramic to today's self-healing metals and bionic implants, this is a book to inspire amazement and delight at mankind's creativity. 'A certain sort of madness may be necessary to pull off what he has attempted here, which is a wholesale animation of the inanimate: Miodownik achieves precisely what he sets out to' The Times 'Insightful, fascinating. The futuristic materials will elicit gasps. Makes even the most everyday substance seem exciting' Sunday Times 'Wonderful. Miodownik writes well enough to make even concrete sparkle' Financial Times 'I stayed up all night reading this book' Oliver Sacks 'Expert, deftly written, immensely enjoyable' Observer Mark Miodownik is Professor of Materials and Society at UCL, scientist-in-residence on Dara O Briain's Science Club (BBC2) and presenter of several documentaries, including The Genius of Invention (BBC2). In 2010, he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, broadcast on BBC4. He is Director of the UCL Institute of Making, which is home to a materials library containing some of the most wondrous matter on earth, and has collaborated to make interactive events with many museums, such as Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery and Wellcome Collection. In 2014 Stuff Matters won the Royal Society Winton Prize.

About this title

About the Author:

Mark Miodownik is Professor of Materials and Society at UCL, scientist-in-residence on Dara O Briain's Science Club (BBC2) and presenter of several documentaries, including The Genius of Invention (BBC2). In 2010, he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, broadcast on BBC4. He is Director of the UCL Institute of Making, which is home to a materials library containing some of the most wondrous matter on earth, and has collaborated to make interactive events with many museums, such as Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery and Wellcome Collection.

Review:

Utterly captivating. Every piece of 'stuff' we take for granted in our daily lives has a rich story to tell. A real delight -- Jim Al-Khalili, author of Paradox Wonderful. Miodownik writes well enough to make even concrete sparkle Financial Times Insightful, fascinating. The futuristic materials will elicit gasps. Makes even the most everyday substance seem exciting Sunday Times Enthralling ... a mission to re-acquaint us with the wonders of the fabric that sustains our lives Guardian Expert, deftly written, immensely enjoyable Observer A certain sort of madness may be necessary to pull of what he has attempted here, which is a wholesale animation of the inanimate: Miodownik achieves precisely what he sets out to The Times The Master of Materials strikes again. Professor Miodownik has a gift for exciting us with his unique combination of the science and the sensuality of the stuff that the world around is made from -- Thomas Heatherwick, designer of the Olympic Flame Written with such informed and infectious zeal ... Stuff Matters doesn't just reveal the hidden and amazing structures behind much of what our world is made of, it tells the hidden and fascinating stories too -- Quentin Cooper, BBC Radio 4 Stuff Matters has reminded me that historians can spend too much time looking at what people have said and written, and not enough on the materials with which we have built modern society. I now understand why epochs in human history are defined by the stuff we have used -- Dan Snow An ode to material science. Miodownik delves into the molecules and history of metal, paper, concrete and chocolate, finding poetry and beauty in the details. It's also about the ingenuity of humankind, the unique ability of humans to understand the materials around us, and to manipulate them -- Alice Roberts

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0670920533
• ISBN 13: 9780670920532
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352