Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A unique and inspiring exploration of human creativity from one of the UK's best-known scientists A unique and inspiring exploration of human creativity from one of the UK's best-known scientistsEverything 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, and 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.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.

Reviews

Enthralling . . . A mission to re-acquaint us with the wonders of the fabric that sustains our lives * Guardian *
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 *
Expert, deftly written, immensely enjoyable * Observer *
Wonderful. Miodownik writes well enough to make even concrete sparkle * Financial Times *
I stayed up all night reading this book. Miodownik writes with such knowledge, such enthusiasm, such a palpable love for his subject -- Oliver Sacks
Superb storytelling . . . fascinating . . . a delightful book on a subject that is relatively rarely written about * Popular Science *
This is a hugely enjoyable marriage of science and art * Independent on Sunday, 'Books of the Year' *

Author Bio

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.