STUFF MATTERS

'The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World' is the sub-title. The author explores the sources, properties and uses of paper, steel, glass and even chocolate among other things from his vast scientific experience. 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 man's material creativity. The futuristic materials will elicit gasps as even everyday substances are made exciting and 'Miodownik writes well enough to make even concrete sparkle' - Financial Times. Technical aspects are interleaved with personal insights which adds to the readability of the book. 'Carbon nanotubes are like miniature carbon fibres except they have no weak van der Waals bonding. They were found to have the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any material on the planet, which meant that potentially they might be strong enough to build a space elevator.' 264 page illustrated Penguin paperback.