Mark Miodownik

A world-leading materials scientist presents an engrossing collection of stories that explain the science and history of materials, from the plastic in our appliances to the elastic in our underpants, revealing the miracles of engineering that seep into our everyday lives. 25,000 first printing.

Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World

Stuff Matters

Igor

Libraries are now actively researching the chemistry of book smell to see if they can use it to help them monitor and preserve large collections of books. Although it is a smell of decay, to many it is nevertheless perceived to be a pleasant one.

the advantage of the codex, with its individual pages, is that many scribes could work on the same book at the same time, and after the invention of the printing press many copies of the same book could be created at the same time. As biology had already discovered, the speedy copying of information is the most effective way of preserving it.

Alawander Bouston 

This is essentially why gold is still valuable in the twenty-first century. If gathered together, all the gold ever mined would fit inside a large town house.

Pratik M

A wonderful look into the history and use of modern materials that has shaped human civilization. Miodownik, a materials sciences & society professor starts by showing us a picture of him relaxing on the roof of his London home and then proceeds to dissect various materials in the picture by its origins, history, and its place in our world. Materials that we take for granted like paper, glass, steel, etc. have complex histories and its manufacture has been perfected over time and still continues to be. 

Ever wonder why we do not taste the metal when you eat food with a stainless steel spoon? Of the ninety-four different types of atoms that naturally exist in our world, only eight make up 98.8 percent of the mass of earth leaving us with limited options to play with yet, as Miodownik shows us, we have managed to come up with nifty inventions. Whoever thought that by varying temperatures of fire we can drastically alter the nature of materials was a genius. The chapter on concrete was especially enlightening for me given my architecture background but it's impact on modern structures in the past hundred years cannot be understated.

It's a very short read at 228 pages and each chapter stands independent of the others. Highly recommend.

Stuff matters is the best introduction to a discipline that changes how you look at all things.

I didn't expect a non-fiction work about material science to be one of the most poetic, beautiful, and impactful books I've read but here we are. The way I look at the world is forever changed, and I couldn't be more grateful for it. The beauty of the material world is endless.

The quote "everything around you is someone's life's work" already took a special place in my mind, this book somehow changed it to me. Now EVERYTHING, down to the details of each scale that composes the "everything" around me, is the work of the life of millions before me. Before reading this book I couldn't even imagine the sheer scale of the causal relationships between advancements in material science and EVERYTHING. 

Stuff matters is the best introduction to a discipline that changes how you look at all things.

I didn't expect a non-fiction work about material science to be one of the most poetic, beautiful, and impactful books I've read but here we are. The way I look at the world is forever changed, and I couldn't be more grateful for it. The beauty of the material world is endless.

The quote "everything around you is someone's life's work" already took a special place in my mind, this book somehow changed it to me. Now EVERYTHING, down to the details of each scale that composes the "everything" around me, is the work of the life of millions before me. Before reading this book I couldn't even imagine the sheer scale of the causal relationships between advancements in material science and EVERYTHING. 

Bouke van der Bijl

This book will make you look at the physical world in a very different way. Our physical lives are enabled by the various materials that make up the things around us, and they are not much appreciated. Every chapter in this book is about a different material, its history and how it affects our day-to-day. You will learn a lot of random interesting facts, but also gain a new appreciation for the things around you. Whole empires were literally built on advancements in the material sciences, and it seems that there are still large leaps to be made in this field.

An eye-opening adventure deep inside the everyday materials that surround us, packed with surprising stories and fascinating science

Jowanza Joseph

Informative and to the point. Recommended to anyone.

Dana Kraft

This book is a mixed bag. The author seems to swing from very little science and lots of commentary (chapter about paper) to lots of science without much commentary (porcelain). I think he got the mix about right in the chapter about plastics. If you read any science news, the last chapter on implants will seem like old news. I learned the most in his final "synthesis" chapter where he clearly explained how differences in scale are where materials science really matters. It's an interesting mental model that has really got me thinking about how it might apply to other things. It's a pretty quick read, so worth it for me.

garima mamgain

What an amazing read.... it made me relook and rethink about everyday materials we just take for granted. The book has been written with simplicity and can be read by anyone irrespective of educational background.
The author makes us wonder about materials such as cement, paper, graphite etc... we interact multiple times with them on daily basis but tend to completely ignore the importance of them. This book made me appreciate the difficulty in making that peice of chocolate, the reason for the percieved value of diamond, cement and the fact that it never actually dries!! 
I strongly recommend reading this one for non fiction lovers.

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 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 material creativity. '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 of 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 'Expert, deftly written, immensely enjoyable.' Observer

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

Nadia

I love what he set out to do, it is such a good idea. I did find however that some chapters (paper, aerogel - which literally sent me to sleep a couple of times - and the last one ‘synthesis’) were not executed in a way that I found interesting. Saying that however there were others that I found amazing. I can’t believe still that one of my favourite chapters was concrete (!!??). I love glass as a material, and I really enjoyed most of the chapter on glass. Also, the chocolate chapter sent me on a literal chocolate frenzy for a couple of days. 

Overall interesting book with interesting ideas, some that I really liked and some that I didn’t.

Stuff Matters Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World

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