Uncovering the Fascinating Materials That Construct Our Man-Made World: An Exploration of Stuff Matters

Half Life: Amateurish drawings distracted.

United States on Jul 13, 2023

Luiz G. M. Lapertosa: Mark Miodownik nos conduz em uma viagem de conhecimento sobre a composição material e o comportamento de objetos do nosso dia-a-dia, como as cerâmicas, concreto, plásticos, elásticos, delícias como o chocolate e surpreendentes novos materiais ainda pouco conhecidos do público em geral; há curiosidades na área da cosmologia e da engenharia que nos possibilitou vivermos a vida moderna, tudo escrito numa linguagem simples e com pitadas de humor. Um valioso livro para os curiosos do mundo que nos cerca e além.

Brazil on Jun 09, 2023

Fraaanz: Ähnlich gut wie sein Buch über Flüssigkeiten des Alltages. Daher sehr leicht und in gut gewählten Abschnitten zu lesen. Wertvoller Bibliotheksbestandteil, gutes Geschenk für interessierte Freunde.

Germany on Sep 28, 2022

Bai: Pop science book by a material science professor, where each chapter talks about some material, their properties, history, etc. The first chapter "indomitable" is about metals: they're as hard as rock but much more malleable so they don't break easily. Humans first figured out how to make copper by heating a rock, then discovered that adding a bit of tin made it a lot harder. The next chapters talk about paper, concrete, chocolate, aerogel, plastic, glass, ceramics, etc. The properties of materials are determined by many levels, from atomic (quantum effects) to microscopic (crystal arrangements), and also dictate things what we can manufacture.

I don't like this book because it doesn't go into depth on any topic, but jumps between topics really quickly. For example, it's never explained how quantum effects affect steel alloys, or how is liquid turned to gas in an aerogel without evaporation. The author clearly knows the science, but only talks about it briefly before moving on to historical or social commentary. The book intends to draw attention to materials that we typically find mundane, but in the end, I feel like I only learned various bits of trivia about different...

Canada on Dec 26, 2019

Jack Harmony: En stuff matters se nos presenta lo "aburrido" de los materiales en maneras increibles. Desde el papel y el chocolate, hasta el acero y el concreto. Nos presenta experiencias personales que le pueden ocurrir a cualquiera, y de igual manera, las increible historías de su creación y su manufactura.
¿Por que he puesto 4 estrellas entonces? Por que no puedo poner 4.5. Este libro contiene en su contenido los capitulos más increibles, y entretenidos que he leido en toda mi vida (Para cualquiera que no lo ha leido, el capitulo del plástico es peculiar en su genialidad) sin embargo, hay otros los cuales me dejaron un poco deseoso de más. Algunos partes suben tus espectativas hasta el cielo, y otros simplemente son un buen capitulo. Así que es una extraña sitación de que el libro no es de 5 estrellas porque es de 6 en algunas partes.

Mexico on Jun 20, 2017

JAY: Stop. Look around you right now. It doesn't matter if you are standing or sitting. You may be in your office, room, local coffee shops, or on a bus or subway. Now, you may bethink yourself of nothing of importance around you. Don't quit just yet. Try again, and have a long look at your surroundings. No sooner do you submit to my admonition than do you realize you are enmeshed by things – simply things: computers, phones, windows, books, clothes, food, metal objects, plastic objects, buildings, mirrors, utensils such as a spoon or fork, and etc. Hardly do we pay any much attention to those things as we live our lives. Of course, they are nothing out of ordinary; we see them every day. They have existed around us and surely will in the foreseeable future.

Nonetheless, can you imagine a life without them? – sleeping on hay or a lump of leaves; cooking with sharp rocks; eating with our own hands; living in a cave; and writing memo by engraving on a stone tablet in the absence of paper. This kind of life style is akin to that of our ancestors back in the Stone Age, approximately 1-2 million years ago. And that is precisely correct. Our lives without what we take for granted...

United States on May 26, 2017

Niklas: One of the great things about this book is that you feel the author's enthusiasm about the subject. In additon, the descriptions are really about essential materials that we typically face everyday (like concrete and paper).

I would argue that this book might change the mindset of some people. It clearly changed mine. We shouldn't take things for granted, especially technological achievements that might seem simple. There is more to everything and people might decide to dive deeper into several scientific-related topics after reading this book. Sometimes it is easier to rely on the big picture without adjusting the scale and zooming in. But in detail there are hidden wonders which with some thought produce joy of a different kind.

Germany on Mar 23, 2016

A. Menon: Stuff Matters gives the reader a glimpse into the engineering and properties of many of the critical materials that we encounter in day to day life. Mark Miodownik is professors of material and society at UCL and introduces the reader gently to his expertise leaving them with a newfound appreciation for physics, engineering and chemistry. The book is highly readable and engaging and gives an excellent introduction to a subject we should all know about.

Stuff Matters picks several materials that are all contained in the surroundings of the author while he drinks coffee on his roof. He starts by discussing steel and the properties of metal. He discusses how we moved from the bronze age to the iron age and what was required to jump to the steel age. The author discusses the atomic structure of metals and how simple metallurgy can fundamentally change the strength of metals due to the crystal structures. The author moves on to paper and where it comes from (plants) and how it is both made and its properties. He discusses different forms of paper including glossy, newspaper, receipt paper and money as well. The author then moves on to concrete and how it enables modern...

United States on Sep 25, 2014