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ABOUT THIS BOOK

PUBLISHER: Penguin Books Ltd

FORMAT: Hardback

ISBN: 9780241977293

RRP: £16.99

PAGES: 272

PUBLICATION DATE:
September 6, 2018

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Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives

Mark A. Miodownik

A series of glasses of transparent liquids is in front of you: but which will quench your thirst and which will kill you? And why? Why does one liquid make us drunk, and another power a jumbo jet?Sometimes dangerous, often delightful, and always fascinating, discover the secret lives of liquids, from one of our best-known scientists.From the bestselling author of Stuff Matters comes a fascinating tour of the world of these surprising or sinister substances – the droplets, heartbeats and ocean waves we encounter day-to-day. Structured around a plane journey which sees encounters with water, wine, and oil, among others, Miodownik shows that liquids are agents of death and destruction as well as substances of wonder and fascination. Just as in Stuff Matters his unique brand of scientific storytelling brings them and their mysterious properties alive in a captivating new way, revealing why liquids flow up a tree but down a hill, why oil is sticky, how waves can travel so far, why things dry, how liquids can be crystals, the future of liquid self-healing roads, and how to make the perfect cup of tea.In Liquid Miodownik unlocks the mysterious properties of the slippery, dark, explosive, delicious, and poisonous liquids that Airport Security are rightly worried about and that we have come to rely on.

Reviews of Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives

Enthralling . . . A mission to re-acquaint us with the wonders of the fabric that sustains our lives * Guardian on Stuff Matters * Insightful, fascinating. The futuristic materials will elicit gasps. Makes even the most everyday substance seem exciting * Sunday Times on Stuff Matters *

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Mark A. Miodownik

A Financial Times Master of Science and chosen by The Times as one of the 100 most influential scientists in the UK, Mark Miodownik is Professor of Materials and Society at University College London, where he is also Director of the Institute of Making. He is the author of the book Stuff Matters, a New York Times bestseller which won the Royal Society Winton Prize. Mark also was the recipient of the prestigious Michael Faraday Prize for his expertise in science communication. He presents BBC TV programmes on science and engineering such as Everyday Miracles, How It Works, Dara O’Brien’s Science Club, and Chefs vs Science and recently made the first BBC documentary to be filmed entirely on smartphones. He writes regularly for the Guardian and Observer.