Stuff matters

Throughout our history, we have transformed the raw produce of the earth into materials that satisfy our needs and desires - fibres for clothes, metals for tools, ceramics for storage, paper for communication - inventions that have in turn transformed the world. In the twenty-first century, we now inhabit a man-made environment of such astonishing ubiquity, variety and sophistication that it rivals, and in many instances seems to defy, nature itself. From the towering skyscrapers of our cities to the most ordinary objects in our homes, from the tea-cup to the jet engine, the silicon chip to the paper clip, the plastic in our appliances to the elastic in our underpants, world-leading materials scientist Mark Miodownik reveals the wonders of this world, the miracles of engineering and ingenuity that permeate every aspect of our lives. Along the way, he introduces metals that can heal themselves, implants that become living bone, the explosive that made the movie business, materials that might one day save the world - and others that already have. Stuff Matters tells the stories and explains the science behind some of the most fascinating and important inventions of our species. Through these stories, it tells in turn the story of mankind's deepest fears and obsessions, our hopes and dreams, as well as our greatest triumphs and achievements.