About this item
Highlights
- The New York Times bestselling author of Stuff Matters presents a rollicking guided tour of the secret lives of gases: the magnificent, strange, and fascinating substances that shape our world.Gases are all around us--they fill our lungs, power our movement, create stars, and warm our atmosphere.
- Author(s): Mark Miodownik
- 304 Pages
- Science, Applied Sciences
Description
About the Book
"[A] rollicking guided tour of the secret lives of gases: the magnificent, strange, and fascinating substances that shape our world. Gases are all around us -- they fill our lungs, power our movement, create stars, and warm our atmosphere. Often invisible and sometimes odorless, these ubiquitous substances are also the least understood materials in our world, and always have been. It wasn't long ago that gases were seen as the work of ancient spirits: the sudden closing of a door after a change in airflow signaled a ghost's presence. Scientists and engineers have struggled with their own gaseous demons. The development of high-pressure steam power in the eighteenth century literally blew away some researchers, ushering in a new era for both safety regulations and mass transit. And carbon dioxide, that noxious by-product of fossil fuel consumption and cow burps, gave rise to modern civilization. Its warming properties known for centuries, it now spells ruin for our fragile atmosphere. In It's a Gas, bestselling materials scientist Mark Miodownik chronicles twelve gases and technologies that shaped human history. From hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and neon to laughing gas, steam, and even wind, the story of gases is the story of the space where science and belief collide, and of the elusive limits of human understanding"--Book Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling author of Stuff Matters presents a rollicking guided tour of the secret lives of gases: the magnificent, strange, and fascinating substances that shape our world.
Gases are all around us--they fill our lungs, power our movement, create stars, and warm our atmosphere. Often invisible and sometimes odorless, these ubiquitous substances are also the least understood materials in our world, and always have been.
It wasn't long ago that gases were seen as the work of ancient spirits: the sudden closing of a door after a change in airflow signaled a ghost's presence. Scientists and engineers have struggled with their own gaseous demons. The development of high-pressure steam power in the eighteenth century literally blew away some researchers, ushering in a new era for both safety regulations and mass transit. And carbon dioxide, that noxious by-product of fossil fuel consumption, gave rise to modern civilization. Its warming properties known for centuries, it now spells ruin for our fragile atmosphere.
In It's a Gas, bestselling materials scientist Mark Miodownik chronicles twelve gases and technologies that shaped human history. From hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and neon to laughing gas, steam, and even wind, the story of gases is the story of the space where science and belief collide, and of the elusive limits of human understanding.
Review Quotes
Praise for IT'S A GAS and Mark Miodownik:
"A science writer and materials scientist takes readers on a lively journey . . . from the proliferation of steam power in the 1700s to our changing relationship with carbon dioxide." -- New York Times Book Review
"Miodownik fizzes with enthusiasm. . .a compelling read." -- Financial Times
"It's not just a gas, it's a blast. A brilliant, bracing journey though the past, present and future of the invisible stuff you can't see, but is everywhere. Read this book and you'll never see, smell or inhale the world quite the same again." -- Ed Conway, author of Material World
"Captivating. . . Miodownik combines a specialist's erudition with a generalist's broad scope, producing an expansive inquiry that bounds from human history to natural science and climate research without missing a beat. It's an exemplary work of pop science." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[Miodownik] never lets hard science get in the way of an engrossing narrative, but neither does he scrimp on substance. It would be hard to imagine a more comprehensive guide to gases for the lay reader, or one that made their crucial, interactive role in Earth's history more apparent. Miodownik blends top-drawer expertise with a sprightly style that commands the reader's attention first word to last." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Miodownik's breezy commentary, delivered in an appealing and conversational tone, is certain to elevate our appreciation for the gaseous sphere." -- Booklist
"A witty, smart writer who has a great talent for imparting his love for the subject." -- Bill Gates on Stuff Matters
"Miodownik writes with such knowledge, such enthusiasm, such a palpable love for his subject." -- Oliver Sacks on Stuff Matters
"An exhilarating journey through the invisible wonders that shape our world. With seamless storytelling and scientific flair, Mark unveils the captivating personalities of gases that fizz, pop, numb, smell, warm, and soar, illuminating the extraordinary role they play in our lives."
-- Roger Highfield, author of Virtual You
"Mark Miodownik is an exceptionally talented scientist, writer and communicator, and in this book he brings the invisible world of gas to vivid, visible life."
-- Sophie Scott, author of The Brain: 10 Things You Should Know