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

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 construction. Concrete has been with us from Roman times but was forgotten for millennia and was rediscovered only recently. The physics of the material are described and the properties of reinforced steel are detailed. The author moves on to a totally different kind of item, chocolate. He discusses the history and the properties and the reader is left with a newfound appreciation for chocolate making. The next subject tackled is foam. This topic takes the reader on a slightly less immediately observable material but is a fascinating tale. The reader is introduced to a material called aerogel which sounds remarkable. The author then moves in to plastic and discusses it through the story of the inventor of plastic, it is really interesting and plastic was first being focused on commercially to fill the supply demand imbalance for billiard balls. The author then discusses glass. We are shown how it is made and where it comes from. We are introduced to both modern and ancient glassmaking and the material properties of glass. The author also talks about carbon and discusses how graphite and diamond are the same material. He discusses the crystal and molecular structure of carbon atoms and how they can form together in different structures. The author discusses pottery and introduces the reader to both clay and basic pottery but extends the discussion to modern porcelain and ceramics. The author ends the topics with a story of how he broke his leg and some aspects of materials in modern medicine. He discusses plaster and how it is a simple yet incredibly important material that has changed the nature of life and death injuries for math. He also discusses teeth and organs in reference to the 6 million dollar man to discuss what we can rebuild using todays technology. Stuff Matters introduces the reader to the basic properties of many of our most important materials used in day to day life. It does so engagingly and by the end the reader will feel like they understand a little bit more about the materials we use. Definitely recommend the book and the audience is very wide.

Earlier this week, I stabbed myself with an exposed staple hanging under a tabletop, and I didn't even mind. Instead, I took a page from Mark Miodownik thought to myself 'Wow, staples <I>are</I> pretty amazing. That's because I had just read Miodownik's book (of which <a href="http://extratextuals.com/notes-from-stuff-matters/">my notes are here</a>), where he manages to describe the stainless steel that makes a staple with such appreciation that even sharing his experiences of <I>being stabbed</I> sound pretty impressive, on the material's part. So in the week after I read the book, when I received a slight wound from one of these bits of 'stuff', I didn't mind as much. In the book, the author devotes a chapter to each material he considers emblematic of a time, giving each (concrete, steel, plastic, foam, chocolate) a bit of history, a unique story story, and a hint of personality. Each material described made me realize how intimately familiar it is in our lives, and how fortunate we are as a society to have them. Stainless steel forks that don't leave a taste in our mouths. Totally transparent glass that's meant to shatter harmlessly. Chocolate that melts in the mouth. Concrete that provides the solid foundation for each building in our cities. As I read Miodownik's words of appreciation, that appreciation transferred over to me. As he described that laminated safety glass that shatters without jagged edges, I recalled a mirror I had recently received in the mail that arrived in a thousand of these pieces, and how they fell harmlessly out of the box and into my hands. The experience became less annoying, and more fascinating. Perhaps this frame of mind would be beneficial for all of us. As the author says himself; “We may like to think of ourselves as civilized, but that civilization is in large part bestowed by material wealth. Without this stuff, we would quickly be confronted by the same basic struggle for survival that animals are faced with. To some extent, then, what allows us to behave as humans are our clothes, our homes, our cities, our stuff, which we animate through our customs and language…The material world is not just a display of our technology and culture, it is part of us. We invented it, we made it, and in turn it makes us who we are.” That's a good lens through which to view the world.

The author’s dominion on these topics is evident. And his ability to easily explain and convey the complex realities around us is magnificent. Great book for curious people.

Fabulous read, by no means an I a scientist... Far from it, but this book is very interesting, informative and down right important. I teach elementary school and the information in this book is completely helpful and anecdotally relevant in my classroom. Loved it!!! Wish the hardcover was available.

This book is definitely worth the read. The author writes everything with great interest and answers questions that I have personally never asked. He opened my eyes, and made me more interested in asking about the history of materials. Great knowledge of chemistry is not required. This motivated me to revise for chemistry more, if you are a student, you will understand why after reading this book!

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.

„Stuff Matters“ hat mich als Ingenieurwesen-Student total fasziniert, weil es auf spannende und verständliche Weise erzählt, wie verschiedene Materialien unsere Welt prägen. Anders als viele trockene Lehrbücher bringt es die Wissenschaft hinter alltäglichen Stoffen – von Stahl über Papier bis hin zu Kunststoffen – lebendig und anschaulich rüber. Das Buch hat mein Verständnis für Werkstoffe deutlich erweitert und zeigt, wie wichtig Materialwissen für Ingenieure wirklich ist.Besonders gefallen haben mir die vielen Anekdoten und Verknüpfungen zwischen Wissenschaft und Alltag. Es macht den manchmal komplexen Stoff greifbar und motiviert, noch tiefer in die Materialkunde einzusteigen. Für jeden, der als zukünftiger Ingenieur nicht nur rechnen, sondern die Grundlagen der Technik verstehen möchte, bietet das Buch echten Mehrwert.Ich kann „Stuff Matters“ jedem Studenten empfehlen, der mehr über die faszinierende Welt der Materialien erfahren möchte – es macht neugierig und ist wirklich gut geschrieben.