Key insights from
Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World
Audio available
9 minute read
Published Mar 17, 2015
What you'll learn
Mark Miodownik’s keen interest in materials science began when he was stabbed in the back on a train platform in London as teenager. He saw the weapon at the police station and was bewildered that it could gracefully slice through 5 layers of cloth and then his epidermis and dermis. Since then, he has studied everyday materials that hide in plain sight. They not only comprise the modern world in which we live, but shape the culture and values we hold dear.
Key insights
- 1 A steel razor is comprised of billions of opaque, microscopic crystals that get chipped away with every collision with hair.
- 2 Plastic is one of the most maligned and misrepresented materials on the planet.
- 3 Despite technological developments, paper isn’t going anywhere.
- 4 Half of what humans create is made of concrete, and it now comes in self-healing varieties.
- 5 Chocolate is as close as materials science comes to poetry.
- 6 A German alchemist’s discovery of porcelain saved him from execution and broke up China’s monopoly.
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