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

Mark Miodownik

Feb 2019 · HarperCollins

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Sometimes explosive, often delicious, occasionally poisonous, and always fascinating: the New York Times bestselling author of Stuff Matters offers an "entertaining discussion of the various ways our lives are enriched by fluids” (The Wall Street Journal). We know that we need water to survive, and that, for some of us, a cup of coffee or a glass of wine can feel just as vital. But do we really understand how much we rely on liquids, or their destructive power? Set on one of the author's transatlantic flights, Liquid Rules offers readers a tour of these formless substances, told through the language of molecules, droplets, heartbeats, and ocean waves. We encounter fluids within the plane—from hand soap to liquid crystal display screens—and without: in the volcanoes of Iceland, the frozen expanse of Greenland, and the marvelous California coastline. We come to see liquids with wonder and fascination, and to understand their potential for death and destruction. Just as in his bestselling, award-winning Stuff Matters, Mark Miodownik’s unique brand of scientific storytelling brings his subject to life in ways that will inform and amuse science buffs and lay readers alike.

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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 National Academy of Sciences Communication Award for Books and the Royal Society Winton Prize. Mark writes regularly for the Guardian, hosts regular shows on the BBC, and was chosen as by the Times as one of the one hundred most influential scientists in the UK.