Sensitive Matter: Foams, Gels, Liquid Crystals, and Other Miracles
This book is a delight. With grace, poise and precision, Michel Mitov makes the case that there is as much wonder and challenging science in the behavior of everyday substances—egg white, toothpaste, sand, soap foam—as there is in the most esoteric experiments in particle physics. Sensitive matter could wish for no more sensitive, no more responsive and intelligent, a champion. (Philip Ball, author ofMade to MeasureandMolecules: A Very Short Introduction)An excellent guide to the labyrinthine world of soft matter. (David Quéré)This book shows how Soft Matter matters, in our daily lives and in more esoteric situations. Mitov gives many fascinating examples of the remarkable behaviour exhibited by polymers, colloids, foams and gels and their applications in fields as diverse as molecular gastronomy and liquid crystal displays. A selection of intriguing historical vignettes completes the mixture. This will be eagerly read by those looking for a brief account, without too much technical detail, of everyday soft materials. (Ian Hamley, author ofIntroduction to Soft Matter)A slim, engaging volume that mixes mini lessons on such subjects as thixotropic fluids--think house paint and ballpoint pen ink, both of which flow when someone applies pressure to them but gel when left alone--with anecdotes from the author's adventurous life...Readers come away from the book with a renewed appreciation for the complexity of such everyday substances as champagne, rubber and toothpaste. (Sandra Upson and Anna KuchmentScientific American2012-03-23)Mitov has a light touch, writing like the hip, pop-culture-loving, corduroy-jacket-wearing chemistry teacher that you always wanted but never had. (Aaron LeitkoWashington Post2012-04-10)Champagne bubbles, mayonnaise, rubber, blood and sand are part of the eclectic mix of materials explored in Sensitive Matter...Mitov applies his vivid imagination to explaining how soft materials respond to disturbances...It is a quirky and fun introduction to this practical, complex field. (Rosamund DawNature2012-07-01)