Stuff Matters

The author's fascination with materials science began as a teenager after he was stabbed with a razor blade on a subway platform. He became deeply curious about the physical properties of steel that allowed such a thin, sharp edge to penetrate multiple layers of clothing and skin.

Mark Miodownik has written subsequent books that explore the properties of different states of matter, including Liquid Rules, which focuses on fluids, and It's a Gas, which examines the behavior of gases.