Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century

By Philip Ball

Book Overview

Made to Measure introduces a general audience to one of today's most exciting areas of scientific research: materials science. Philip Ball describes how scientists are currently inventing thousands of new materials, ranging from synthetic skin, blood, and bone to substances that repair themselves and adapt to their environment, that swell and flex like muscles, that repel any ink or paint, and that capture and store the energy of the Sun. He shows how all this is being accomplished precisely because, for the first time in history, materials are being "made to measure" designed for particular applications, rather than discovered in nature or by haphazard experimentation. Now scientists literally put new materials together on the drawing board in the same way that a blueprint is specified for a house or an electronic circuit. But the designers are working not with skylights and alcoves, not with transistors and capacitors, but with molecules and atoms. This book is written in the same engaging manner as Ball's popular book on chemistry, Designing the Molecular World , and it links insights from chemistry, biology, and physics with those from engineering as it outlines the various areas in which new materials will transform our lives in the twenty-first century. The chapters provide vignettes from a broad range of selected areas of materials science and can be read as separate essays. The subjects include photonic materials, materials for information storage, smart materials, biomaterials, biomedical materials, materials for clean energy, porous materials, diamond and hard materials, new polymers, and surfaces and interfaces.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691027331
• ISBN13: 9780691027333
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Made to enjoy

This is a well done book. Its not a technical book (but good pointers) yet not non-technical popular-mechanics type work. This book describes what science is pretty much all about! Its easy to get bogged down in your own world of work so a book such as this helps get your eyes open to the possibilities of the opportunites that come from hard, hard work. :)This book talks about whats going on at the molecular level of things (my version is 1997). For the non-specialist this book is just great though I suppose if you work in micro-optics or semi/super conductors you might find that research is moving on a bit.things discussed: Optics (photonic material), superconductors, medicine & applications: biomaerials (chapt 4 - my fav), biomedical materials (cool), polymers, smart materials. energy, and more.there is also a rather extensive bibliography so you can look for more info with Google.com(r) or other site.

Fantastic introduction to modern material science

A unique book that presents a comprehensive and modern overview of new materials in both scientific and popular ways at the same time. It is so nicely written that you can read it as a novel. Philip Ball managed to put a truly encyclopedic knowledge in a single book. A "must have" book for every person who is dealing with new materials.

A fantastic overview!

Philip Ball argues for the increasing importance of materials in the future and does so eloquently and clearly. He invites the layman into the complexities of material science and sparks great interest in this field without burdening the audience with superfluous technical detail. This is a must-read for those curious about the future of engineering as a whole!

The 'Iliad' of introductory materials science texts!

In this timely, overdue contribution to the literature, Ball offers a lucid, balanced, comprehensive, and up-to-date perspective of a field in constant fluidity and evolution. This feat alone causes a stir but his enthusiastic and intelligent delivery, utter groundswell. I recommend this book to everyone!

Excellent overview of vast topic-materials for 21st century

This is a very delightful book. The author is excellent at covering technical details in a charming recounting of the evolutiion of ideas and his depth of knowledge is impressive. This was a labor of love and it shows in all the details. There are many pictures and graphics that compliment the text and these help to keep the reader pushing for more. It is a comprehensive yet story-like overview.Makes you feel well informed enough to consider designing smarter materials yourself........