How to be Brilliant at Materials contains 42 photocopiable worksheets with practical activities to help children acquire knowledge and understanding of the way materials are classified, how they can be changed, and ways of separating them. Topics include: testing for hardness, density, porosity, magnetism, conductivity of heat and electricity, and flexibility; materials used in houses; comparing soils; solids, liquids and gases; mixtures; changing materials; dissolving, filtering and evaporation; the water cycle; energy efficiency.
An eye-opening adventure deep inside the everyday materials that surround us, from concrete and steel to denim and chocolate, packed with surprising stories and fascinating science.
This book contains an excellent overview of the status and highlights of brilliant light facilities and their applications in biology, chemistry, medicine, materials and environmental sciences. Overview papers on diverse fields of research by leading experts are accompanied by the highlights in the near and long-term perspectives of brilliant X-Ray photon beam usage for fundamental and applied research.
How much further should the affluent world push its material consumption? Does relative dematerialization lead to absolute decline in demand for materials? These and many other questions are discussed and answered in Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization. Over the course of time, the modern world has become dependent on unprecedented flows of materials. Now even the most efficient production processes and the highest practical rates of recycling may not be enough to result in dematerialization rates that would be high enough to negate the rising demand for materials generated by continuing population growth and rising standards of living. This book explores the costs of this dependence and the potential for substantial dematerialization of modern economies. Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization considers the principal materials used throughout history, from wood and stone, through to metals, alloys, plastics and silicon, describing their extraction and production as well as their dominant applications. The evolving productivities of material extraction, processing, synthesis, finishing and distribution, and the energy costs and environmental impact of rising material consumption are examined in detail. The book concludes with an outlook for the future, discussing the prospects for dematerialization and potential constrains on materials. This interdisciplinary text provides useful perspectives for readers with backgrounds including resource economics, environmental studies, energy analysis, mineral geology, industrial organization, manufacturing and material science.
This “superb history” of artificial light traces the evolution of society—“invariably fascinating and often original . . . [it] amply lives up to its title” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In Brilliant, Jane Brox explores humankind’s ever-changing relationship to artificial light, from the stone lamps of the Pleistocene to the LEDs embedded in fabrics of the future. More than a survey of technological development, this sweeping history reveals how artificial light changed our world, and how those social and cultural changes in turn led to the pursuit of more ways of spreading, maintaining, and controlling light. Brox plumbs the class implications of light—who had it, who didn’t—through the centuries when crude lamps and tallow candles constricted waking hours. She identifies the pursuit of whale oil as the first time the need for light thrust us toward an environmental tipping point. Only decades later, gas street lights opened up the evening hours to leisure, which changed the ways we live and sleep and the world’s ecosystems. Edison’s bulbs produced a light that seemed to its users all but divorced from human effort or cost. And yet, as Brox’s informative portrait of our current grid system shows, the cost is ever with us. Brilliant is infused with human voices, startling insights, and timely questions about how our future lives will be shaped by light
"The book traces the early history of the self-help genre and the literary depiction of ambition in Victorian British fiction. Stories of hardworking characters who bring themselves out of rags to riches abound in the Victorian era. In chapters featuring the works of novelists, the author demonstrates that Victorian fiction dramatized ambition and problematized it as well"--
"Meg goes to Maker School to hone her talent for building with boxes, but when Simone, another boxitect, arrives they become so competitive they nearly fail in the annual Maker Match." --
The history of art is inseparable from the history of color. And what a fascinating story they tell together: one that brims with an all-star cast of characters, eye-opening details, and unexpected detours through the annals of human civilization and scientific discovery. Enter critically acclaimed writer and popular journalist Victoria Finlay, who here takes readers across the globe and over the centuries on an unforgettable tour through the brilliant history of color in art. Written for newcomers to the subject and aspiring young artists alike, Finlay’s quest to uncover the origins and science of color will beguile readers of all ages with its warm and conversational style. Her rich narrative is illustrated in full color throughout with 166 major works of art—most from the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Readers of this book will revel in a treasure trove of fun-filled facts and anecdotes. Were it not for Cleopatra, for instance, purple might not have become the royal color of the Western world. Without Napoleon, the black graphite pencil might never have found its way into the hands of Cézanne. Without mango-eating cows, the sunsets of Turner might have lost their shimmering glow. And were it not for the pigment cobalt blue, the halls of museums worldwide might still be filled with forged Vermeers. Red ocher, green earth, Indian yellow, lead white—no pigment from the artist’s broad and diverse palette escapes Finlay’s shrewd eye in this breathtaking exploration.
With the rapid developments in microchips, mobile communication and satellite communication, electromagnetic interference (EMI) or Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) has received significant attention to ensure high performance of electronic items and to avoid any adverse effect on human health. EMI is one of the main factors that weaken electronic system performance and is considered as a modern form of environmental pollution. Many efforts have been made to reduce EMI, including industrial regulations and R&D funding.The expansion of the IT industry has promoted the development of microwave absorbing materials (MAMs) and EMI shielding materials to improve the resistance of smart devices to EMI. This book presents a comprehensive review of the recent developments in EMI shielding and the design of microwave absorbing materials. Chapters cover the basic mechanism of shielding and radiation absorption, measurement procedures, factors affecting the shielding and different materials for shielding and absorption (e.g. MWCNT, conjugated polymers, graphene, MXene based hybrid materials, Carbon foam, graphene based thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposites, carbon-carbon composites, nano ferrite composites and conducting Ferro fluids). An analysis of EMI shielding using fillers composed of different materials is also presented. In addition, key issues and current challenges to achieve better shielding and absorption performance for various materials are explained, giving the readers a broader perspective of the subject. The book is suitable as a detailed reference for students in electronics engineering, materials science and other technical courses, and professionals working on materials for designing EMI shielding mechanisms.
