| Description |
xv, 204 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm |
| Contents |
Engineers of the invisible : making molecules -- Vital signs : the molecules of life -- Take the strain : materials from molecules -- Burning issue : molecules and energy -- Good little movers : molecular motors -- Delivering the message : molecular communication -- Chemical computer : molecular information. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (page 195) and index. |
| Summary |
Spiced with quotations from Primo Levi, Flann O'Brien, and Thomas Pynchon, Stories of the invisible takes us on a tour of a world few of us knew existed. The author describes, for instance, the remarkable molecular structure of spider's silk--a material that is pound for pound much stronger the steel--and shows how the Kevlar fibers in bulletproof vests were invented by imitating the alignment of molecules found in the spider's amazing thread. We also learn about the protein molecules that create movement, without which bacteria would be immobile, cells could not divide, there would be no reproduction and therefore no life. The book describes molecules shaped like miniature sculptures, containers, soccer balls, threads, rings, levers and geodesic domes, all made by sticking atoms together. Perhaps most important, Ball provides a fresh perspective on the future of molecular science, revealing how researchers are promising to reinvent chemistry as the central creative science of the 21st century. |
| Subject |
Molecules -- Popular works.
|
|
Molecules. |
| Genre/Form |
Popular works.
|
| Subject |
Chemistry -- Popular works.
|
|
Chemistry. |
| ISBN |
0192802143 |
|
0192803174 paperback |
|
