The New Science of Strong Materials: Or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor (Penguin Science) [Mass Market Paperback]

J. E. Gordon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140135979 | ISBN-13: 978-0140135978 | Publication Date: June 1999 | Edition: 2nd

Why isn't wood weaker that it is? Why isn't steel stronger? Why does glass sometimes shatter and sometimes bend like spring? Why do ships break in half? What is a liquid and is treacle one? All these are questions about the nature of materials. All of them are vital to engineers but also fascinating as scientific problems. During the 250 years up to the 1920s and 1930s they had been answered largely by seeing how materials behaved in practice. But materials continued to do things that they "ought" not to have done. Only in the last 40 years have these questions begun to be answered by a new approach. Material scientists have started to look more deeply into the make-up of materials. They have found many surprises; above all, perhaps, that how a material behaves depends on how perfectly - or imperfectly - its atoms are arranged. Using both SI and imperial units, Professor Gordon's account of material science is a demonstration of the sometimes curious and entertaining ways in which scientists isolate and solve problems.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I was thoroughly charmed and won over by this book which I now recommend to all my colleagues. -- Daniel C. Mattis, American Journal of Physics



Praise for Princeton's original edition: "Princeton has brought to the public a highly readable treatise on the science of materials that emphasizes the strength of chemical and physical bonds, crystal structure, and cracks. . . . The author admits the necessity of being highly selective in the materials he can discuss so broadly, but he ably presents chemical and physical problems and how they have been solved in an orderly fashion, and he shows that the strength of materials is influenced as much by their environment and loading systems as by their own structures and shapes. -- S. W. Dobyns, Science Books and Films
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Princeton's original edition: "I found Gordon's writing style fascinating; his book reads like a novel, and the technical content is superb."--Enoch J. Durbin, Princeton University

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Penguin UK; 2nd edition (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140135979
• ISBN-13: 978-0140135978
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,466,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant, Simple and Fascinating, October 23, 2001

By 

Barry C. Chow (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor (Paperback)

Professor Gordon is the sort of teacher I would have appreciated in school. One imagines him as a grey haired gentleman in rumpled slacks and cardigan with a pipe and sneakers who makes it his kindly mission in life to fill his students with a zest for his chosen calling.

His explanations are elegant, simple and fascinating. I can't think of higher praise for someone trying to make sense of a discipline as complicated as materials science.

The problem with most academics is an inherent need to appear learned. This leads to obscure and convoluted explanations that are, if not overtly, at least subconsciously designed to maintain the gap between the ignorant masses and the enlightened adepts. Even when such academics make a conscious attempt to simplify, their efforts are too often sabotaged by the bad habits of a lifetime.

This is why good popularisers are so difficult to come by, and why the Gordons of the world should be so prized.

This book isn't just about the science of materials, but about how such an exotic subject actually connects with our everyday lives. We live in a certain way, and not in a different way, because of the strengths, weaknesses, costs and working difficulties in the materials that we use. I don't think most laymen ever bother thinking about the world in quite this way.

This book is not actually meant for engineers or scientists, although most such technos would greatly benefit from reading it (if only to learn the meaning of true grasp and clarity). Its true benefit is to those curious laymen who wish to know more, but who find the usual explanations beyond them.

This book should be required reading for all undergraduates, not just aspiring scientists or engineers. In fact, it should be especially required for non-technical types.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book, but buy "Structures" instead, July 10, 2004

By 

Diego Banducci (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor (Paperback)

This book is part of the Princeton Science Library, the best collection of books on mathematics and science for the intelligent layman. Like other books in that series, it is succinct and clearly written. I read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. All of the positive reader reviews are right on.

Because I liked it so much, I purchased Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down also by Professor Gordon. As it turned out, that book covers the same material, but in greater breadth and depth, and with more illustrations. There's much to be said for reading both books, but if you're only going to read one, "Structures" is the one.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lively introduction to structural engineering., March 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor (Paperback)

Far more than a textbook intro, it is a biographical narrative of the discovery of why some materials are strong, some not; how wooden airplanes were made in WWI and I, how plastics were found to be strong, or not, why fiber composites, such as fibreglass, were found to be so strong. Immensely entertaining, very educational .