Chemistry

1. Mark , Miodownik

It's a Gas

'A delight' Dara O Briain'A witty, smart writer who has a great talent' Bill GatesWhy are most gases invisible, odourless and tasteless? Why do some poison us and others make us laugh? And why do some power our engines while others make drinks fizzy? In It's a Gas, Mark Miodownik masterfully reveals an invisible world through his unique brand of scientific storytelling. Taking us back to that exhilarating - and often dangerous - moment when scientists tried to work out exactly what they had discovered, Miodownik shows that gases are the formative substances of our modern world, each with its own weird and wonderful personality. We see how seventeenth-century laughing gas parties led to the first use of anaesthetics in surgery, how the invention of the air valve in musical instruments gave us bicycles, cars and trainers, and how gases made us masters of the sea (by huge steamships) and skies (via extremely flammable balloons). This delight of a book reveals the immense importance of gases to modern civilisation.

1. Michael , Brenner
2. Pia , Sörensen
3. David , Weitz

Science and Cooking: Physics Meets Food, from Homemade to Haute Cuisine

The spectacular culinary creations of modern cuisine are the stuff of countless articles and Instagram feeds. But to a scientist they are also perfect pedagogical explorations into the basic scientific principles of cooking. In Science and Cooking, Harvard professors Michael Brenner, Pia Sörensen and David Weitz bring the classroom to your kitchen to teach the physics and chemistry underlying every recipe. Science and Cooking answers questions such as why we knead bread, what determines the temperature at which we cook a steak or the how much time our chocolate chip cookies should spend in the oven, through fascinating lessons ranging from the role of pressure and boiling points in pecan praline to that of microbes in your coffee. With beautiful full-colour illustrations and recipes, hands-on experiments, and engaging introductions from world-renowned chefs Ferran Adrià and Jose Andrés, Science and Cooking will change the way readers approach both subjects-in their kitchens and beyond.

1. Philip Moriarty

Nanotechnology

From nanobots to nanoswarms, the field of nanotechnology has been a staple of science fiction. As this Very Short Introduction shows, the science, from quantum confinement to self-assembly and molecular machines, is just as fascinating.

1. Max G Levy

Enviromental Chemistry

1. Imari , Walker-Franklin
2. Jenna , Jambeck

Plastics

"An overview of the science of plastics, what makes them a desired material choice, why they are harmful to humans, animals, and the environment, and how we can replace them"--

Sustainability Practices in Finance, Economics and Technology