The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter,New

The Second Kind of Impossible: The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter,New

In Stock
SKU: DADAX147672993X
Brand: Simon & Schuster
$14.43
Quantity
Add to wishlist
Add to compare

Processing time: 1-3 days

US Orders Ships in: 3-5 days

International Orders Ships in: 8-12 days

Return Policy: 15-days return on defective items

Payment Option
Payment Methods

Help

If you have any questions, you are always welcome to contact us. We'll get back to you as soon as possible, withing 24 hours on weekdays.

Customer service

All questions about your order, return and delivery must be sent to our customer service team by e-mail at yourstore@yourdomain.com

Sale & Press

If you are interested in selling our products, need more information about our brand or wish to make a collaboration, please contact us at press@yourdomain.com

*Shortlisted for the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize*One of the most fascinating scientific detective stories of the last fifty years, an exciting quest for a new form of matter. A riveting tale of derringdo (Nature), this book reads like James Gleicks Chaos combined with an Indiana Jones adventure.When leading Princeton physicist Paul Steinhardt began working in the 1980s, scientists thought they knew all the conceivable forms of matter. The Second Kind of Impossible is the story of Steinhardts thirtyfiveyearlong quest to challenge conventional wisdom. It begins with a curious geometric pattern that inspires two theoretical physicists to propose a radically new type of matterone that raises the possibility of new materials with never before seen properties, but that violates laws set in stone for centuries. Steinhardt dubs this new form of matter quasicrystal. The rest of the scientific community calls it simply impossible.The Second Kind of Impossible captures Steinhardts scientific odyssey as it unfolds over decades, first to prove viability, and then to pursue his wildest conjecturethat nature made quasicrystals long before humans discovered them. Along the way, his team encounters clandestine collectors, corrupt scientists, secret diaries, international smugglers, and KGB agents. Their quest culminates in a daring expedition to a distant corner of the Earth, in pursuit of tiny fragments of a meteorite forged at the birth of the solar system.Steinhardts discoveries chart a new direction in science. They not only change our ideas about patterns and matter, but also reveal new truths about the processes that shaped our solar system. The underlying science is important, simple, and beautifuland Steinhardts firsthand account is packed with discovery, disappointment, exhilaration, and persistence...This book is a frontrow seat to history as it is made (Nature).

⚠️ WARNING (California Proposition 65):

This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

For more information, please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

Recently Viewed