I was also impressed with the many different chemicals that underlie liquids, such as the mixture of alkali and fat to create soap or surfactant, which then create emulsions, and the mixing of two liquids to connect them in the form of an epoxy, or a two-part glue. I liked the way this was used to explain simple things like the way towels wick away water through microfibers, but also more subtle things like the Marangoni effect and how tears form on the surface of a highly alcoholic wine glass, and finally, how surface tension forms a repulsive spring force when wind pushes against water to give rise to waves. For example, I liked how the author discussed surface tension, i.e., the difference between the forces on the liquid surface and those in the internal structure, which leads to a pseudo-tension. I particularly liked a number of the vignettes. The book is organized around a transcontinental plane flight from London to Paris, where the author goes through various liquids that he encounters along the journey, from the engine fuel at the beginning to the soap in the washroom and adhesive in the plane's wings in the middle, and finally to the fog upon landing in San Francisco. This book gives practical insights into liquids, things that we constantly see in everyday life but have very subtle physics, chemistry, and biology. I read Mark Miodownik's book, Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives, with great interest. Just as in his bestselling, award-winning Stuff Matters, Mark Miodownik’s unique brand of scientific storytelling brings his subject to life in ways that will inform and amuse science buffs and lay readers alike. We come to see liquids with wonder and fascination, and to understand their potential for death and destruction. We encounter fluids within the plane-from hand soap to liquid crystal display screens-and without: in the volcanoes of Iceland, the frozen expanse of Greenland, and the marvelous California coastline. But do we really understand how much we rely on liquids, or their destructive power? Set on one of the author's transatlantic flights, Liquid Rules offers readers a tour of these formless substances, told through the language of molecules, droplets, heartbeats, and ocean waves. We know that we need water to survive, and that, for some of us, a cup of coffee or a glass of wine can feel just as vital.

Sometimes explosive, often delicious, occasionally poisonous, and always fascinating: the New York Times bestselling author of Stuff Matters offers an 'entertaining discussion of the various ways our lives are enriched by fluids” ( The Wall Street Journal ).

Liquid rules mark miodownik