BOOKS & MEDIA
Combinatorial Materials Science Balaji Narasimhan et al. (eds.) Wiley • 2007 • 248 pp ISBN: 978-0-471-72833-7 $99.95 / £52.95 / 75.20 This collection of contributions from experts in the field integrates the fundamentals of this topic with informatics approaches to the analysis of combinatorial science (CombiSci). It discusses the development and application of CombiSci for the investigation of complex structurefunction interplay in materials, and covers design strategies for materials processing.
Secrets to Success in Industry Careers: Essential Skills for Science and Business L. Borye Elsevier • 2007 • 224 pp ISBN: 978-0-12-373869-1 $35.95 / £19.99 / 29.95 This is a guide on how to succeed in an industrial environment. The author explains the differences between industry and academia and describes the how to obtain a job. He starts this process with an analysis of job descriptions, then explains how to write job applications, how to prepare for an interview, and what your conduct should be during and after an interview.
The Materials Physics Companion Anthony C. Fischer-Cripps Taylor and Francis/CRC Press • 2007 208 pp • ISBN: 978-1-58488-680-8 $24.95 / £11.69 This text provides an introduction to materials science and solid-state physics in a reader-friendly format. It explains key principles in one-page descriptions with the help of illustrations. Topics include crystallography, quantum mechanics, X-ray diffraction, and the dielectric and magnetic properties of materials. Designed as a supplementary text, it contains worked examples and questions.
Expert Graduate Undergraduate
Finding the right answer Obscure they may be, but the chapter titles of this book hide some well-researched, thought-provoking essays on aspects of science where we have not, and may never, reach a definitive answer. Alexis (Al) Lambourne | Rolls-Royce, UK |
[email protected] From the point of view of a materials engineer, science is pretty well behaved, and in the course of metallurgical research it is seldom necessary to consider anything smaller than the atom. Michael Hanlon’s book Ten Questions Science Can’t Answer (Yet) upsets the apple cart and highlights the fact that far from being well behaved, science is strewn with gaping holes in our understanding of the environment and our place in it. Hanlon’s ten questions delve into some of those aspects of science that are often ignored. Why they are ignored is also discussed, and makes interesting, if uncomfortable, reading. In ‘What Are We Going To Do With The Stupid?’, Hanlon raises the prickly subject of IQ and the fact that in this respect we are not all born equal. The question is quite straightforward – why are people born with different cognitive abilities? In seeking an answer, the chapter spans subjects as diverse as the rise of the alpha female, the increase in the incidence of autism, changes in jobs, and the rise of the meritocracy. ‘What Is The Dark Side?’ raises the lid on the rather tricky topic of dark matter and its ‘more mysterious cousin’, dark energy. It has long been known that there is something missing from our big picture of how the cosmos works. In fact, it appears that most of the picture is missing, with dark matter and dark energy accounting for 22% and 74% of the matter in the universe, respectively. This leaves mankind with a measly 4% of reasonably well-behaved mass and energy from which to guess and infer the behavior of the remaining 96% of the universe. Straying into the realms of philosophy ‘Is The Universe Alive?’ focuses on the definition of life – are all living things just very elaborate crystals and how can you come up with a definition of ‘life’ that encompasses everything from ourselves, through to viruses, or even seeds and spores? As if this were not enough of a minefield, the chapter then propounds some of the ideas about how life on this planet first began. It seems that the Darwinian ‘primordial soup’ theory is hotly debated and contested. Perhaps, after all, we did not crawl from a warm puddle, but ‘life’ arrived via a meteor shower, or perhaps evolved deep within the
earth to escape those very meteor showers that were so destructive. It seems there are many theories that they don’t teach you at school. Ten Questions Science Can’t Answer (Yet) is a prime example of why you should not judge a book by its cover. First impressions suggest an entertaining, mass appeal science book of the Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze? ilk, and the chapter titles do little to assuage these thoughts. I will readily admit that I was not expecting one of the questions that science can’t answer to be ‘Is Fido A Zombie?’. However, do not let this put you off, behind the array of slightly obscure chapter titles is a series of ten well-researched, readable, and thought-provoking essays on those aspects of scientific research where we have not yet, and may never reach, a definitive answer. Each chapter follows the same format as it examines a question that science cannot (or will not) address and then goes on to discuss the social, moral, philosophical, and ethical issues that temper scientific thinking, and perhaps more importantly, scientific research budgets. Michael Hanlon Ten Questions Science Can’t Answer (Yet) Palgrave Macmillan • 2007 • 208 pp ISBN: 978-0-23-051758-5 $24.95 / £14.99
Hanlon is adept at summarizing and simplifying complex subjects. In many cases his explanations are backed up by references to appropriate literature. As a scientist I found this particularly gratifying – this is not just a journalist’s take on a scientific topic, but a well-researched and referenced essay. The references are selected with his target readership clearly in mind and are accessible to most (Scientific American, Nature, New Scientist). This allows readers, appetite whetted by Hanlon’s book, to further their understanding of some of the issues raised. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with an enquiring mind, or the desire to scrape the surface of popular wisdom to see what lies beneath. An entertaining and enlightening read, we can only wait for 10 More Questions Science Can’t Answer (Yet).
DECEMBER 2007 | VOLUME 10 | NUMBER 12
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