Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

The second kind of impossible : the extraordinary quest for a new form of matter / Paul J. Steinhardt.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, [2019]Copyright date: ©2019Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover editionDescription: viii, 387 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781476729923
  • 1476729921
  • 9781476729930
  • 147672993X
Subject(s):
Contents:
Part I: Making the impossible possible. Impossible! ; The Penrose puzzle ; Finding the loophole ; A tale of two laboratories ; Something exciting to show you ; Perfectly impossible -- Part II: The quest begins. Did nature beat us? ; Luca ; Quasi-happy new year ; When you say impossible ; Blue team vs. red team ; A capricious if not overtly malicious God ; The secret secret diary ; Valery Kryachko ; Something rare surrounding something impossible ; Icosahedrite -- Part III: Kamchatka or bust Lost ; Found ; Ninety-nine percent ; Beating the odds ; L'uomo dei miracoli ; Nature's secret.
Summary: "One of the most fascinating scientific detective stories of the last fifty years, an exciting quest for a new form of matter. The Second Kind of Impossible reads like James Gleick's Chaos combined with an Indiana Jones adventure"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: "One or the most stunning scientific detective stories of the last fifty years ... . When world-renowned physicist Paul Steinhardt began his career in the 1980s, scientists thought they had identified all the possible types of matter. The issue had been settled science for centuries. But when Steinhardt pursued a wild fantasy he first imagined as a curious teenager, it led to a radical new theory, predicting an astonishing form of matter that broke all the established rules. The breakthrough would launch him on a thirty-five-year quest to prove the substance's existence in the natural world. [This] is the untold story of Steinhardt's odyssey and a candid account of the brilliant, and often bruising, battles that take place behind the scenes of scientific progress. Steinhardt and his stellar team of researchers encounter international smugglers, corrupt scientists, secret diaries, fraudulent traders, political intrigue, and Russian security agents. Their search culminates in a daring expedition to one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth, pursuing tiny fragments of a meteorite forged at the birth of the solar system. Steinhardt and his team chart a new direction in science. They not only change our ideas about the fundamentals of matter but also reveal new truths about the processes that shaped our solar system. The underlying science is deceptively simple, unexpectedly beautiful, and nothing short of revolutionary. Steinhardt's firsthand account is a scientific thriller of the first order."--Dust jacket.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 530.41 S822 Available 33111009321353
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

*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 derring-do" ( Nature ), this book reads like James Gleick's 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 Steinhardt's thirty-five-year-long quest to challenge conventional wisdom. It begins with a curious geometric pattern that inspires two theoretical physicists to propose a radically new type of matter--one 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 Steinhardt's scientific odyssey as it unfolds over decades, first to prove viability, and then to pursue his wildest conjecture--that 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.

Steinhardt's 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 beautiful--and Steinhardt's firsthand account is "packed with discovery, disappointment, exhilaration, and persistence...This book is a front-row seat to history as it is made" ( Nature ).

Includes index.

Part I: Making the impossible possible. Impossible! ; The Penrose puzzle ; Finding the loophole ; A tale of two laboratories ; Something exciting to show you ; Perfectly impossible -- Part II: The quest begins. Did nature beat us? ; Luca ; Quasi-happy new year ; When you say impossible ; Blue team vs. red team ; A capricious if not overtly malicious God ; The secret secret diary ; Valery Kryachko ; Something rare surrounding something impossible ; Icosahedrite -- Part III: Kamchatka or bust Lost ; Found ; Ninety-nine percent ; Beating the odds ; L'uomo dei miracoli ; Nature's secret.

"One of the most fascinating scientific detective stories of the last fifty years, an exciting quest for a new form of matter. The Second Kind of Impossible reads like James Gleick's Chaos combined with an Indiana Jones adventure"-- Provided by publisher.

"One or the most stunning scientific detective stories of the last fifty years ... . When world-renowned physicist Paul Steinhardt began his career in the 1980s, scientists thought they had identified all the possible types of matter. The issue had been settled science for centuries. But when Steinhardt pursued a wild fantasy he first imagined as a curious teenager, it led to a radical new theory, predicting an astonishing form of matter that broke all the established rules. The breakthrough would launch him on a thirty-five-year quest to prove the substance's existence in the natural world. [This] is the untold story of Steinhardt's odyssey and a candid account of the brilliant, and often bruising, battles that take place behind the scenes of scientific progress. Steinhardt and his stellar team of researchers encounter international smugglers, corrupt scientists, secret diaries, fraudulent traders, political intrigue, and Russian security agents. Their search culminates in a daring expedition to one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth, pursuing tiny fragments of a meteorite forged at the birth of the solar system. Steinhardt and his team chart a new direction in science. They not only change our ideas about the fundamentals of matter but also reveal new truths about the processes that shaped our solar system. The underlying science is deceptively simple, unexpectedly beautiful, and nothing short of revolutionary. Steinhardt's firsthand account is a scientific thriller of the first order."--Dust jacket.

Powered by Koha