How did a piece of gold foil completely change our understanding of atoms? What part did a hot air balloon play in the discovery of cosmic rays? How do we know all that we know about the world today? It's not simply because we have the maths – it's because we have done the experiments. Accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy introduces us to the creative and curious people who, through a combination of genius, tenacity and luck, staged the groundbreaking experiments of the twentieth century. From the serendipitous discovery of X-rays in a German laboratory, to the scientists trying to prove Einstein wrong (and inadvertently proving him right), The Matter of Everything takes us on a journey through the history of experiments that transformed our world.

How did a piece of gold foil completely change our understanding of atoms? What part did a hot air balloon play in the discovery of cosmic rays? How did the experiments in the run-up to the Large Hadron Collider lead to the invention of the World Wide Web? Asking questions has always been at the heart of physics, our unending quest to understand the Universe and how everything in it behaves. How do we know all that we know about the world today? It's not simply because we have the maths – it's because we have done the experiments. Accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy introduces us to the creative and curious people who, through a combination of genius, persistence and luck, staged the ground-breaking experiments of the twentieth century. From the serendipitous discovery of X-rays in a German laboratory, to the scientists trying to prove Einstein wrong (and inadvertently proving him right), The Matter of Everything takes us on a journey through the history of experiments that transformed our world.

How did a piece a gold foil completely change our understanding of atoms? What part did a hot air balloon play in the discovery of cosmic rays? How did the experiments in the run-up to the Large Hadron Collider lead to the invention of the World Wide Web? Asking questions has always been at the heart of physics, our unending quest to understand the Universe and how everything in it behaves. How do we know all that we know about the world today? It's not simply because we have the maths - it's because we have done the experiments. In The Matter of Everything, accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy introduces us to the people who, through a combination of genius, persistence and luck, staged the ground-breaking experiments of the twentieth century that changed the course of history. From the serendipitous discovery of X-rays in a German laboratory, to the scientists trying to prove Einstein wrong (and inadvertently proving him right), to the race to split open the atom, Sheehy shows how our most brilliant, practical physicists have shaped innumerable aspects of how we live today. Radio, TV, the chips in our smartphones, MRI scanners, radar equipment and microwaves, to name a few: these were all made possible by their determination to understand, and control, the microscopic. Pulling physics down from the theoretical and putting it in the hands of the people, The Matter of Everything is a fascinating expedition through the surprising, and occasionally accidental, experiments that transformed our world, and a celebration of the creative and curious people behind them.

All matter in the universe - including our own bodies - is made of a relatively small number of basic ingredients known as elements. From the lead used in Ancient Roman plumbing to the hydrogen that powers the stars, elements make up everything there is and has ever been. The Periodic Table of the chemical elements is one of the iconic achievements of recent times. This book tells its story, revealing how humankind has struggled to understand the nature and composition of matter. It traces a journey of experiment and discovery, from the dawn of science to the space age, revealing the elements and the individuals who recognized, named, and classified them. Topics include: • exploring the nature of matter • defining and discovering the elements • atomic structure and the elements • finding and understanding periodicity • building the PeriodicTable • the search for more elements Beautifully Illustrated throughout.

Louis Lasker loves his family dearly – apart from when he doesn’t. There’s a lot of history. His father’s marriages, his mother’s death; one brother in exile, another in denial; everything said, everything unsaid. And now his father has taken a decision which threatens to blow the family apart. We join the Laskers for what might be their final days together. One last chance to fix things. It’s a matter of life and death . . .

Wonder: The Natural History Museum Poetry Book by Ana Sampson is a beautiful collection of poetry with poems inspired by The Natural History Museum. Covering everything from the depths of space to the centre of the earth, this beautiful collection includes poems about the solar system, planet earth, oceans and rivers, birds, dinosaurs, fossils, wildlife, flowers, fungi, insects, explorers and palaeontologists. Each section includes an introduction to the topic with insights into particularly interesting species. The museum has a collection of over eighty million objects and, behind the scenes of its twenty-eight galleries, it holds kilometres of preserved specimens, libraries of rare books and artworks, wonders gathered on some of the most famous voyages in history, rooms packed with pressed plants, warehouses teeming with stuffed animals and freezers full of DNA. As well as a museum, it is a state-of-the-art centre for discovery with over three hundred resident scientists and over ten thousand visiting researchers each year, investigating everything from dinosaurs to life on other planets. This collection is made up of brand new and classic poems, illustrated with botanical drawings and engravings from the museum's collections. This fantastic collection speaks of the wonder of nature and shows us why we need to look after our incredible planet.

Great advances in human history have often rested on and prompted progress in chemistry.The exploitation of fire, the development of pigments, and the discovery that metals could be smelted and worked laid the foundations of civilization.The search for better tools and weapons drove metallurgy, and the need for medicines and perfumes lay behind the first laboratories. This book traces a story of exploration and discovery, from the earliest applications of chemistry by our ancient forebears. For more than 1,000 years alchemists pursued the transformation of matter, until the advent of modern chemistry in the 17th century set us on the path to the complex science of today. Topics include: - Prechemistry since prehistory - Alchemy and the transmutation of metals - The rise of the scientific method - Identifying the chemical elements - Understanding gases - The nature of the atom - Organic chemistry - Chemical analysis Beautifully illustrated throughout.

The beloved star of stage and screen, Alan Cumming's life and career were shaped by a complex and close family past full of disturbing memories that were kept secret. But then an unexpected phone call from his long-separated father brought the pain of the past back to the present and destroyed everything he thought he knew about himself. Not My father's Son is the story of his journey to discovery, at the same time a memoir about his childhood in Scotland and a study of his family history that will change him forever.

The beloved star of stage and screen, Alan Cumming's life and career were shaped by a complex and close family past full of disturbing memories that were kept secret. But then an unexpected phone call from his long-separated father brought the pain of the past back to the present and destroyed everything he thought he knew about himself. Not My father's Son is the story of his journey to discovery, at the same time a memoir about his childhood in Scotland and a study of his family history that will change him forever.

The new novel about the transformative power of art, the weight of history and the strange connection we make with one another, from the author of The Speckled People. The narrator of The Pages is not a human but a book: a first edition of Joseph Roth’s masterpiece Rebellion, rescued from a Nazi book-burning in 1933. In recounting its history, it tells a multitude of stories: of Andreas, the character who lives in its pages; of its current owner, a woman whose discovery of a hand-drawn map in the book begins a thrilling mystery; and of Roth himself, a writer on the run. Together, they form a compelling story about art, nationalism, the weight of history, and the strange connections between us.

This book tells the story of the discovery of this new dinosaur - the Titanosaur - from the mouths of the paleontologists who led the dig! From its discovery by a local herder, to the organization and completion of the excavation, this riveting story will have readers on the edge of their seats, and the beautifully painted illustrations will mesmerize. The final spread will open up into a gatefold showing a photograph of the full Titanosaur skeleton on display at the museum. Chock-full of back matter like a glossary and extra information and photographs from the dig, and an inside jacket poster of the Titanosaur, kids of all ages will devour this book.

Discover this profound account of Huxley's famous experimentation with mescalin that has influenced writers and artists for decades. 'Concise, evocative, wise and, above all, humane, The Doors of Perception is a masterpiece' Sunday Times In 1953, in the presence of an investigator, Aldous Huxley took four-tenths of a gram of mescalin, sat down and waited to see what would happen. When he opened his eyes everything, from the flowers in a vase to the creases in his trousers, was transformed. Huxley described his experience with breathtaking immediacy in The Doors of Perception. In its sequel Heaven and Hell, he goes on to explore the history and nature of mysticism. Still bristling with a sense of excitement and discovery, these illuminating and influential writings remain the most fascinating account of the visionary experience ever written.

From dinosaurs and Vikings to the history of robots and espionage, discover incredible world history in this lavish collection of timelines. Jam-packed with surprising facts and amazing details, such as the most bloodthirsty pirate of all time and the first crime to be solved by studying fingerprints, Timelines of Everything will take you on a whirlwind journey through an illustrated history of time, from the Big Bang to the modern world. More than 120 timelines will provide children with all the general knowledge they need - and even some surprising trivia they don't! Must-know topics and alternative history are showcased with beautiful, detailed illustrations and straightforward, easy-to-read text. With timelines on a diverse range of subjects, Timelines of Everything is the ultimate guide to history for kids.

Vintage Minis bring you the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human - from birth to death and everything in between 'This is a history of intellectual courage, hard work, occasional inspiration and every conceivable form of human failing. It is also an extended invitation to wonder, to pleasure' How far have we come in our understanding of the world around us? In this eye-opening collection, Ian McEwan looks back at the history of scientific discovery from Darwin to Dawkins as well as exploring, with brilliant originality, what a future with AI and climate change could hold for us. Selected from Solar, Enduring Love, Machines Like Me VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.

What is the universe really made of? How do we know? Follow the map of the invisible to find out... Over the last sixty years, scientists around the world have worked together to explore the fundamental constituents of matter, and the forces that govern their behaviour. The result, so far, is the ‘Standard Model’ of elementary particles: a theoretical map of the basic building blocks of the universe. With the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, the map as we know it was completed, but also extended into strange new territory. A Map of the Invisible is an explorer’s guide to the Standard Model and the extraordinary realms of particle physics. After shrinking us down to the size of a sub-atomic particle, pioneering physicist Jon Butterworth takes us on board his research vessel for a journey in search of atoms and quarks, electrons and neutrinos, and the forces that shape the universe. Step by step, discovery by discovery, we journey into the world of the unseen, from the atom to black holes and dark matter, and beyond, to the outer reaches of the cosmos and the frontiers of human knowledge. Beautifully illustrated, with gradually evolving maps offering an inventive visual glossary as the journey progresses, A Map of the Invisible provides an essential introduction to our world, and to particle physics. It is a landmark work of non-fiction by one of the great scientists and science writers of today.

France: An Adventure History is a profoundly original and endlessly entertaining history of France, from the first century BC to the present day, based on countless new discoveries and thirty years of exploring France on foot, by bicycle and in the library. Beginning with the Roman army's first recorded encounter with the Gauls and ending with the Gilets Jaunes protests in the era of Emmanuel Macron, each chapter is an adventure in its own right. Along the way, readers will find the usual faces, events and themes of French history - Louis XIV, the French Revolution, the French Resistance, the Tour de France - but all presented in a shining new light. Graham Robb does not offer a standard dry list of facts and dates, but instead a panorama of France, teeming with characters, full of stories, journeys and coincidences, giving readers a thrilling sense of discovery and enlightenment. France: An Adventure History is a vivid, living history of one of the world's most fascinating nations by a ceaselessly entertaining writer in complete command of subject and style.