Description

Book Synopsis

''A delight'' Dara O Briain

''A witty, smart writer who has a great talent'' Bill Gates

Why are most gases invisible, odourless and tasteless? Why do some poison us and others make us laugh? And why do some power our engines while others make drinks fizzy? In It''s a Gas, Mark Miodownik masterfully reveals an invisible world through his unique brand of scientific storytelling.

Taking us back to that exhilarating and often dangerous moment when scientists tried to work out exactly what they had discovered, Miodownik shows that gases are the formative substances of our modern world, each with its own weird and wonderful personality.

We see how seventeenth-century laughing gas parties led to the first use of anaesthetics in surgery, how the invention of the air valve in musical instruments gave us bicycles, cars and trainers, and how gases made us masters of the sea (by huge steamships) and skies (via extremely flammable balloons). This delight of a book reveals the immense importance of gases to modern civilisation.

Its a Gas

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    A Paperback by Mark Miodownik

    £10.44

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    RRP £10.99 – you save £0.55 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 29 Aug 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
      Published 2/27/2025
      ISBN-13 9780241985595
      978-0241985595
      ISBN-10 0241985595
      Also in:
      Non Fiction Science & Nature Philosophy of science

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      ''A delight'' Dara O Briain

      ''A witty, smart writer who has a great talent'' Bill Gates

      Why are most gases invisible, odourless and tasteless? Why do some poison us and others make us laugh? And why do some power our engines while others make drinks fizzy? In It''s a Gas, Mark Miodownik masterfully reveals an invisible world through his unique brand of scientific storytelling.

      Taking us back to that exhilarating and often dangerous moment when scientists tried to work out exactly what they had discovered, Miodownik shows that gases are the formative substances of our modern world, each with its own weird and wonderful personality.

      We see how seventeenth-century laughing gas parties led to the first use of anaesthetics in surgery, how the invention of the air valve in musical instruments gave us bicycles, cars and trainers, and how gases made us masters of the sea (by huge steamships) and skies (via extremely flammable balloons). This delight of a book reveals the immense importance of gases to modern civilisation.

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