The Power of Imperfections
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
978-0-19-285747-7 (ISBN)
It may be surprising to focus on and praise imperfection, but, in reality, perfection is a fiction. Every aspect of our technologies is based on understanding and exploiting imperfections in the materials we use. Imperfections are key to our use of metals, glass, electronics, computers, optical fibres, and building materials. Catalysis, as used throughout chemical industries, is dependent on imperfections, as are a wide range of modern advances in biology and medicine. This book provides examples in each area that are readily understandable to non-scientists but also aim to offer a far deeper insight into how the technologies and disciplines advance and operate.
However, once we change our focus from idealised perfection to reality, the implications can extend far beyond the realm of the sciences. The second part of the book examines the importance of our ability to recognise and adapt to imperfections in such wide-ranging areas as cookery, successful career development, love, life, and the survival of humanity.
Using a broad range of accessible examples, this book aims to give readers the tools to recognize technological imperfections and apply those lessons to improving several key aspects of our lives, crucially enabling them to define a world that will survive current excesses and environmental destruction.
Peter Townsend is an experimental scientist who has worked in academia, national laboratories and industry in 9 countries, gaining expertise on a diverse range of topics including solid state physics of imperfections, ion implantation, luminescence, glass, optoelectronics, photonics, archaeology, cancer detection, and photon detectors. He has published over 550 research articles and 8 books and holds honorary doctorates from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
1: Before We Begin
2: The Case for Technological Imperfections
3: Cookery and Technological Spices
4: A Short Log of Technology from Wood
5: Reader Beware
6: Key Features of Chemistry and Solids
7: Examples of New Glass Technologies
8: Optical Fibre Communication
9: Beauty from Imperfections
10: Valuable Imperfections in Crystal Lattices
11: Impurities and the Growth of Semiconductors
12: Small Anomalies and Long-range Consequences
13: Photonics in the 21st Century
14: Chemistry and Catalysis
15: Imperfections in Music
16: Evolution Achieved through Imperfections
17: Hints for a Successful Scientific Career
18: Science in the Realm of Opinion
19: Improving our Future Lives
20: The Greatest Challenges that We Face
| Erscheinungsdatum | 07.01.2022 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 88 line drawings and halftones |
| Verlagsort | Oxford |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 145 x 221 mm |
| Gewicht | 662 g |
| Themenwelt | Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik |
| Naturwissenschaften | |
| Technik | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-19-285747-9 / 0192857479 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-19-285747-7 / 9780192857477 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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