*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 ...
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*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 ).
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Add this copy of The Second Kind of Impossible: the Extraordinary Quest to cart. $1.30, good condition, Sold by ZBK Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Woodland Park, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Simon & Schuster.
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Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Fast Shipping.
Add this copy of The Second Kind of Impossible: the Extraordinary Quest to cart. $2.21, fair condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Simon & Schuster.
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Fair. This copy has clearly been enjoyed-expect noticeable shelf wear and some minor creases to the cover. Binding is strong and all pages are legible. May contain previous library markings or stamps.
Add this copy of The Second Kind of Impossible: the Extraordinary Quest to cart. $2.29, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Simon & Schuster.
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Add this copy of The Second Kind of Impossible: the Extraordinary Quest to cart. $2.68, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2019 by Simon & Schuster.
Add this copy of The Second Kind of Impossible: the Extraordinary Quest to cart. $2.68, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2019 by Simon & Schuster.
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Add this copy of The Second Kind of Impossible: the Extraordinary Quest to cart. $2.68, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2019 by Simon & Schuster.
