Glass

The author of Concrete: From the Ground Up brings her illuminating and often dry-humored approach to reflecting on another marvel of the everyday world. Meteoric collisions, volcanic eruptions, lightning strikes. Three catastrophes, all capable of producing glass--the stuff we use to protect us from the elements, send images, store energy, aid with everyday tasks, and make medical and scientific progress possible. With the help of human ingenuity, glass has evolved from its lumpy natural origins to a refined wonder that helps humankind see into the farthest reaches of outer space or the smallest particles of life on Earth. Glass is all around us and is one of the most versatile--and sparkling--wonders of the material world, still changing the way we build, the way we think, the way we see. Enlivened with speech bubbles and full of memorable facts, this thoroughly engaging intro to the history and STEAM applications of glass is fortified with a bibliography in the back matter.