Stories of the Invisible: The Molecular World - Hardcover

"In a society of chemical agnostics, it is a brave missionary who tries to reveal its mysteries, but that is what the author of Stories of the Invisible has attempted to do--and done remarkably well...Ball is the right person to write this gospel...At no point does Stories of the Invisible sacrifice sound science for sound bites--we are in the hands of a scholar and true believer."--John Emsley, Nature "Pop-science enthusiasts will eat it up."--Publishers Weekly "Ball's inspiring tour of this small world illustrates how molecules assemble and function and how that action influences myriad aspects of the macro world."--Science News "Ball uses the same refreshing style evident in his previous books...to bring the world of chemistry to the lay reader."--Library Journal "An intriguing, quick-reading introduction to chemistry's state of play."--Booklist "In a society of chemical agnostics, it is a brave missionary who tries to reveal its mysteries, but that is what the author of Stories of the Invisible has attempted to do--and done remarkably well...Ball is the right person to write this gospel...At no point does Stories of the Invisible sacrifice sound science for sound bites--we are in the hands of a scholar and true believer."--John Emsley, Nature "Pop-science enthusiasts will eat it up."--Publishers Weekly "Ball's inspiring tour of this small world illustrates how molecules assemble and function and how that action influences myriad aspects of the macro world."--Science News "Ball uses the same refreshing style evident in his previous books...to bring the world of chemistry to the lay reader."--Library Journal "An intriguing, quick-reading introduction to chemistry's state of play."--Booklist "In a society of chemical agnostics, it is a brave missionary who tries to reveal its mysteries, but that is what the author of Stories of the Invisible has attempted to do--and done remarkably well...Ball is the right person to write this gospel...At no point does Stories of the Invisible sacrifice sound science for sound bites--we are in the hands of a scholar and true believer."--John Emsley, Nature "Pop-science enthusiasts will eat it up."--Publishers Weekly "Ball's inspiring tour of this small world illustrates how molecules assemble and function and how that action influences myriad aspects of the macro world."--Science News "Ball uses the same refreshing style evident in his previous books...to bring the world of chemistry to the lay reader."--Library Journal "An intriguing, quick-reading introduction to chemistry's state of play."--Booklist "In a society of chemical agnostics, it is a brave missionary who tries to reveal its mysteries, but that is what the author of Stories of the Invisible has attempted to do--and done remarkably well...Ball is the right person to write this gospel...At no point does Stories of the Invisible sacrifice sound science for sound bites--we are in the hands of a scholar and true believer."--John Emsley, Nature "Pop-science enthusiasts will eat it up."--Publishers Weekly "Ball's inspiring tour of this small world illustrates how molecules assemble and function and how that action influences myriad aspects of the macro world."--Science News "Ball uses the same refreshing style evident in his previous books...to bring the world of chemistry to the lay reader."--Library Journal "An intriguing, quick-reading introduction to chemistry's state of play."--Booklist

What are things made of? "Everything is composed of small mollycules of itself, and they are flying around in concentric circles and arcs and segments," explains Sergeant Fottrell in Flann O'Brien's "The Dalkey Archive". Philip Ball shows that the world of the molecule is indeed a dynamic place. Using the chemistry of life as a springboard, he provides a new perspective on modern chemical science as a whole. Living cells are full of molecules in motion, communication, co-operation, and competition. Molecular scientists are now starting to capture the same dynamism in synthetic molecular systems, promising to reinvent chemistry as the central creative science of the 21st century.