Why things break : understanding the world by the way it comes apart / Mark E. Eberhart.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eberhart, Mark E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fracture mechanics.

Physical Description:

ix, 256 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Harmony Books, [2003]

Summary:

When Mark Eberhart was growing up in the 1960s, he learned that splitting an atom leads to a terrible explosion--which prompted him to worry that when he cut into a stick of butter, he would inadvertently unleash a nuclear cataclysm. Years later, as a chemistry professor, he remembered this fear when he realized that "scientists today know more about the processes involved in the splitting of an atomic nucleus than we do about the processes that govern how a pane of glass breaks." In Why Things Break, Eberhart reveals what the field of materials science has discovered about cracks, fissures, faults, and other aspects of what scientists call "materials failure" and how they relate to everything from the Challenger explosion to the crashing of a hard disk drive. Understanding why things break is crucial on every level, from personal safety to macroeconomics, but as Eberhart reveals here, it is also an underexplored and endlessly intriguing area of scientific inquiry.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 249) and index.

ISBN:

1400047609

OCLC:

51764453