{"product_id":"the-alchemy-of-us-how-humans-and-matter-transformed-one-another-9780262542265","title":"The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn the bestselling tradition of \u003ci\u003eStuff Matters\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Disappearing Spoon\u003c\/i\u003e a clever and engaging look at materials, the innovations they made possible, and how these technologies changed us. Finalist for the 41st Los Angeles Times Book Award in Science and Technology and selected as one of the Best Summer Science Books Of 2020 by Science Friday. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Alchemy of Us\u003c\/i\u003e, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions--clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips--and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes, among other things, how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway's writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid's cameras to create passbooks to track Black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-12882499\"\u003eAinissa Ramirez\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/06\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 328\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262542265\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262542269\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SCI\"\u003eScience\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SCI013050\"\u003eChemistry | Physical \u0026amp; Theoretical\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-TEC\"\u003eTechnology \u0026amp; Engineering\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-TEC021000\"\u003eMaterials Science | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-TEC\"\u003eTechnology \u0026amp; Engineering\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-TEC052000\"\u003eSocial Aspects\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAinissa Ramirez is a materials scientist and sought-after public speaker and science communicator. A Brown and Stanford graduate, she has worked as a research scientist at Bell Labs and held academic positions at Yale University and MIT. She has written for \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eScientific American\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eAmerican Scientist\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eForbes, \u003c\/i\u003e and makes regular appearances on PBS's \u003ci\u003eSciTech Now\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42704584311021,"sku":"9780262542265","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_0b264b73-7af5-44aa-9270-6951516bc114.jpg?v=1650000271","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/the-alchemy-of-us-how-humans-and-matter-transformed-one-another-9780262542265","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}