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A stimulating and highly readable introduction to the science of imperfections, this book focuses on their crucial role in technology, as well as their influence on society, love, life, health, politics, career development, and key environmental issues, enabling readers to counteract scientific misinformation.
List of contents
- 1: Before We Begin
- 2: The Case for Technological Imperfections
- 3: Cookery and Technological Spices
- 4: A Short Log of Technology from Wood
- 5: Reader Beware
- 6: Key Features of Chemistry and Solids
- 7: Examples of New Glass Technologies
- 8: Optical Fibre Communication
- 9: Beauty from Imperfections
- 10: Valuable Imperfections in Crystal Lattices
- 11: Impurities and the Growth of Semiconductors
- 12: Small Anomalies and Long-range Consequences
- 13: Photonics in the 21st Century
- 14: Chemistry and Catalysis
- 15: Imperfections in Music
- 16: Evolution Achieved through Imperfections
- 17: Hints for a Successful Scientific Career
- 18: Science in the Realm of Opinion
- 19: Improving our Future Lives
- 20: The Greatest Challenges that We Face
About the author
Peter Townsend is an experimental scientist who has worked in academia, national laboratories and industry in 9 countries, gaining expertise on a diverse range of topics including solid state physics of imperfections, ion implantation, luminescence, glass, optoelectronics, photonics, archaeology, cancer detection, and photon detectors. He has published over 550 research articles and 8 books and holds honorary doctorates from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Summary
It may be surprising to focus on and praise imperfection, but, in reality, perfection is a fiction. Every aspect of our technologies is based on understanding and exploiting imperfections in the materials we use. Imperfections are key to our use of metals, glass, electronics, computers, optical fibres, and building materials. Catalysis, as used throughout chemical industries, is dependent on imperfections, as are a wide range of modern advances in biology and medicine. This book provides examples in each area that are readily understandable to non-scientists but also aim to offer a far deeper insight into how the technologies and disciplines advance and operate.
However, once we change our focus from idealised perfection to reality, the implications can extend far beyond the realm of the sciences. The second part of the book examines the importance of our ability to recognise and adapt to imperfections in such wide-ranging areas as cookery, successful career development, love, life, and the survival of humanity.
Using a broad range of accessible examples, this book aims to give readers the tools to recognize technological imperfections and apply those lessons to improving several key aspects of our lives, crucially enabling them to define a world that will survive current excesses and environmental destruction.
Additional text
The book attempts to make the general public sensitive to the beauty of imperfections in the context of technology, as well as show how the recognition of imperfections helps people to flourish in their social and professional lives.
