We also learn about the protein molecules that create movement, without which bacteria would be immobile, cells could not divide, there would be no reproduction and therefore no life. The author describes, for instance, the remarkable molecular structure of spider's silk-a material that is pound for pound much stronger the steel-and shows how the Kevlar fibers in bulletproof vests were invented by imitating the alignment of molecules found in the spider's amazing thread. Spiced with quotations from Primo Levi, Flann O'Brien, and Thomas Pynchon, Stories of the Invisible takes us on a tour of a world few of us knew existed. In Stories of the Invisible, Ball has compiled a cornucopia of tales spun by these intriguing, invisible words. And through these words, scientists have uncovered many fascinating stories of the physical world. If atoms are letters, writes Philip Ball, then molecules are words.
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