Sticky The secret science of surfaces

What comes into your mind when you hear the word "sticky" (or, for that matter, "slippery")? Maybe it's obvious to you what the word means, but, as physicist Winkless explains in this rather surprisingly delightful book, "sticky" has no agreed-upon scientific definition, nor does it even have an agreed-upon everyday definition. Now, maybe you're thinking "so what," but if you are, you should stop. Because stickiness is actually really important. The science of stickiness, the interactions of surfaces, friction, lubrication, and related matters (it's called surface science) could be key to understanding how the ancient Egyptians moved incredibly large and heavy objects. It explains how the gecko can climb up vertical surfaces. In fact, when you dig deep enough, stickiness explains huge chunks of the natural world and human history. Winkless, the author of Science and the City (2016), is a fine writer; she boils complex scientific ideas down to their essence and explains them in clear, simple prose. Like the best popular-science writers, she takes something that might seem dull or esoteric and makes it exciting.