Sharon Ann Holgate is a freelance science writer and broadcaster. She has presented on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, and presented video podcasts for medical research charity the Myrovlytis Trust. She earned a [...] in physics from the University of Sussex, where she was a Visiting Fellow in Physics and Astronomy for nine years. Her articles have appeared in Science, Science Careers, New Scientist, The Times Higher Education Supplement, Flipside, E&T, Focus, Physics World, Interactions, Materials World, Modern Astronomer, and Astronomy Now. She was also shortlisted for the radio programme category of the Association of British Science Writers' Awards in 2005, and for the Aventis Prizes for Science Books Junior Prize in 2003. Dr. Holgate has been a recipient of the Institute of Physics Young Professional Physicist of the Year and of a Merit Award in the Daily Telegraph Young Science Writer of the Year competition.

1. Introduction. 2. Crystal Clear: Bonding and Crystal Structures. 3. The Rejection of Perfection: Defects, Amorphous Materials, and Polymers. 4. The Right Stuff: Choosing teh Best Material for the Job. 5. In, Out, Shake It All About: Diffraction, Phonons, and Thermal Properties of Solids. 6. Unable to Resist: Metals, Semiconductors, and Superconductors. 7. Chips with Everything: Semiconductor Devices and Dielectrics. 8. Living in a Magnetic World: Magnetism and Its Applications.