The Secret Life of Materials: How Structure, Damage, and Time Shape the World Around Us
Language: English
Published by Independently published, 2026
- Softcover
- New

Seller: California Books, Miami, FL, U.S.A.California Books
AbeBooks seller since October 27, 2023
Condition: New
£ 14.45
Quantity: Over 20 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Print on Demand.
Seller Inventory # I-9798244783353
- Title
- The Secret Life of Materials: How Structure, Damage, and Time Shape the World Around Us
- Author
- Verma, Dr Anil Kumar
- Publisher
- Independently published
- Publication year
- 2026
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 13
- 9798244783353
What happens inside materials decides how the world around us survives—or fails.
Steel bends. Glass shatters. Plastics creep.
But the real story of materials unfolds far beneath the surface—inside grains, cracks, and invisible damage that slowly accumulates over time.
The Secret Life of Materials takes you into this hidden world. With clarity and insight, it reveals why materials fail suddenly, how they survive years of stress, and what their internal behavior teaches us about resilience, balance, and limits.
Written in accessible language and free of heavy mathematics, this book bridges engineering, everyday experience, and human analogy. It explains complex ideas—such as fatigue, fracture, ageing, and healing—in a way that curious readers and non-engineers can truly understand.
What you will discover
- Why tiny, invisible defects can cause catastrophic failure
- How fatigue silently weakens materials under repeated loads
- Why grain size and internal structure matter more than appearance
- How heat treatment changes a material’s personality
- Why some old bridges still stand while modern structures fail
- What bone, skin, cartilage, and smart materials teach us about toughness and repair
- How materials “remember” their past—and why that memory matters
- Curious readers who enjoy understanding how things really work
- Engineering and science students seeking intuitive explanations
- Practicing engineers who value insight over equations
- Designers, educators, and professionals interested in failure, safety, and durability
- Anyone who has ever wondered why things break
This is not just a book about steel, glass, or polymers.
It is a book about behavior under stress, the cost of neglect, and the wisdom of balance.
By connecting materials science with real-world examples and human experience, The Secret Life of Materials shows that strength alone is never enough—and that resilience is built quietly, over time.
Once you understand what happens inside materials, you may never look at everyday objects—or your own limits—the same way again.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
California Books
Miami, FL, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since October 27, 2023
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 3 to 7 business days | 2 to 5 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 0.00 | £ 8.86 |
Payment methods
Store description
We have 20 years experience selling books worldwide! Friendly customer support. Your satisfaction guaranteed!
Specialty
All authorized categoriesSeller's business information
Miramar International Services LLC
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to California Books, Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.