Zoom into glass, memory metal, graphite, zippers, ice, and batteries to find the small structures behind their familiar behavior.
Its strong surface and dramatic breakup are two consequences of the same trapped forces
Heat doesn't remind the metal; it changes which solid phase is stable
A pencil mark is a negotiated failure between a fired core and a rough paper surface
One moving channel forces a repeated chain to choose between interlocked and separated states
Freezing gives ordinary water a more spacious architecture than its liquid can maintain
Voltage survives only while reactions can keep charge carriers moving along two separate paths