'This is a book about wizardry. It will reveal the secrets of the wizard's art, and how you, too, can learn to follow them. It is a history of magic' Condensed matter physics is what happens when atoms cluster together to make something of a size we can understand - something like a car, say, rather than a galaxy. It's what makes things hover in mid-air (magnetic levitation) or crystals glow (thermoluminescence). It's also what we mean by magick. Join Felix Flicker on an empirical adventure in condensed matter physics, the scientific mechanism behind the mysteries of alchemy, transmogrification, and much more. This is the one-stop guide on how to harness the enigmatic workings of the natural world to become a thoroughly modern wizard. From the laws of thermodynamics to the seven bridges of Konigsberg, The Magick of Matter is a journey of discovery which will upend everything you think you know about witchcraft, wizardry, and condensed matter physics.

'Felix Flicker brilliantly reveals the secrets behind the modern-day magic we call physics' Marcus du Sautoy 'The world is already telling you its spells; the purpose of this book is to help you listen' Imagine you had a crystal that lit upon your command: magic must be at work, and you must surely be a wizard. But what if you discovered that you routinely cast such spells? Are the spells no longer magic ... or are you a wizard? The modern term for wizardry is condensed matter physics. It is the study of the world around us - the states of matter and how they emerge from the quantum realm. Thanks to its practical magic we can make lasers which cut through solid metal, trains which hover in mid-air, and crystals which light our homes. It is one of the best-kept secrets in science; a third of all physicists work on it, yet its story has never been told. Join Felix Flicker as he introduces the magic of condensed matter physics. It will be a journey that reveals the subtle spells that conjure crystals from chaos and create new particles that have never before existed. The Magick of Matter will revolutionise what you know about physics and reality; you'll never see the world in the same way again.

An award-winning Oxford physicist draws on classic sci-fi, fantasy fiction, and everyday phenomena to explain and celebrate the magical properties of the world around us. If you were to present the feats of modern science to someone from the past, those feats would surely be considered magic. Theoretical physicist Felix Flicker proves that they are indeed magic--just familiar magic. The name for this magic is "condensed matter physics." Most people haven't heard of the field, yet more than a third of physicists identify as condensed matter researchers, making it the most active area in the subject--with good reason. Condensed matter is the solids, liquids, and gasses that surround us--and the more exotic matters--which dictate every aspect of our present existence and hold the keys to a brighter future, from quantum computing to real-life invisibility cloaks. Flicker teases out the magical threads that run through our daily lives. Condensed matter physics allows you to create anything abiding by the laws of reality--and often, we find that those laws can be bent. Flicker explains how to create new particles that never existed before, how to make crystals shoot out of such intense light they can cut through metal, how to separate the poles of a magnet, and more. The book's endearing conceit is that you are an aspiring wizard whose ability to cast spells (i.e. to do science) is dependent on your grasp of the fundamentals of our universe. This book contains no equations or charts--instead, it's full of owls and mountains and infinite libraries, and staffs and wands, and martial arts and mythical islands ruled by sage knot-makers. Part of the book's magic is that, for all these fanciful trappings, it still feels practical and applicable. The Magick of Physics will open your eyes to magic that surround us everyday.