Physics at its most extreme won the students’ vote; the secret life of everyday materials won the committee’s.
The second French edition was celebrated on 10 June in the Salon Bonnefous of the Institut de France in Paris.
The high-school students chose La physique de l’extrême by physicist Julien Bobroff, a guided tour of the strangest corners of physics. The scientific committee chose La vie secrète des matériaux by materials scientist Mark Miodownik, which reveals the hidden science of the stuff around us.
Both winners gave short talks to the audience: Bobroff with a tiny talk set inside a matchbox, Miodownik on “animate” materials.
The winning books
- Cosmos des lycéens: La physique de l’extrême, Julien Bobroff (Albin Michel)
- Prix Cosmos du comité: La vie secrète des matériaux, Mark Miodownik, translated by Ian Dufey and Lionel Pousaz (Quanto)
Also shortlisted: Léa Griton-Noël, En quête de planètes (Quanto); Vincent Bugeat, Astronomie : changez de perspective ! (EDP Sciences); Christophe Clanet et al., Physique olympique (Albin Michel); Steven Strogatz, Puissance infini, translated by Anatole Muchnik (Quanto); Sean Carroll, L’univers à votre portée, translated by Nathalie Bédrin and Vincent Faye (Quanto); Nathalie A. Cabrol, À l’aube de nouveaux horizons (Seuil); Didier Roux, Le verre : un matériau éternel (EDP Sciences).
Julien Bobroff and Mark Miodownik at the Institut de France. Photo: [credit]
