Radio Times: Review by:; Jack Seale

Mark Miodownik’s three-part series on the materials that shaped the modern world ends with what you might think is a mundane subject. But in his hands, the stories
of how an 18th-century alchemist redeemed himself by cracking the secret Chinese recipe for porcelain, or how glass gradually became tougher and clearer, are vibrant.
Miodownik then applies his nicely judged mix of practical experiments, awestruck giggles and molecular animations to the present and the scintillating future: fibre-optics, super-conductors and modern architecture.

About this programme

3/3. Mark Miodownik charts how mankind learned to use naturally occurring substances to create pottery, glass and concrete, and examines the ways these materials changed the world. He scientifically analyses the properties of ceramic materials, explaining why glass can be completely transparent and why concrete continues to harden for hundreds of years, and reveals the exciting and surprising roles that ceramics could play in the future. Last in the series.