Every atom in our bodies has an extraordinary history. Our blood our food our books our clothes
- everything contains atoms forged in blistering furnaces deep inside stars which were blown into space by those stars cataclysmic explosions & deaths. From red giants
- stars so enormous they could engulf a million suns
- to supernova explosions
- the most violent events in the universe
- the birth of every atom was marked by cosmic events on an enormous scale against a backdrop of unimaginable heat & cold brightness & darkness space & time. But how did we discover the astonishing truth about our cosmic origins? THE MAGIC FURNACE is Marcus Chowns extraordinary account of how scientists unravelled the mystery of atoms & helped to explain the dawn of life. It is one of the greatest detective stories in the history of science. In fact it is two puzzles intertwined for the stars contain the key to unlocking the secret of atoms & the atoms the solution to the secret of stars.