A GLASS of beer changed the course of G茅rard Liger-Belair鈥檚 life. He was drinking it when he should have been studying for the final exams of his physics degree. Hardly unique maybe, but there cannot be many students who can claim to have built a career on the experience.
Liger-Belair became so fascinated by the bubbles rising up the inside of his glass that he decided to carry out his postgraduate research on the physics of bubble formation in carbonated drinks. Uncorked is the fruit of his labours at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne in France, where he uses high-speed photography to examine the behaviour of bubbles in the famous local tipple. The pictures are surprisingly beautiful, his prose is refreshingly light and with the holidays on the way, it鈥檚 worth bearing in mind as an ideal stocking filler for any wine-loving physicist.
Uncorked: The science of champagne
Princeton University Press