NUTS & BOLTS

60 mins

29 Apr 2023

ROMA AGRAWAL

Modern technology seems mind-bogglingly complex. But beneath the surface, it can be beautifully simple. In her new book Nuts & Bolts, engineer and broadcaster Roma Agrawal has deconstructed our most complex feats of engineering into seven fundamental inventions: the nail, spring, wheel, lens, magnet, string and pump, with together have enabled humanity to see the invisible, build the spectacular, communicate across vast distances, and even escape our planet. She reveals how handmade Roman nails led to modern skyscrapers, how the potter's wheel enabled space exploration, and how humble lenses helped her conceive a child against the odds.

Roma invites us to marvel at these small but perfectly formed inventions, sharing the stories of the remarkable, and often unknown, scientists and engineers who made them possible.