An award-winning oxford physicist draws on classic sci-fi, fantasy fiction, and everyday phenomena to explain and celebrate the extraordinary properties of the world around us. This book is Magical. So is the chair you're sitting in, the liquid in your cup, and the cup itself. You are magical too. Theoretical physicist Felix Flicker draws on his expertise, imagination, and wit to unveil the everyday magic that surrounds us. The name for this magic is "condensed matter physics." Most people haven't heard of the field, yet more than a third of physicists identify as condensed matter researchers, making it the most active area in the subject-with good reason. Condensed matter is the solids, liquids, gasses, and more exotic stuff that surrounds us. It dictates every aspect of our existence, and those who know its secrets best are crafting tomorrow's magic, from quantum computing to real-life invisibility cloaks. Condensed matter physics allows us to create anything abiding by the laws of reality, and often those laws can be bent. Flicker explains how to create new particles that never existed before, how to make crystals emit light so intense it can cut through metal, how to separate the poles of a magnet, and much more. The book's endearing conceit is that you, the reader, are an aspiring wizard whose ability to cast spells (i.e. to do science) depends on your grasp of the fundamentals of our universe. Part of the book's magic is that, for all its fanciful trappings-owls and wands, infinite libraries and islands ruled by wise knot-makers-it still feels practical and applicable. The Magick of Physics will open your eyes to the world that teems with miracles.