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March
2007 features
books and links about
Science |
Billion and billions
by Carl Sagan
500 Sag
In Sagan's last book, he shows once again his extraordinary ability to
to interpret the mysteries of life and the majesty of the universe for
the general reader. Brilliant, eloquent, and imbued with Sagan's
unique childlike sense of awe, this wonderfully entertaining
collection of essays captures the author's spirit at its best.
The borderlands of science: where sense meets nonsense
by Michael Shermer
500 She
The author takes us to the place where real science, borderline
science, and just plain nonsense collide. Shermer argues that
while science is the best lens through which to view the world, it is
often difficult to decipher where valid science leaves off and
borderland, or "fuzzy" science begins. To solve this dilemma,
he looks at a range of topics that put this boundary line in high
relief.
The number sense: how the mind creates mathematics
by Stanislas Debaene
510.19 Deh
The author, a mathematician turned cognitive neuro-psychologist,
descrobes ingenious experiments that show human infants have a
rudimentary number sense, then suggests that this sense is as basic as
our perception of color, and that it is wired into the brain.
From this basic number ability, he then shows that it was the
invention of symbolic systems of numerals that started us on the climb
to higher mathematics.
The jungles of randomness: a mathematical safari
by Ivars Peterson
519.2 Pet
Join the author on an adventurous trek through an exotic world of
weird dice, fractal drums, firefly rhythms and chaotic amusement park
rides as he explores the wilds of randomness.
Once upon a number: the hidden mathematical logic of stories
by John Allen Paulos
519.5 Pau
This books shows that stories and numbers aren't as different as you
might imagine, and in fact they have surprising and fascinating
connections. The concepts of logic and probability both grew out
if intuitive ideas out how certain stories would play out. Now,
logicians are inventing ways to deal with real world situations by
mathematical means and complexity theory looks at both number strings
and narrative strings in remarkably similar terms.
The
fabric of the cosmos: space, time, and the texture of reality
by Brian Greene
523.1 Gre
Greene examines space - from Newton's unchanging, realm, through
Einstein's fusion of space and time, to recent breakthroughs
suggesting that ours may be one of many island universes floating in a
grand, multidimensional spatial expanse. We encounter the peculiar
world of quantum physics, in which space and time are buffeted to and
fro by the turbulence of quantum uncertainty. We see the paradoxical
nature of time, which, according to the laws of physics, does not
necessarily need to run in any particular direction. Greene shows us
how the tantalizing world of string and M-theory may ultimately
provide us with the elusive unified theory of the universe.
What
if the moon didn't exist?: voyages to earths that might have been
by Neil F. Comins
523.2 Com
Any discussion about finding life elsewhere in the universe always
leads us to analyze the factors that make life possible on Earth. What
would the earth and life on it be like if our planet had formed under
different circumstances? What if the earth were less massive, or if
the sun had ended up with more mass when the solar system was formed?
What would happen if a star exploded near the earth, or passed through
our solar system right now? What if a black hole passed through the
earth? What if our ozone layer became depleted? What would happen to
life on Earth? In this engaging and accessible exploratory work, the
author shows how these and other hypothetical situations would affect
our planet and the life it sustains, by extrapolating from our present
condition and applying plausible astronomical and geological theories.
The
measure of all things: the seven year odyssey and hidden error that
transformed the world
by Ken Alder
526.1 Ald
The astonishing tale of one of history's greatest scientific
adventures. Yet behind the public triumph of the metric system lies a
secret error, one that is perpetuated in every subsequent definition
of the meter. As acclaimed historian and novelist Ken Alder discovered
through his research, there were only two people on the planet who
knew the full extent of this error: Delambre and Méchain themselves.
Longitude:
the true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific
problem of his time
by Dava Sobel
526.6209 Sob
In 1714, England's Parliament offered a reward to anyone whose method
or device for measuring longitude proved successful. John Harrison
imagined a clock that would withstand pitch and roll, temperature and
humidity, and keep precise time at sea--something no clock had been
able to do on land. This is the story of Harrison's 40-year effort to
build his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer.
Absolute
zero and the conquest of cold
by Tom Shachtman
536.56 Sha
In a sweeping yet marvelously concise history, Tom Shachtman ushers us
into a world in which scientists tease apart the all-important secrets
of cold. Readers take an extraordinary trip, starting in the 1600s
with an alchemist's air conditioning of Westminster Abbey and
scientists' creation of thermometers. Later, while entrepreneurs sold
Walden Pond ice to tropical countries -- packed in
"high-tech" sawdust -- researchers pursued absolute zero and
interpreted their work as romantically as did adventurers to remote
regions. Today, playing with ultracold temperatures is one of the
hottest frontiers in physics, with scientists creating useful
particles Einstein only dreamed of.
The map that changed the world: William Smith and the birth of
modern geology
by Simon Winchester
550.92 Win
The fascinating story of William Smith, the orphaned son of a country
blacksmith, who became obsessed with creating the world's first
geological map and ultimately became the father of modern geology.
Krakatoa : the day the world exploded: August 27,
1883
by Simon Winchester
551.21 Win
The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa
— the name has since become a by-word for a cataclysmic disaster —
was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly 40,000 people.
Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event which has only very
recently become properly understood, the eruption changed the world in
more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round the
world for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn
vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light. The effects of the
immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogota
and Washington went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The
sound of island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on
islands thousands of miles away.
Impact!: the threat of comets and asteroids
by Gerrit L. Vershuur
551.397 Ver
The author offers an eye-opening look at the catastrophic collision of
comets and asteroids with our planet. Perhaps more important, he
paints an unsettling portrait of the possibility of new collisions
with earth, exploring potential threats to our planet and describing
what scientists are doing right now to prepare for this frightening
possibility.
The universe below: discovering the secrets of the deep sea
by William J. Broad
551.46 Bro
The book takes us on an epic journey to the planet's last and most
exotic frontier, the depths of the sea, and examines how we are
illuminating its dark recesses in a rush of discovery, uncovering
hidden worlds of alien creatures, living fossils, lost treasures,
precious metals, and perhaps even the place where live itself first
arose billions of years ago.
The discovery of global warming
by Spencer R. Weart
551.6 Wea
In 2001 a panel representing virtually all the world's governments and
climate scientists announced that they had reached a consensus: the
world was warming at a rate without precedent during at least the last
ten millennia, and that warming was caused by the buildup of
greenhouse gases from human activity. The consensus itself was at
least a century in the making. The story of how scientists reached
their conclusion - by way of unexpected twists and turns and in the
face of formidable intellectual, financial, and political obstacles -
is told for the first time in this book. The author lucidly
explains the emerging science, introduces us to the major players, and
shows us how the Earth's irreducibly complicated climate system was
mirrored by the global scientific community that studied it.
Coal: a human history
by Barbara Freese
553.24 Fre
The author takes us on a rich historical journey that begins hundreds
of millions of years ago and spans the globe. Prized as “the best
stone in Britain” by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it,
coal has transformed societies, expanded frontiers, and sparked social
movements, and still powers our electric grid. Yet coal's
world-changing power has come at a tremendous price, including
centuries of blackening our skies and lungs—and now the dangerous
warming of our global climate. The book is a captivating narrative
about an ordinary substance with an extraordinary impact on human
civilization.
The sand dollar and the slide rule: drawing
blueprints from nature
by Delia Willis
571.3 Wil
The author explores the relationship between natural forms and human
design. In so doing she brings to life a fascinating group of
architects, physicists, and biologists devoted to a new science of
form called Construction Morphology. Like the German physicist we meet
who studies trees to refine car parts, they all look to nature to find
blueprints for unparalleled efficiency. In a fluid and wide-ranging
narrative, Willis's focus shifts from the insights of Darwin and the
organic influence on Frank Lloyd Wright, Antoni Gaudi, and Gustave
Eiffel, to an examination of the lightweight strength that Buckminster
Fuller called Tensegrity, to the construction of the ornithopter in
Bruce Willis's movie Hudson Hawk. Economy and flexibility are the
grand themes, now made more precise through the formulas of
thermodynamics and biomechanics.
The ghosts of evolution: nonsensical fruit, missing
partners, and other ecological anachronisms
by Connie Barlow
576.8 Bar
In a vivid narrative, the author shows how the idea of "missing
partners" in nature evolved from isolated, curious examples into
an idea that is transforming how ecologists understand the entire
flora and fauna of the Americas. This fascinating book will enrich and
deepen the experience of anyone who enjoys a stroll thorough the woods
or even down an urban sidewalk. But his knowledge has a dark side too:
Barlow's "ghost stories" teach us that the ripples of
biodiversity loss around us now are just the leading edge of what may
well become perilous cascades of extinction.
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