Author: Mauro D'Onofrio
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642275648
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 613
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Book Description
The 50th anniversary of the discovery of quasars in 1963 presents an interesting opportunity to ask questions about the current state of quasar research. Formatted as a series of interviews with noted researchers in the field, each of them asked to address a specific set of questions covering topics selected by the editors, this book deals with the historical development of quasar research and discusses how advances in instrumentation and computational capabilities have benefitted quasar astronomy and have changed our basic understanding of quasars. In the last part of the book the interviews address the current topic of the role of quasars in galaxy evolution. They summarise open issues in understanding active galactic nuclei and quasars and present an outlook regarding what future observational facilities both on the ground and in space might reveal. Its interview format, the fascinating topic of quasars and black holes, and the lively recollections and at times controversial views of the contributors make this book both rewarding and a pleasure to read!
Author: Larry Slawson
Publisher: Larry Slawson via PublishDrive
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 19
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Book Description
This eBook explores the deep-space objects commonly known as "quasars," and provides its readers with a fundamental understanding for both their origins and purpose in the universe at large.
Author: Mauro D'Onofrio
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642007929
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 552
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Book Description
Are we living in the "golden age" of cosmology? Are we close to understanding the nature of the unknown ingredients of the currently most accepted cosmological model and the physics of the early Universe? Or are we instead approaching a paradigm shift? What is dark matter and does it exist? How is it distributed around galaxies and clusters? Is the scientific community open to alternative ideas that may prompt a new scientific revolution - as the Copernican revolution did in Galileo's time? Do other types of supernovae exist that can be of interest for cosmology? Why have quasars never been effectively used as standard candles? Can you tell us about the scientific adventure of COBE? How does the extraction of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy depend on the subtraction of the various astrophysical foregrounds? These, among many others, are the astrophysical, philosophical and sociological questions surrounding modern cosmology and the scientific community that Mauro D'Onofrio and Carlo Burigana pose to some of the most prominent cosmologists of our time. Triggered by these questions and in the spirit of Galileo's book "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" the roughly 40 interview partners reply in the form of essays, with a critical frankness not normally found in reviews, monographs or textbooks.
Author: John Brockman
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0375713425
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
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Book Description
A brilliant ensemble of the world’s most visionary scientists provides twenty-five original never-before-published essays about the advances in science and technology that we may see within our lifetimes. Theoretical physicist and bestselling author Paul Davies examines the likelihood that by the year 2050 we will be able to establish a continuing human presence on Mars. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi investigates the ramifications of engineering high-IQ, geneticially happy babies. Psychiatrist Nancy Etcoff explains current research into the creation of emotion-sensing jewelry that could gauge our moods and tell us when to take an anti-depressant pill. And evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explores the probability that we will soon be able to obtain a genome printout that predicts our natural end for the same cost as a chest x-ray. (Will we want to read it? And will insurance companies and governments have access to it?) This fascinating and unprecedented book explores not only the practical possibilities of the near future, but also the social and political ramifications of the developments of the strange new world to come. Also includes original essays by: Lee Smolin Martin Rees Ian Stewart Brian Goodwin Marc D. Hauser Alison Gopnik Paul Bloom Geoffrey Miller Robert M. Sapolsky Steven Strogatz Stuart Kauffman John H. Holland Rodney Brooks Peter Atkins Roger C. Schank Jaron Lanier David Gelernter Joseph LeDoux Judith Rich Harris Samuel Barondes Paul W. Ewald
Author: Robert G. Colodny
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre
ISBN: 0822976390
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 412
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Book Description
In the history of science, only three hundred years separate the discoveries of Galileo and Albert Einstein. Recent science has brought us relativity theory, quantum mechanics, and elementary particle physics-in a radical and mercurial departure from earlier developments. In this collection of essays, four philosophers and one physicist consider the interactions of mathematics and physics with logic and philosophy in the rapidly changing environment of modern science.
Author: Norriss S. Hetherington
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131767765X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 709
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Book Description
The Encyclopedia of Cosmology, first published in 1993, recounts the history, philosophical assumptions, methodological ambiguities, and human struggles that have influenced the various responses to the basic questions of cosmology through the ages, as well as referencing important scientific theories. Just as the recognition of social conventions in other cultures can lead to a more productive perspective on our own behaviour, so too a study of the cosmologies of other times and places can enable us recognise elements of our own cosmology that might otherwise pass as inevitable developments. Apart from modern natural science, therefore, this volume incorporates brief treatments of Native American, Cave-Dweller, Chinese, Egyptian, Islamic, Megalithic, Mesopotamian, Greek, Medieval and Copernican cosmology, leading to an appreciation of cosmology as an intellectual creation, not merely a collection of facts. It is a valuable reference tool for any student or academic with an interest in the history of science and cosmology specifically.
Author: R.E. Taylor
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315421194
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 896
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Book Description
This volume is a major revision and expansion of Taylor’s seminal book Radiocarbon Dating: An Archaeological Perspective. It covers the major advances and accomplishments of the 14C method in archaeology and analyzes factors that affect the accuracy and precision of 14C-based age estimates. In addition to reviewing the basic principles of the method, it examines 14C dating anomalies and means to resolve them, and considers the critical application of 14C data as a dating isotope with special emphasis on issues in Old and New World archaeology and late Quaternary paleoanthropology. This volume, again a benchmark for 14C dating, critically reflects on the method and data that underpins, in so many cases, the validity of the chronologies used to understand the prehistoric archaeological record.
Author: Arnold Hanslmeier
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3662646374
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 692
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Book Description
This textbook provides the basic theoretical and practical knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics. It provides an overview from classical astronomy and observational methods to solar physics and astrophysics of stars and galaxies. It concludes with chapters on cosmology, astrobiology, and mathematical and numerical methods. Numerous color illustrations, examples of calculations, and exercises with solutions make this work a useful companion to undergraduate astronomy lectures. The book is suitable for students of physics and astronomy at teacher training level or in the Bachelor's degree - but also people interested in natural sciences with appropriate basic knowledge of mathematics and physics will find here an appealing introduction to the subject. This fourth edition has been updated and revised with respect to the latest developments in astronomy. The chapter on mathematical methods has been redesigned and the software used is now exclusively Python. From the contents: Spherical astronomy - History of astronomy - Celestial mechanics - Astronomical instruments - Physics of the bodies of the solar system - The Sun - State variables of the stars - Stellar atmospheres - Stellar structure - Stellar evolution - Interstellar matter - The Galaxy - Extragalactic systems - Cosmology - Astrobiology - Mathematical methods. This book is a translation of the original German 4th edition Einführung in Astronomie und Astrophysik by Arnold Hanslmeier, published by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2020. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.
Author: Mauro D'Onofrio
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319310062
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 809
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Book Description
In order to outline possible future directions in galaxy research, this book wants to be a short stopover, a moment of self-reflection of the past century of achievements in this area. Since the pioneering years of galaxy research in the early 20th century, the research on galaxies has seen a relentless advance directly connected to the parallel exponential growth of new technologies. Through a series of interviews with distinguished astronomers the editors provide a snapshot of the achievements obtained in understanding galaxies. While many initial questions about their nature have been addressed, many are still open and require new efforts to achieve a solution. The discussions may reveal paradigms worthwhile revisiting. With the help of some of those scientists who have contributed to it, the editors sketch the history of this scientific journey and ask them for inspirations for future directions of galaxy research.
Author: Marcus Chown
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1804544302
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282
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Book Description
What is space? What is time? Where did the universe come from? The answers to mankind's most enduring questions may lie in science's greatest enigma: black holes. A black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. This can occur when a star approaches the end of its life. Unable to generate enough heat to maintain its outer layers, it shrinks catastrophically down to an infinitely dense point. When this phenomenon was first proposed in 1916, it defied scientific understanding so much that Albert Einstein dismissed it as too ridiculous to be true. But scientists have since proven otherwise. In 1971, Paul Murdin and Louise Webster discovered the first black hole: Cygnus X-1. Later, in the 1990s, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope found that not only do black holes exist, supermassive black holes lie at the heart of almost every galaxy, including our own. It would take another three decades to confirm this phenomenon. On 10 April 2019, a team of astronomers made history by producing the first image of a black hole. A Crack in Everything is the story of how black holes came in from the cold and took cosmic centre stage. As a journalist, Marcus Chown interviews many of the scientists who made the key discoveries, and, as a former physicist, he translates the most esoteric of science into everyday language. The result is a uniquely engaging page-turner that tells one of the great untold stories in modern science.
