Nature's Third Cycle

Nature's Third Cycle PDF Author: Arnab Rai Choudhuri
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199674752
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
The cycle of day and night and the cycle of seasons are two familiar natural cycles around which many human activities are organized. But is there a third natural cycle of importance for us humans? On 13 March 1989, six million people in Canada went without electricity for many hours: a large explosion on the sun was discovered as the cause of this blackout. Such explosions occur above sunspots, dark features on the surface of the Sun that have been observed through telescopes since the time of Galileo. The number of sunspots has been found to wax and wane over a period of 11 years. Although this cycle was discovered less than two centuries ago, it is becoming increasingly important for us as human society becomes more dependent on technology. For nearly a century after its discovery, the cause of the sunspot cycle remained completely shrouded in mystery. The 1908 discovery of strong magnetic fields in sunspots made it clear that the 11-year cycle is the magnetic cycle of the sun. It is only during the last few decades that major developments in plasma physics have at last given us the clue to the origins of the cycle and how the large explosions affecting the earth arise. Nature's Third Cycle discusses the fascinating science behind the sunspot cycle, and gives an insider's perspective of this cutting-edge scientific research from one of the leaders of the field.

Nature's Third Cycle

Nature's Third Cycle PDF Author: Arnab Rai Choudhuri
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199674752
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
The cycle of day and night and the cycle of seasons are two familiar natural cycles around which many human activities are organized. But is there a third natural cycle of importance for us humans? On 13 March 1989, six million people in Canada went without electricity for many hours: a large explosion on the sun was discovered as the cause of this blackout. Such explosions occur above sunspots, dark features on the surface of the Sun that have been observed through telescopes since the time of Galileo. The number of sunspots has been found to wax and wane over a period of 11 years. Although this cycle was discovered less than two centuries ago, it is becoming increasingly important for us as human society becomes more dependent on technology. For nearly a century after its discovery, the cause of the sunspot cycle remained completely shrouded in mystery. The 1908 discovery of strong magnetic fields in sunspots made it clear that the 11-year cycle is the magnetic cycle of the sun. It is only during the last few decades that major developments in plasma physics have at last given us the clue to the origins of the cycle and how the large explosions affecting the earth arise. Nature's Third Cycle discusses the fascinating science behind the sunspot cycle, and gives an insider's perspective of this cutting-edge scientific research from one of the leaders of the field.

On Sunspots

On Sunspots PDF Author: Galileo Galilei
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226707164
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
Galileo’s telescopic discoveries, and especially his observation of sunspots, caused great debate in an age when the heavens were thought to be perfect and unchanging. Christoph Scheiner, a Jesuit mathematician, argued that sunspots were planets or moons crossing in front of the Sun. Galileo, on the other hand, countered that the spots were on or near the surface of the Sun itself, and he supported his position with a series of meticulous observations and mathematical demonstrations that eventually convinced even his rival. On Sunspots collects the correspondence that constituted the public debate, including the first English translation of Scheiner’s two tracts as well as Galileo’s three letters, which have previously appeared only in abridged form. In addition, Albert Van Helden and Eileen Reeves have supplemented the correspondence with lengthy introductions, extensive notes, and a bibliography. The result will become the standard work on the subject, essential for students and historians of astronomy, the telescope, and early modern Catholicism.

Sunspots and Their Effects

Sunspots and Their Effects PDF Author: Harlan True Stetson
Publisher: Macritchie Press
ISBN: 1443731463
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
AND Their Effects byHARLAN TRUE STETSON Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Author of B STARS AND THE STAJLS Yorfc WHITTLESEY HOUSE London MCGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, INC. of and trireless i t tie cii Sciilt field of solar - t erTes trial FOREWARNING THE near approach of another sunspot maximum with the accompanying interest shown by the press and the general public gives the occasion for a book on sunspot s. So much has been said about the possibilities of sunspots affecting the earth and human affairs that a candid discussion of sunspots and their effects is due the general reader who would keep himself informed of trends in science. Sunspots have been blamed for calamities and misfortunes that run the gamut from Florida hurricanes to financial panics. Is there any basis whatever for such assumptions Since we are all more interested in ourselves than we are in things, the book has been written from the human point of view. While statements have been qualified, various possible hypotheses have been dis cussed which bear upon the question of solar dis turbances and affairs on the earth. Perhaps all too long has the reading public been dependent upon the technical material in textbooks on astronomy for a knowledge of sunspots. Such textbooks which must deal only with well-established facts cannot naturally try to discuss speculative questions. This book therefore departs from the usual type of book on science in that it frankly presents questionable material as well as the results of more completely Forewarning established facts from which the reader may draw his own conclusions with respect to inferences not yet fully established as weU as to those which may beregarded as beyond debate. As the book is intended to be distinctly popular, the more speculative material which intrigues the imagination has been presented in the earlier part, leaving the more well-established effects of sunspots upon the earth to the later chapters. The book undoubtedly raises more questions than it answers, and will, it is hoped, suggest attention to some of the less conventional aspects of the question concerning the influence of the sunspots on world events. So many apparently serious articles have been written concerning sunspots and the business cycle that a chapter is devoted to the more plausible hypoth eses that may be worth investigation If the author appears noncommittal in his interpretation of some of the more startling presentations, it is because a scientist cannot by nature be otherwise. On the other hand, I have refrained from condemning interpretations where evidence is still scanty, for thus to condemn appears to me as unscientific as to make positive statements where complete evidence is wanting. If the book falls into the hands of the overcredulous, perhaps a word of warning is necessary to curb hurried conclusions. One can only hope that none of the more speculative statements will be quoted except with qualifications which go therewith. Forewarning In the closing chapter I have endeavored to differ entiate clearly between the several effects well established and scientifically recognised from those which are more speculative and require much further investi gation before definite conclusions can be drawn. Only by such differentiation can the whole subject be clarified with the door still open for future progress. A scientific reader will misstechnical phraseology and numerous references quoting sources which obvi ously are out of place in so popular a presentation. If the reading of the book stimulates a consciousness of mans cosmic surroundings and opens certain ques tions for serious consideration, the answers to which are yet to come, the purpose of the book will in a meas ure be realized. HARLAN TRUE STETSON. CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, September, 1937...

Sunspots and the Sun King

Sunspots and the Sun King PDF Author: Ellen McClure
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252056930
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
Mediation, monarchy, and Louis XIV's attempts to legitimize his reign In order to assert his divine right, Louis XIV missed no opportunity to identify himself as God’s representative on earth. However, in Sunspots and the Sun King Ellen McClure explores the contradictions inherent in attempting to reconcile the logical and mystical aspects of divine right monarchy. McClure analyzes texts devoted to definitions of sovereignty, presents a meticulous reading of Louis XIV’s memoirs to the crown prince, and offers a novel analysis of diplomats and ambassadors as the mediators who preserved and transmitted the king’s authority. McClure asserts that these discussions, ranging from treatises to theater, expose incommensurable models of authority and representation permeating almost every aspect of seventeenth-century French culture.

Visual High Resolution Observations of Sunspots

Visual High Resolution Observations of Sunspots PDF Author: Patrick S. McIntosh
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sunspots
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Bureau d'Analyse et de Recherche Appliquees (France). ANALOG STUDY OF SOME PROBLEMS RELATIVE TO LIFTING SURFACES IN AN HELICOIDAL MOVEMENT. Final rept. 1962. 28p. incl. illus. (Contract N62558-2997) Unclassified report DESCRIPTORS: *Marine propellers, *Analog sys tems, *Fluid mechanics, Surfaces, Simulation, Water. The first report defined the general principles of utilization and construction of a analog tank for studying the perturbation potential around lifting surfaces submitted to an helicoidal movement. The prese t report, which utilizes the sa e quotations, gives the results obtained with this tank in the resolution of various elementary problems. These determinations were used for the final setup of the analog model which can be considered as correspondingACCURATELY TO ITS ANTICIPATE FUNCTIO . (Author).

Sunspots: Theory and Observations

Sunspots: Theory and Observations PDF Author: J.H. Thomas
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401127697
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
This volume contains the invited papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on the Theory of Sunspots, held in Cambridge, England, 22-27 September 1991. The idea of holding this Workshop first arose during the Solar Optical Telescope work shop on Theoretical Problems in High-Resolution Solar Physics in Munich in 1985. At that meeting, separate discussion groups were formed to consider specific topics in solar physics. The discussion group on sunspots recommended that there be a meeting devoted to theoretical problems associated with sunspots, the motivation being the consensus that theory seemed to lag behind the observational evidence in our quest for a satisfactory un derstanding of the physics of sunspots. This recommendation was warmly received and the two of us were designated to organize the Workshop. Although the Workshop eventually took place later than originally envisioned, the de lay turned out to be fortunate and the timing of the Workshop was ideal for a number of reasons. There have been remarkable improvements in high-resolution observations of sunspots in the past few years, and many important new observational results were pre sented for the first time at this Workshop (by groups working at the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratories, the Swedish and German telescopes in the Canary Islands, and the V. S. National Solar Observatory). Vector magnetographs and Stokes polarimetry have at last given us reliable measurements of the vector magnetic fields in sunspots.

Sunspots And Their Effects

Sunspots And Their Effects PDF Author: Harlan True Stetson
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1473389569
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
The near approach of another sunspot maximum with accompanying interest shown by the press and the general public gives the occasion for a book on sunspots. Very interesting book on the history and detection of sunspots and their possible effects on humankind. A must for anyone interested in how sunspots will affect the earth and human affairs and those that like to keep themselves informed of trends in science.

New Views of Sunspots

New Views of Sunspots PDF Author: Jacques Maurice Beckers
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Magnetohydrodynamics
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
The report reviews recent theoretical and observational developments in sunspot physics. It concentrates especially on the recent discoveries of rapid changes in sunspots, most of them oscillatory, and their connection with Alfven waves generated in spots.

Planets, Sunspots and Earthquakes

Planets, Sunspots and Earthquakes PDF Author: Frank Glasby
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595226418
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Planets, Sunspots and Earthquakes presents a working hypothesis of how planets trigger sunspots and earthquakes. Two distinct and separate effects are considered: one is an internal effect whereby the core of the sun and the earth become more active. The other is an external effect whereby the combined effect from external bodies stresses the earth's crust at a point where it enters or leaves the gravitational field of the group of external bodies.The causes of the initial internal processes that are necessary for the final seismic trigger effect to operate are examined and the connection with sunspot cycles is explored. The work is the result of observation and investigation during three eleven-year sunspot cycles, and offers material for further research by specialists and students.

Economic Complexity: Chaos, Sunspots, Bubbles, and Nonlinearity

Economic Complexity: Chaos, Sunspots, Bubbles, and Nonlinearity PDF Author: William A. Barnett
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521355636
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
The contents of this volume comprise the proceedings of the International Symposia in Economic Theory and Econometrics conference held in 1987 at the IC^T2 (Innovation, Creativity, and Capital) Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. The essays present fundamental new research on the analysis of complicated outcomes in relatively simple macroeconomic models. The book covers econometric modelling and time series analysis techniques in five parts. Part I focuses on sunspot equilibria, the study of uncertainty generated by nonstochastic economic models. Part II examines the more traditional examples of deterministic chaos: bubbles, instability, and hyperinflation. Part III contains the most current literature dealing with empirical tests for chaos and strange attractors. Part IV deals with chaos and informational complexity. Part V, Nonlinear Econometric Modelling, includes tests for and applications of nonlinearity.