Yerkes Observatory, 1892-1950

Yerkes Observatory, 1892-1950 PDF Author: Donald E. Osterbrock
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226639444
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
Drawing on his experience as historian of astronomy, practicing astrophysicist, and director of Lick Observatory, Donald Osterbrock uncovers a chapter in the history of astronomy by providing the story of the Yerkes Observatory. "An excellent description of the ups and downs of a major observatory."—Jack Meadows, Nature "Historians are much indebted to Osterbrock for this new contribution to the fascinating story of twentieth-century American astronomy."—Adriaan Blaauw, Journal for the History of Astronomy "An important reference about one of the key American observatories of this century."—Woodruff T. Sullivan III, Physics Today

Yerkes Observatory, 1892-1950

Yerkes Observatory, 1892-1950 PDF Author: Donald E. Osterbrock
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226639444
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398

Get Book Here

Book Description
Drawing on his experience as historian of astronomy, practicing astrophysicist, and director of Lick Observatory, Donald Osterbrock uncovers a chapter in the history of astronomy by providing the story of the Yerkes Observatory. "An excellent description of the ups and downs of a major observatory."—Jack Meadows, Nature "Historians are much indebted to Osterbrock for this new contribution to the fascinating story of twentieth-century American astronomy."—Adriaan Blaauw, Journal for the History of Astronomy "An important reference about one of the key American observatories of this century."—Woodruff T. Sullivan III, Physics Today

The Space Age Generation

The Space Age Generation PDF Author: William Sheehan
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 0816551049
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
The Space Age Generation shares the lives and careers of a dozen men and women whose passion for science was sparked by an astounding era--the golden age of space science. These scientists, historians, and astronomers lived and participated in an amazing time that not only saw humans step foot on the Moon but also saw human-made spacecraft travel throughout our solar system.

Sky and Ocean Joined

Sky and Ocean Joined PDF Author: Steven J. Dick
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521815994
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 636

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Book Description
As one of the oldest scientific institutions in the United States, the US Naval Observatory has a rich and colourful history. This volume is, first and foremost, a story of the relations between space, time and navigation, from the rise of the chronometer in the United States to the Global Positioning System of satellites, for which the Naval Observatory provides the time to a billionth of a second per day. It is a story of the history of technology, in the form of telescopes, lenses, detectors, calculators, clocks and computers over 170 years. It describes how one scientific institution under government and military patronage has contributed, through all the vagaries of history, to almost two centuries of unparalleled progress in astronomy. Sky and Ocean Joined will appeal to historians of science, technology, scientific institutions and American science, as well as astronomers, meteorologists and physicists.

Technical Innovation in American History [3 volumes]

Technical Innovation in American History [3 volumes] PDF Author: Rosanne Welch
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1489

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Book Description
From the invention of eyeglasses to the Internet, this three-volume set examines the pivotal effects of inventions on society, providing a fascinating history of technology and innovations in the United States from the earliest European colonization to the present. Technical Innovation in American History surveys the history of technology, documenting the chronological and thematic connections between specific inventions, technological systems, individuals, and events that have contributed to the history of science and technology in the United States. Covering eras from colonial times to the present day in three chronological volumes, the entries include innovations in fields such as architecture, civil engineering, transportation, energy, mining and oil industries, chemical industries, electronics, computer and information technology, communications (television, radio, and print), agriculture and food technology, and military technology. The A–Z entries address key individuals, events, organizations, and legislation related to themes such as industry, consumer and medical technology, military technology, computer technology, and space science, among others, enabling readers to understand how specific inventions, technological systems, individuals, and events influenced the history, cultural development, and even self-identity of the United States and its people. The information also spotlights how American culture, the U.S. government, and American society have specifically influenced technological development.

Empire of the Stars

Empire of the Stars PDF Author: Arthur I. Miller
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618341511
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
A history of the idea of "black holes" explores the tumultuous debate over the existence of this now well-accepted phenomenon, focusing particular attention on Indian scientist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.

The Haunted Observatory

The Haunted Observatory PDF Author: Richard Baum
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1615923012
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
For many centuries observers of the night sky interpreted the moving planets and the surrounding starry realms in terms of concentric crystalline spheres, in the center of which hung the Earth -- the hub of creation. But with the discoveries of Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton, astronomers were suddenly struck by a momentous truth: the solar system was neither small nor intimate, but extended an unfathomable distance toward countless even more distant stars. The endless possibilities of these astounding developments fired scientists'' imaginations, leading both to further discoveries and to flights of fancy. While newly discovered facts are important and interesting, the quaint curiosities and spectral "ghosts" that led scientists astray have a fascination of their own. This is the subject of astronomer Richard Baum in this elegant narrative about the mysteries and wonders of celestial exploration. The fabled "mountains of Venus," a "city in the moon," ghostly rings around Uranus and Neptune, bright inexplicable objects seen near the sun, and the truth behind Coleridge''s "Star dogged Moon" in his famous poem about the Ancient Mariner -- these are just some of the intriguing twists and turns that astronomers took while investigating our starry neighbors. Baum vividly conveys the romance of astronomy at a time when the vistas of outer space were a new frontier and astronomers, guided only by imagination and analogy, set forth on uncharted seas and were haunted for a lifetime by marvels both seen and imagined.

Discovery and Classification in Astronomy

Discovery and Classification in Astronomy PDF Author: Steven J. Dick
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107033616
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 475

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Book Description
This book shows that astronomical discovery is a complex and ongoing process comprising various stages of research, interpretation and understanding.

Science in the Early Twentieth Century

Science in the Early Twentieth Century PDF Author: Jacob Darwin Hamblin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1851096701
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
The first A–Z resource on the history of science from 1900 to 1950 examining the dynamic between science and the social, political, and cultural forces of the era. Though many books have highlighted the great scientific discoveries of the early 1900s, few have tackled the wider context in which these milestones were achieved. Science in the Early Twentieth Century covers everything from quantum physics to penicillin and more, including all the major scientific developments of the period, detailing not only the scientists and their work, but also the social and political forces that dominated the scientific agenda. Over 200 A–Z entries chronicle the landmark scientific discoveries and personalities of the period, including such scientific giants as Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. Placing science firmly within its cultural context, this thoroughly researched, accessible resource takes a uniquely interdisciplinary approach, making it an invaluable text for scientists, educators, students, and the general reader.

From White Dwarfs to Black Holes

From White Dwarfs to Black Holes PDF Author: G. Srinivasan
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226769974
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
From White Dwarfs to Black Holes chronicles the extraordinarily productive scientific career of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, one of the twentieth century's most distinguished astrophysicists. Among Chandrasekhar's many discoveries were the critical mass that makes a star too massive to become a white dwarf and the mathematical theory of black holes. In 1983 he shared the Nobel Prize for Physics for these and other achievements. Over the course of more than six decades of active research Chandrasekhar investigated a dizzying array of subjects. G. Srinivasan notes in the preface to this book that "the range of Chandra's contributions is so vast that no one person in the physics or astronomy community can undertake the task of commenting on his achievements." Thus, in this collection, ten eminent scientists evaluate Chandrasekhar's contributions to their own fields of specialization. Donald E. Osterbrock closes the volume with a historical discussion of Chandrasekhar's interactions with graduate students during his more than quarter century at Yerkes Observatory. Contributors are James Binney, John L. Friedman, Norman R. Lebovitz, Donald E. Osterbrock, E. N. Parker, Roger Penrose, A. R. P. Rau, George B. Rybicki, E. E. Salpeter, Bernard F. Schutz, and G. Srinivasan.

The Astronomer's Chair

The Astronomer's Chair PDF Author: Omar W. Nasim
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262045532
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
The astronomer’s observing chair as both image and object, and the story it tells about a particular kind of science and a particular view of history. The astronomer’s chair is a leitmotif in the history of astronomy, appearing in hundreds of drawings, prints, and photographs from a variety of sources. Nineteenth-century stargazers in particular seemed eager to display their observing chairs—task-specific, often mechanically adjustable observatory furniture designed for use in conjunction with telescopes. But what message did they mean to send with these images? In The Astronomer’s Chair, Omar W. Nasim considers these specialized chairs as both image and object, offering an original framework for linking visual and material cultures. Observing chairs, Nasim ingeniously argues, showcased and embodied forms of scientific labor, personae, and bodily practice that appealed to bourgeois sensibilities. Viewing image and object as connected parts of moral, epistemic, and visual economies of empire, Nasim shows that nineteenth-century science was represented in terms of comfort and energy, and that “manly” postures of Western astronomers at work in specialized chairs were contrasted pointedly with images of “effete” and cross-legged “Oriental” astronomers. Extending his historical analysis into the twentieth century, Nasim reexamines what he argues to be a famous descendant of the astronomer’s chair: Freud’s psychoanalytic couch, which directed observations not outward toward the stars but inward toward the stratified universe of the psyche. But whether in conjunction with the mind or the heavens, the observing chair was a point of entry designed for specialists that also portrayed widely held assumptions about who merited epistemic access to these realms in the first place. With more than 100 illustrations, many in color; flexibound.