There’s not a lot new here, and most of the information can easily be found elsewhere, including Impey’s own books. Still,...
Do we have a future in space? By astronomer Impey’s (How It Began: A Time-Traveler’s Guide to the Universe, 2012, etc.) account, the answer is yes—but we must get working immediately.
“Whether we ‘outgrow’ the Solar System or are simply curious about worlds beyond, we’ll leave the safe harbor of our planetary system and venture into deep space.” So writes Impey, whose narrative blends the factual, the historical and the speculative—in the instance of the last, by imagining a deep-space mission in which cryogenically frozen “Frosties” chill on ice until being “reeled back into consciousness to explore a new world.” The author covers the expected basics—e.g., Isaac Newton’s wondering how a cannonball would behave if fired horizontally from above the atmosphere, affected only by gravity. Voilà: a law of motion and a basic premise of rocketry. Lightly running through the history of spaceflight, Impey observe, grimly, that NASA’s budget has been steadily shrinking over many years, with the bank bailout of 2008 costing more “than has been spent on NASA since it was started in 1959.” The author’s arguments are a little diffuse to be useful in countering a know-nothing congressperson who wonders why taxpayers should be funding space travel. Enter the entrepreneurs—Dick Rutan, Richard Branson et al.—who give Impey hope, even if the government has much deeper pockets. The author winds down his narrative with a view of what living elsewhere in the solar system might be like, a matter partially addressed by the Biosphere II project of old—which, he notes, may have been a failure but produced 200-plus published papers. He closes with a resounding cri de couer: “Space travel is urgent and it is real.”
There’s not a lot new here, and most of the information can easily be found elsewhere, including Impey’s own books. Still, he provides a useful synthesis without prerequisites and a welcoming invitation to join the space race.Pub Date: April 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-393-23930-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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