STAR CALLED THE SUN

Appropriately appearing during the International Year of the Quiet Sun, this brand new introductory study gives clear explanations of our latest knowledge about the sun. Phenomena are succinctly surveyed in a progression of integrated discussions of physical, chemical, mathematical, and astronomical theory, historical experiment, and calculation that shows us lucidly how we have come to know more and more about the ""very average star"" that is our sun. Gamow describes with his usual versatility the techniques and methods scientists have used to find out about how far, how hot, how big the sun is; what it is made of; the whys of its turbulent surface, the solar interior, where the energy comes from; its place among the stars; and what the consequences may be when it evolves, as it surely must, to a Red Giant some 5 billion years from now! Perhaps not as entertaining as the author's earlier One, Two, Three... Infinity, it will serve best those with a little knowledge of basic physics. It can be used as an excellent text for the bright student or layman to demonstrate how the various sciences contribute to understanding a particularly difficult natural phenomenon.