A curiosity-whetting investigation of imagined life beyond our world.
Are we alone in the universe? Two well-known astronomers tackle the possibilities in this tour of exoplanets.
We know of only one planet on which life exists—Earth—but is life an everyday chemical and physical reaction in the universe or a unique fluke? We have a pretty good idea of some of the steps that led to life on Earth and a firm understanding of how it evolved since then. So how does this apply to the types of exoplanets we may encounter? Would life develop there as it did on Earth? How different could it be? Given the complexity and diversity of exoplanets we have found, will the answers be correspondingly complex and diverse? These are some of the questions approached by George Mason University physics and astronomy professors Trefil and Summers (co-authors: Exoplanets, 2018, etc.) in this sober yet enervating examination of possible life scenarios on a variety of exoplanet settings. First, the authors define life, which can be handled as a list (adaptation, growth, homeostasis, metabolism, organization, reproduction, responsiveness), a process (the NASA definition is “a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution”), or in terms of thermodynamics. The authors then take these definitions and apply them to a variety of possible planets: one with a rocky mantle and a metallic core overlaid with ice; one with an ocean beneath ice; in another, a land-and-water combination, etc. They probe each scenario to imagine how life could have taken shape given the opportunities and constraints. Trefil and Summers try their best to keep the language geared to a lay audience, but they can’t avoid some formulas: “Galileo’s argument rests on the fact that the volume, and hence the mass, of a structure depends on the cube of its dimensions, while the size of the support area depends on the square.” Overall, though, the prose is straightforward, and the authors make the potentialities of exoplanet life intriguingly real. Finally, they consider nonorganic life forms, for instance silicon chemistry replacing carbon-based life forms.
A curiosity-whetting investigation of imagined life beyond our world.Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-58834-664-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Smithsonian Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
An intriguing collection of essays covering much familiar ground, but with enough new insights and fresh perspectives to interest both Civil War buffs and casual readers. Boritt (Civil War Studies/Gettysburg College; Why the Confederacy Lost, 1992) assembles five essays by top specialists in the field, exploring the relationship of wartime Commander-in-Chief Lincoln to his leaders on the battlefield. The common denominator in those relations, the volume argues, was conflict, in part because of the inherent tension between civil and military authorities but also due to the personalities of Lincoln and those he chose to command. Stephen Sears (George B. McClellan, 1988) again examines ``little Mac,'' a supremely cautious man who never thought he had enough men or matÇriel to fight the Confederates; Lincoln removed him from command after he failed to exploit the narrow Union victory at Antietam. Mark Neely (The Last Best Hope of Earth, 1993) assays ``Fighting Joe'' Hooker, who led Union forces into a blundering defeat on bad terrain at Chancellorsville. Boritt looks at George Meade and the Battle of Gettysburg; like McClellan, Meade was cautious and slow, a trait that infuriated Lincoln and led him briefly to consider leaving Washington to take command of the Army himself. Michael Fellman (History/Simon Fraser Univ., British Columbia) writes about William Tecumseh Sherman, with whom Lincoln had distant and infrequent contact. Lincoln counseled Sherman to show mercy to Southerners—advice the general ignored, but his March to the Sea helped clinch Lincoln's re-election, which for a time seemed doubtful. Finally, John Y. Simon (History/Univ. of Southern Illinois) discusses Ulysses S. Grant, the general with whom it is often assumed Lincoln had the best relationship: The volume makes it clear that was true only in comparison with the president's other fractured ties. Five thoughtful and well-written essays, further grist for the mill of seemingly endless fascination with America's costliest war.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-19-508505-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The fundamentals of Einstein's theory of special relativity, presented in the form of a series of imaginary dialogues among scientists of three different eras. Fritzsch (Max Planck Institute for Physics, Munich; Quarks: The Stuff of Matter, 1983) begins by sending a fictitious modern physicist, Adrian Haller, to England, where he meets Sir Isaac Newton, who has been returned to Earth. Newton is curious about developments in physics since his day, and the two men spend several chapters discussing Newton's concepts of space, time, and light. When the conversation arrives at the subject of Albert Einstein's contributions to science, Newton persuades Haller to take him for a visit to Bern, Switzerland, where they meet the father of relativity. The three physicists then engage in a series of dialogues on how Einstein modified Newton's ideas of the universe, and on how modern science has both verified and extended Einstein's own theories. While there is an unavoidable kernel of mathematics in any discussion of physical concepts, the derivation of Einstein's famous equation, E = mc2, should be within the grasp of anyone who passed high school algebra. The key ideas are presented clearly, and the discussion touches on such subjects as the source of the sun's energy, the future of nuclear and fusion power, antimatter, and the decay of the proton. Fritzsch's handling of the dialogues and of the flimsy narrative framework does not suggest that he should take up fiction as a career. But the ideas come across clearly, even entertainingly, in spite of what appears to be a rather pedestrian translation. Occasionally stiff, but always readable; a good introduction to modern physics for any reader willing to invest a little thought in the subject. (45 halftones, 41 line drawings, 1 table)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1994
ISBN: 0-226-26557-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Univ. of Chicago
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
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