edited by Naomi Oreskes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001
A useful addition to the history-of-science literature, emphasizing the importance of scholarly communication and...
Firsthand reports of the birth of modern plate tectonics, the once heretical, now governing theory of how the earth works.
Since at least the 16th century, writes historian of science and geologist Oreskes (History/Univ. of California, San Diego), earth scientists have observed “the jigsaw-puzzle fit of the continental edges,” whereby Africa nestles neatly into South America, western North America into eastern Asia. Theories of continental drift and crustal contraction accounted for some geomorphological phenomena, but only in the 1960s did scientists begin to accrue solid evidence for how such things actually worked—with most of such evidence gathered on the hitherto inaccessible floors of the deep oceans. Strikingly, the majority of those scientists, Oreskes observes, were attached to only four institutions worldwide—Cambridge University, the Columbia University Lamont Geological Observatory, Princeton University, and the University of California Scripps Institution of Oceanography. (Soviet scientists, hampered by an officially endorsed theory emphasizing “vertical tectonics,” would join the revolution only much later.) Though many of the principal theoreticians have since died, Oreskes gathers testimony from some important participants, among them Ron Mason (who analyzed the geomagnetic patterns on the ocean floor that provided “the first step in what eventually became a new global theory of the earth”), Frederick Vine (whose research provided proof of geologist Tuzo Wilson’s theory of the existence of the Juan de Fuca plate), Neil Opdyke (who studied reversals of the earth’s geomagnetic field), and David Sandwell (whose work in radio altimetry helped map the planet’s crustal structure). Most of their reminiscences, along with those of 14 other contributors, are written at a level accessible to nonspecialist readers, and the authors’ enthusiasm for the study of the earth and its ways overcomes the occasional thickets of geological terminology.
A useful addition to the history-of-science literature, emphasizing the importance of scholarly communication and verification.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8133-3981-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
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by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway
by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Simon Carnell & Erica Segre ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
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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
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by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Simon Carnell
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by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Marion Lignana Rosenberg
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by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Erica Segre & Simon Carnell
by Richard Rhodes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1986
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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