Cosmology and the universe Books

Book SynopsisIs the universe fine-tuned for complexity, life, or something else? This comprehensive overview of fine-tuning arguments in physics, with contributions from leading researchers in their fields, sheds light on this often used but seldom understood topic. Each chapter reviews a specific subject in modern physics, such as dark energy, inflation, or solar system formation, and discusses whether any parameters in our current theories appear to be fine-tuned and, if so, to what degree. Connections and differences between these fine-tuning arguments are made clear, and detailed mathematical derivations of various fine-tuned parameters are given. This accessible yet precise introduction to fine-tuning in physics will aid students and researchers across astrophysics, atomic and particle physics and cosmology, as well as all those working at the intersections of physics and philosophy.Trade Review'… the questions posed here are of strong interest to many … Recommended' C. Palma, ChoiceTable of ContentsPart I. Introduction: 1. Fine-Tuning, Complexity, and Life in the Multiverse Mario Livio and Martin Rees; 2. Hierarchy of Fine-Structure Constants Bernard Carr; Part II. Cosmological Fine-Tunings: 3. Naturalness, fine-tuning, and observer selection in cosmology John A. Peacock; 4. Cosmic Inflation: Trick or Treat? Jerome Martin; 5. Is the Universal Matter- Anti-matter Asymmetry Fine tuned? Gary Steigman and Robert J. Scherrer; 6. Structure Formation Adrianne Slyz; Part III. Fine-tuning in Particle and Nuclear Physics: 7. Nuclear physics and its impact on primordial and stellar nucleosynthesis Jean-Philippe Uzan; 8. Fine-Tunings at Particle Scales Giulia Zanderighi; 9. Dark Matter Edward W. Kolb; Part IV. Fine-tuning for life: 10. Fine-tuning: from stars to galaxies formation Joseph Silk; 11. How Special Is the Solar System? Mario Livio; 12. On the Temporal Habitability of Our Universe; 13. Climbing up the theories of Nature: Fine-Tuning and Biological Molecules Abraham Loeb.

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Book Synopsis''Great characters, fine writing, totally engrossing'' STEPHEN KING It might have been the end of days. Instead it was the beginning of something shockingly new. They called the comet Cain, after the astronomer who discovered it. It passed 500,000 miles from Earth. We were spared planetary destruction and granted a light show like no other. But, one year later, Earth span into the debris field left by the comet and a meteor storm struck. Roads, buildings and even a small town were annihilated.The meteors impacted heavily around the dying mining town of Northfall, Minnesota. It was the night of a mysterious double murder, the deed overshadowed by the discovery that the burning remains of the rock contained an unknown substance more precious than gold: the Ninth Metal. And with that discovery, everything changed.Benjamin Percy is an award-winning novelist, celebrated comic books writer and author of the WTrade ReviewPraise for THE NINTH METAL * : *When Benjamin Percy publishes a novel, I have got to read that novel. THE NINTH METAL continues his streak of thrilling, incisive genre bending goodness. It's a sci-fi novel, a crime novel and a super-hero novel, too. Audacious and intelligent and exactly what I was dying to read * Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling *Ben Percy will serve you the impossible-and by the end of every chapter, you will believe it and feel it as truth. Whether you choose to think of him as the Elmore Leonard of rural Minnesota or the Stephen King of Science Fiction, Percy-with his extraordinary and unrelenting eye-dishes up humanity like some kind of otherworldly blue plate special, at once deeply familiar and wildly new * Margaret Stohl, No. 1 New York Times Bestselling Author *Take one part dystopia, one part sci-fi, two parts apocalypse, then ride them roughshod through a bleak and bloody western, and it still wouldn't get close to what Ben Percy does here, which is blow open the core of humanity's dark heart * Marlon James, Booker Prize winning author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf *The plot is dynamic, featuring multiple viewpoints as well as corporate malfeasance, spooky cults, and family drama. This sounds complicated, and it is, but all of these moving parts work together due to strong characterization, especially the cheery rookie police officer Stacie Toal. The action is vivid without being too graphic, contributing to an overall cinematic feel. While the novel comes to a satisfying conclusion, this is the first book in an anticipated trilogy * Booklist *Debris from a comet drops a fabulously valuable new metal . . . turning it into a bloody, brawling boomtown. Great characters, fine writing, totally engrossing * Stephen King *Wildly entertaining * Publishers Weekly *A propulsive thriller that drops plenty of hints about a bigger picture to be discovered. Fast-paced and gripping, this will make you eager for the next in the Comet Cycle * Sci-Fi Bulletin *Percy's novel is a clever amalgamation of speculative fiction and family drama, of supercharged characters and regular folk, encompassing various viewpoints in a highly cinematic narrative. * Star Tribune *There's mystery and intrigue and a heavy dose of the Midwest in this book, which bills itself as a modern gold rush * Science Friday *The engine of the novel, first of a trilogy, has a lot of moving parts but Percy keeps them all meshing nicely together with sinewy prose and strong characterisation * Financial Times *It's a fast-paced book, full of gritty drama, surprising revelations that don't stray too far into incredulity, complex character dynamics and multiple layers of plot. It was great fun to read and had a real meteoric impact * ParSec *Reads like Stephen King, mixed with Lee Child with a dash of Marvel's Jessica Jones. I couldn't put it down * Concatenation *

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Book SynopsisThe authors continue the book series entitled Contemporary Fundamental Physics. Edited by Professor Doctor V. V. Dvoeglazov from Universidad de Zacatecas, Mexico, this thematic issue Relativity, Gravitation, Cosmology: Beyond Foundations contains chapters related to contemporary problems of modern physics. This book includes an Editorial Introduction and eleven chapters, commentary, and several reprints. This book may also be considered as the continuation of past publications found in the authors own series concerning relativity. This issue includes contributions from M. Land, V. V. Varlamov, E. Kapuscik, I. A. Vernigora and Yu. G. Rudoy, E. M. Ovsiyuk, V. V. Kisel and V. M. Redkov, O. V. Veko, S. I. Kruglov, B. G. Sidharth, A. Gutierrez-Rodriguez, M. A. Hernandez-Ruiz and A. Gonzalez-Sanchez, and V. V. Dvoeglazov. Older research concerns quantum field theory and gravitation theories. Recent research has been presented at the XI Workshop (2015) and the X and XI Schools (2014 and 2016) of the Gravitation Division of the Sociedad Mexicana de Fisica. The book will be useful to researchers, professors, and students of physics and mathematics.

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Book SynopsisThe meaning of "quark matter" is twofold: 1) It refers to compound states known as "subquarks" (the most fundamental constituents of matter), with quarks consisting of nuclear matter or "nucleons" (the constituents of the nucleus), and 2) compound states of quarks that consist of roughly equal numbers of up, down, and strange quarks, and which may be absolutely stable. Recently, both types of quark matter have become very intriguing subjects in physics and astronomy since the recently discovered Higgs boson, which may be taken as a composite object (possibly, a bound state of subquark-antisubquark pairs). Additionally, many recently observed compact stars have been considered "strange stars" (stars consisting of quark matter). In this book, these subjects in physics and astronomy are discussed without requiring readers to comprehend mathematical details. This book consists of three chapters: Chapter One: "Quark Matter and Strange Stars", Chapter Two: "Composites of Subquarks as Quark Matter", and Chapter Three: "Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and Strange Stars". Their contents include the following: In Chapter One, quark matter and strange stars are discussed in detail. In Chapter Two, the unified subquark model of all fundamental particles (quarks, leptons, and gauge and Higgs bosons) and forces (strong, electromagnetic, weak, and gravitational forces) is discussed in detail. In Chapter Three, pregeometry, in which the general theory of relativity for gravity can be derived as an approximate theory at long distances, is briefly reviewed. Furthermore, special and general theories of "inconstancy" in pregeometry in which fundamental physical constants may vary are introduced. Finally, possible solutions to the most puzzling problem in current cosmology of dark energy and dark matter in the universe are presented. Between Chapters One and Two, pictures of Dr. Abdus Salam added, as Dr. Salam was one of the founders of subquark models. Also, between Chapters Two and Three, pictures of Dr. Andrei Sakharov are added, as Dr. Sakharov was the founder of pregeometry.

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Book SynopsisThis book is an introductory text in General Relativity, while also focusing some solutions to the cosmological constant problem, which consists in an amazing 100 orders of magnitude discrepancy between the value of this constant in the present Universe, and its estimated value in the very early epoch. The author suggests that the constant is in fact, a time-varying function of the age of the Universe. The book offers a wealth of cosmological models, treats up to date findings, like the verification of the Lense-Thirring effect in the year 2004, and the recently published research by Cooperstock and Tieu (2005) suggesting that "dark" matter is not a necessary concept in order to explain the rotational velocities of stars around galaxies'' nuclei. This is a mathematical cosmology textbook that may lead undergraduates, and graduate students to one of the frontiers of research, while keeping the prerequisites to a minimum, because most of the theory in the book requires only prior knowledge of Calculus and a University Physics course.

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Book SynopsisIn this book the authors gather and present current research in the study of cosmology. Topics discussed include the mysteries of the geometrization of gravitation; relativistic viscous Universe models; cosmology and science; a discussion on whether science has established if the cosmos are physically comprehensible?; Mach, Einstein, dark matter and knowability; implementing Hilltop F-term hybrid inflation in supergravity; and relative velocities, geometry and the expansion of space.

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Book SynopsisThe authors continue the book series ''Contemporary Fundamental Physics'' through Nova Science Publishers. The editor is Professor Doctor V. V. Dvoeglazov from Universidad de Zacatecas, Mexico. The thematic issue, "Relativity, Gravitation, Cosmology: Foundations", contains articles related to contemporary problems of modern physics. The book includes an editorial introduction and 10 chapters. The old problems are considered in quantum field theory and gravitation theories. So, the authors restore time connection in physics that has been decoupled over the last twelve years. This book may be considered as a continuation of books in our Series on Relativity.

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Book SynopsisLike the ever-widening universe, Standard candles expands on Alice Major’s earlier themes of family, mythology, and cosmology, teasing out subtle wonders in form and subject. Her voice resonates through experiments with old and new poetic forms as she imbues observed and imagined phenomena—from the centres of galaxies to the mysteries of her own backyard—with the most grounded and grounding moments of human experience. In Standard candles, readers will find an emotional dimension that seamlessly intersects with the dimensions of space and time. Fans of Alice Major will enjoy seeing her work through familiar themes, while readers new to her poetry will discover unexplored universes. Alice Major emigrated from Scotland at the age of eight, and grew up in Toronto before coming west to work as a weekly newspaper reporter. She served as Edmonton’s first poet laureate and has been inducted into the city’s cultural hall of fame. A widely-published author, she has won many distinctions. Her most recent book is Intersecting Sets: A Poet Looks at Science, which received the Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction as well as a National Magazine Award gold medal. Her website is www.alicemajor.com. Let us compare cosmologies There is a beginning and a middle. There is an arc of narrative. There is a word, a large engraved initial. There is imperative— a cause, a god. Or not. There is an end. A purpose. Or maybe none. There is a plot with reasons, reason. There is a circus, a theatre stage of space and time. There are equations at the bottom or the top. There is a pantheon of matter, motion, scattered photons. And the questions every universe expects: what came before? What happens next?Trade Review"Alice Major’s 10th poetry collection, Standard candles, covers a huge distance in its slim text, racing through a dozen different poetic forms and countless cosmologies. It references everything from Greek mythology to quantum uncertainty to Henrietta Swan Leavitt, the inventor of the standard candle itself. The book is like an ultra-dense kernel containing all things—history, theology, astronomy, geometry, an infinite list. It’s the universe right before the Big Bang, titanic forces contained within a few thousand tightly packed words, almost ready to explode and race endlessly out." [Full review at http://bit.ly/1W6w7s5] -- Bruce Cinnamon * Vue Weekly *#6 on the Edmonton Journal's Bestsellers list (Edmonton Nonfiction) for the week of November 06 2015. * The Edmonton Journal *#10 on the Edmonton Journal's Bestsellers list for the week of November 13, 2015. * The Edmonton Journal *"In her latest poetry collection, Standard candles, Alice Major continues to draw from science as a source of metaphor to ground the big ideas floating around the universe. Like Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson, who bring scientific concepts to a public consciousness in their documentary television shows, Major takes up the poet's essential challenge to make grand concepts accessible and relatable to the reader. The result is a collection of thoughtfully crafted suites that feel mythological or biblical in scale, yet as familiar and common as our offices or kitchens.... In reading Standard candles, there is the potential for a most palpable experience of having one's mind blown. Readers will certainly find themselves putting the book down to stare out the window at the night sky and feel a sense of loneliness wrapped in communion." Prairie Books Now, Fall/Winter 2015 -- Steve Locke * Prairie Books Now *#9 on the Edmonton Journal's Bestsellers list for the week of January 16, 2016. * The Edmonton Journal *"In her poetry she uses her knowledge of specialised – even arcane – fields in the same way that British playwrights Tom Stoppard and Michael Frayn have done: to provide startling and vivid analogies with the human dynamics of a complex emotional universe with which her readers will be more familiar. This is a handsomely produced and carefully organized book, divided into themed sections.... This substantial collection gives ample evidence of Major’s poetic craft and verbal dexterity.... [A] fine collection." [Full review at http://bit.ly/1PbKz4e] -- Michael Bartholomew-Biggs * londongrip.co.uk *"The result is a study of the universe, certainly, but also of childhood wonder, hardscrabble wisdom and inevitable grief... To Major, [standard candles] isn't just euphonious, it's a poignant metaphor for mortality, loss and the connectedness of all things." -- Brent Wittmeier * Edmonton Journal *"...one of Alice Major’s strengths is her ability to introduce an idea as sweeping as ‘science’ and distill it down to a moment, a memory, an object. No one but Major could have written this book: in a way no other poet consistently does, she grasps the edges of the universe and pulls it into a headlock. Her work has the precision of Leonard Cohen (whom she purposely invokes): a rare ability to condense the monumental into the quietly personal." [Full review at http://bit.ly/1Tg3uwA] -- Kimmy Beach * ARC Poetry Magazine *"[In Standard candles, Major] has everything that I most love, most want, in poetry: wit, startling originality, the power to move without a shred of sentimentality or manipulation – and perhaps most of all, the ability to take you somewhere new both intellectually and experientially.” [Full post at http://bit.ly/25SHtqn] -- Katherine Venn * anthonywilsonpoetry.com *"In this book Major provides us with some STEAM, i.e., Science Technology Engineering Art Math! She uses geometry, math and theories as entry points into slices of domestic life. Her poems are precise in their diction, dense in their content, and technically proficient. The entire work is a dense and beautiful existential rumination. The comparisons and metaphors are fresh and unexpected." -- Juror, 2016 Stephan G. Stephansson Award"Standard candles is also a poetic inquiry of sorts – a skillful exploration of the overlap between poetry and science/mathematics. The poems range from abstract and philosophical to imagery-rich and personal. The book asks questions and puts forward theories that playfully push at the bounds of both science and poetry – for example, positing a pantheon of gods and goddesses in charge of various aspects of the universe and its creation. A high level of poetic skill informs this work, and the sections build upon one another to create a complex and varied collection." -- Juror, 2016 Stephan G. Stephansson Award"Standard candles works on so many levels. It demonstrates the capacity of poetry to make connections between subjects of varying complexities with very intentional word combinations, strong sounds, complete conceits, different forms and material grounded in the quotidian, scientific and mythical. Each chapter, with a consistent theme or question and built upon, has a strength that if extracted they could easily stand on their own like an individual collection. Throughout, the individual poems are exceptional, each feeling complete because of their spine or axis that the theme(s), conceits and word choices support." -- Juror, 2016 Stephan G. Stephansson AwardTable of Contentsxi Sonnet for Valentine’s The set of all gods 2 The god of prime numbers 3 The god of infinities 4 The god of symmetry 5 The god of gravity 6 The god of salt 7 The god of kites and darts 8 The god of quantum uncertainty 9 The god of probabilities 10 The baker god 11 The god of automata 12 The god of teapots 14 The god of cats 16 The god of sparrows 17 The god of hearts 18 The jeweller god 19 The god of dark 20 The god of memory 21 The muse of universes Ordinary matter 24 Ordinary matter 26 Vacuum fluctuations 27 The helium thoughts 28 Advice to the lovelorn 30 Three-body problem 31 Love in three dimensions 32 Heavy elements 33 Local bubble 34 Catechism Standard candles 40 1 Address | 1959 42 2 Clouds of glory | 1908 45 3 Pythagorean theorem | 1965 46 4 Triangulation | 1808 49 5 The end of greatness | 2000 51 6 In the Castle of Stars | 1576 54 7 Supernova Type 1A | 1997 57 8 Then death returns 59 9 In all that void 60 10 Looking out to the dark | December 1928 62 11 d = (X- x)2 + (Y- y)2 + (Z- z)2 - c(T-t)2 | now 64 A prayer to bring you home Muscle of difficulty 68 Muscle of difficulty 70 Yet another crack in the foundation 72 Day’s eye 74 Expanding space 76 The movers’ dilemma 78 Rectangularization of the morbidity curve 80 Now, that amphibious moment 81 To the generations that will live a thousand years 82 Last scattering surface Let us compare cosmologies 86 1 Let us compare cosmologies 87 2 The Orphic follower 88 3 A pope 89 4 The evangelist 90 5 The philosophical skeptic 91 6 The nihilist 92 7 The totalitarian 93 8 The survivalist 94 9 The optimist 95 10 The magician 96 11 The baker 97 12 The consumer 98 13 The funeral director 99 14 The Manichean 100 15 The artist Sins and virtues 102 Avarice 104 Lust 105 Gluttony 107 Envy 108 Pride 110 Anger 111 Sloth 113 Mercy 115 Hope Shifting wavelengths 118 Tortoise and fern 120 Fingers of God 121 The barber’s paradox 122 Zeno’s paradox 123 Twin paradox 124 Sand reckonings: Eubulides’ paradox 125 Honeycomb conjectures 127 Bee violet 128 Optical molasses 129 Life adapts to inhospitable environments 130 How to tell a Martian my heart is on the left Underworlds 132 Persephone and I are underground 135 The outer dark 138 Cocytus 142 Niflheim 145 The man with no hands 147 Each of us the centre of a circle Postscript 150 God submits a grant application to the Canada Council 153 Notes 163 Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisEver wanted to know more about the Big Bang but didn’t have Brian Cox’s email address? Ever wanted to cry out, ‘What on Earth is a black hole?’ but been afraid you’d be shouting into the abyss? Ever wanted to find out how gravity works but never found the book to pull you in?Well, have no fear: DARK is an easily digestible beginner’s guide to the Universe in a handy A to Z format, with entries on everything from Dark Matter and Quantum Physics to NASA and the Zoo Hypothesis.What’s more, the book is beautifully presented, so you’ll want to keep it out on display, dipping in to check exactly when it is that we humans are likely to be engulfed by the furnace of the Sun. It boasts a number of stunning design elements throughout, including original artworks and bespoke lettering to accompany each of the twenty-six chapters, as well as inspiring, enlightening and amusing quotes about space rendered in exquisitely considered typography.So, if you want to brush up on your astronomical ABCs while simultaneously receiving a visual massage from some rather splendid art and design, then this may well be the cosmic coffee-table book for you.

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Book SynopsisIs there such a thing as a fundamental reality, something which was around before our universe came into existence and which will still remain when all matter, time, and space itself ultimately disappear? Something fundamental which, in turn, can make space and time and matter arise from seemingly nothing? Under most cosmological and physical models, the last known remnants of reality are the disembodied laws of mathematics -- beyond which it is extremely difficult to probe further. Using contemporary physics, narrated at popular science level, Chris Ransford shows why full nothingness -- a nothingness within which even the disembodied laws of mathematics would not exist -- cannot possibly exist, and what most likely underpins and enables reality. This leads the author to a few thoughts as to how such knowledge may be verified, and then deployed to achieve a better alignment with reality.

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of mankind's fascination with worlds beyond our own-by the bestselling author of The Physics of Star Trek Lawrence Krauss -an international leader in physics and cosmology-examines our long and ardent romance with parallel universes, veiled dimensions, and regions of being that may extend tantalizingly beyond the limits of our perception. Krauss examines popular culture's current embrace (and frequent misunderstanding) of such topics as black holes, life in other dimensions, strings, and some of the more extraordinary new theories that propose the existence of vast extra dimensions alongside our own. BACKCOVER: An astonishing and brilliantly written work of popular science. -Science a GoGo A brilliant, thrilling book . . . You'll have so much fun reading that you'll hardly notice you're getting a primer on contemporary physics and cosmology. -Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American LifeTrade Review“An astonishing and brilliantly written work of popular science.” —Science a GoGo“A brilliant, thrilling book . . . You’ll have so much fun reading that you’ll hardly notice you’re getting a primer on contemporary physics and cosmology.” —Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

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Book SynopsisThe Planetary Scientist's Companion is a comprehensive and practical book of facts and data about the Sun, planets, asteroids, comets, meteorites, and Kuiper belt and Centaur objects in our solar system. Also covered are properties of nearby stars, the interstellar medium, and extra-solar planetary systems.Trade Review"It is indeed an extremely useful book. It contains everything that is needed for the one en vogue back of the envelope calculations and much more. Lodders and Fegley have compiled a remarkable combination of data relevant to all aspects of planetology in a handy booklet. The real value of the book is the supporting literature documentation of all numbers listed. I recommend this book without any reservations." -- Herbert Palme, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, Vol 35, 2000 "The Planetary Scientist's Companion is a concise reference book that will be helpful to students and researchers in planetary sciences and related areas. Even the rapid change in knowledge of our planetary system and the fast increase of available data will not outdate this book in the near future. I recommend this compilation to all persons working in the broad field of planetology. Also those teaching in Earth and planetary sciences will appreciate having The Planetary Scientist's Companion available on their bookshelf." -- Ludolf Schultz "This book is incredibly comprehensive and well-organized. It is jam-packed with mostly tabular data from a wide variety of well-documented and relatively up-to-date sources, including classic research and review papers and disparate reference sources. While unusual for a reference book, The Planetary Scientist's Companion actually lends itself to casual reading, which is perhaps fitting for what the authors describe as a "'data journey' through the solar system and beyond." This is a succinct and handy reference book that will be of use to most students and teachers." --EOS, June 15, 1999 "This book has been written for the 'friend of planetary sciences' who might be in need of some physical or chemical data to do a quick calculation or otherwise need some facts and figures. The 17 chapters start with basic technical data and proceed to cover all of the bodies in our solar system--the sun, the planets and their satellites, the asteroids, the comets, and also meteorites. Data for these bodies includes size, shape, composition, atmosphere, and orbital information. There is also a brief chapter, 'Beyond the Solar System' (nearby stars, brown dwarfs, and extrasolar planets), as well as a glossary."--Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society "Lodders and Fegley's modest volume is chock-full of information, a rich handbook for the Solar System. The first 100 pages are devoted to general geometric, chemical, and physical ideas, and data that will be useful later. The bulk of the handbook is a body-by-body description with data relating to the planets, their satellites and rings, asteroids, Centaur and Kuiper belt objects, comets meteorites, stars in the solar vicinity, and substellar objects. . . . The organization and the index are quite well done, and finding specific information is not difficult; the text is rich with a large number of helpful figures and graphs. There is a nice glossary that is extensive and should be useful. It should be a handy book for any physics department teaching an astronomy course, and especially for students or faculty when using telescopes for observation of nearby objects. As a convenient reference, it belongs in any good college library."--Choice "[P]rovides important physical, chemical, and astronomical information that will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of planetary science, geochemistry, and cosmochemistry. The book is compact, yet filled with easy-to-find tabular data and descriptive information on our solar system's planets and moons, the sun, and other objects such as asteroids and comets. There are also chapters on meteorites . . . and the newly discovered planets outside our solar system. . . . The authors state in the book's preface that they have not intended to create a work to replace textbooks on planetary science or cosmochemistry, but to provide a handy reference tool that brings together information that is widely scattered in scientific journals and books. They have achieved this objective. . . . [R]ecommended for all academic libraries supporting planetary astronomy or geochemistry course offerings and larger public library reference collections."--E-STREAMS "It is indeed an extremely useful book. It contains everything that is needed for the one en vogue back of the envelope calculations and much more. Lodders and Fegley have compiled a remarkable combination of data relevant to all aspects of planetology in a handy booklet. The real value of the book is the supporting literature documentation of all numbers listed. I recommend this book without any reservations." -- Herbert Palme, Meteoritics & Planetary Science, Vol 35, 2000 "The Planetary Scientist's Companion is a concise reference book that will be helpful to students and researchers in planetary sciences and related areas. Even the rapid change in knowledge of our planetary system and the fast increase of available data will not outdate this book in the near future. I recommend this compilation to all persons working in the broad field of planetology. Also those teaching in Earth and planetary sciences will appreciate having The Planetary Scientist's Companion available on their bookshelf." -- Ludolf Schultz "This book is incredibly comprehensive and well-organized. It is jam-packed with mostly tabular data from a wide variety of well-documented and relatively up-to-date sources, including classic research and review papers and disparate reference sources. While unusual for a reference book, The Planetary Scientist's Companion actually lends itself to casual reading, which is perhaps fitting for what the authors describe as a "'data journey' through the solar system and beyond." This is a succinct and handy reference book that will be of use to most students and teachers." --EOS, June 15, 1999 "The Planetary Scientist's Companion is a succinct and handy reference that will be useful to those in the geophysical community looking for a foothold into planetary science or for an interesting compact survey of the present understanding of planetary phenomena."--The Leading EdgeTable of Contents1. Technical Data ; 2. The Solar System ; 3. The Sun ; 4. Mercury ; 5. Venus ; 6. Earth and Moon ; 7. Mars and Satellites ; 8. Jupiter, Rings and Satellites ; 9. Saturn, Rings and Satellites ; 10. Uranus, Rings and Satellites ; 11. Neptune, Rings and Satellites ; 12. Pluto and Charon ; 13. The Asteroids ; 14. Centaur Objects and Kuiper Belt Objects ; 15. Comets ; 16. Meteorites ; 17. Beyond the Solar System ; Glossary ; Index

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Book SynopsisDo a little armchair time travel, rub elbows with a four-dimensional intelligent life form, or stretch your mind to the furthest corner of an uncharted universe. With this astonishing guidebook, Surfing Through Hyperspace, you need not be a mathematician or an astrophysicist to explore the all-but-fathomable concepts of hyperspace and higher-dimensional geometry.No subject in mathematics has intrigued both children and adults as much as the idea of a fourth dimension. Philosophers and parapsychologists have meditated on this mysterious space that no-one can point to but may be all around us. Yet this extra dimension has a very real, practical value to mathematicians and physicists who use it everyday in their calculations. In the tradition of Flatland, and with an infectious enthusiasm, Clifford Pickover tackles the problems inherent in our 3-D brains trying to visualize a 4-D world, muses on the religious implications of the existence of higher-dimensional consciousness, and urges allTrade Review"Pickover alternates expositions of math, physics and geometry with episodes of instructional science fiction while showing interested amateurs the mathematical and physical properties of higher spatial dimensions."--Publishers Weekly "Is there, asks Clifford Pickover, more to our Universe than forwards, sidewards, and up? Before I knew it, I was well and truly infected. After explaining how his book would cover all the usual stuff about higher dimensions--their unimaginability, their weird properties, and how physicists think they may hold the key to understanding the Universe--Pickover sprung his trap: 'I want to know if humankind's gods could exist in the fourth dimension'....I read the book in two sittings. I'm still under its influence, which is all the more perplexing considering how abstract and unworldly higher dimensions are."--Robert Mathews, New Scientist "Mark my words: within a few months, you too will come across others in the grip of infection by this amazing book."--New Scientist "Extraordinary book."--Daily Telegraph (UK) "In recent years, Pickover has taken up the helm once worn by Isaac Asimov as the most compelling popular explainer of cutting-edge scientific ideas."--"In Pittsburgh" "Pickover alternates expositions of math, physics and geometry with episodes of instructional science fiction while showing interested amateurs the mathematical and physical properties of higher spatial dimensions."--Publishers Weekly "Is there, asks Clifford Pickover, more to our Universe than forwards, sidewards, and up? Before I knew it, I was well and truly infected. After explaining how his book would cover all the usual stuff about higher dimensions--their unimaginability, their weird properties, and how physicists think they may hold the key to understanding the Universe--Pickover sprung his trap: 'I want to know if humankind's gods could exist in the fourth dimension'....I read the book in two sittings. I'm still under its influence, which is all the more perplexing considering how abstract and unworldly higher dimensions are."--Robert Mathews, New Scientist "Mark my words: within a few months, you too will come across others in the grip of infection by this amazing book."--New Scientist "Extraordinary book."--Daily Telegraph (UK) "In recent years, Pickover has taken up the helm once worn by Isaac Asimov as the most compelling popular explainer of cutting-edge scientific ideas."--"In Pittsburgh"Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1: Degrees of Freedom 2: The Divinity of Higher Dimensions 3: Satan and Perpendicular Worlds 4: Hyperspheres and Tesseracts 5: Mirror Worlds 6: The Gods of Hyperspace Concluding Remarks Appendix A: Mind-Bending Four Dimensional Puzzles Appendix B: Higher Dimensions in Science Fiction Appendix C: Banchoff Klein Bottle Appendix D: Quaternions Appendix E: Four-Dimensional Mazes Appendix F: Smorgasbord for Computer Junkies Appendix G: Evolution of Four-Dimensional Beings Appendix H: Challenging Questions for Further Thought Appendix I: Hyperspace Titles Notes Further Readings About the Author Addendum Index

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Book SynopsisThe last years have seen a symbiosis of the fields of elementary particle physics and the astrophysics of the early universe. This text presents the background of the subjects and the latest developments at a level suitable for final year undergraduates and beginning graduate students. The first chapters cover the properties and interactions of elementary particles followed by discussion of the early universe, including inflation, dark matter and dark energy, and the growth of the galactic structure. The final chapters discuss cosmic rays and particle physics in the stars. The close relation between particle interactions and large scale development of the cosmos is a constant theme in the text, with emphasis on the interplay between experiment and theory. This book is an enlarged and updated version of the first edition published five years ago. In a rapidly evolving field, emphasis has of course been placed on the most recent developments. However, the opportunity has also been taken Trade ReviewThe real strength of this book lies in the linking particle physics with astrophysics, right from the start. I would especially reccommend this book for senior students. * Astronomy & Space *Table of ContentsPART 1; PART 2; PART 3

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe bestselling author of Einsteins Dreams explores the emotional and philosophical questions raised by recent discoveries in science with passion and curiosity. He looks at the dialogue between science and religion; the conflict between our human desire for permanence and the impermanence of nature; the possibility that our universe is simply an accident; the manner in which modern technology has separated us from direct experience of the world; and our resistance to the view that our bodies and minds can be explained by scientific logic and laws.Behind all of these considerations is the suggestion--at once haunting and exhilarating--that what we see and understand of the world is only a tiny piece of the extraordinary, perhaps unfathomable whole.

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Book SynopsisWhat determines whether complex life will arise on a planet, or even any life at all?Trade Review"...likely to cause a revolution in thinking..."The New York Times "...[the book] has hit the world of astrobiologists like a killer asteroid..."Newsday (New York) "...a sobering and valuable perspective..."Science "...a startling new hypothesis..."Library Journal "...Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee offer a powerful argument..."The Economist"...provocative, significant, and sweeping..."Northwest Science & Technology "...a stellar example of clear writing..."American ScientistTable of ContentsContents Preface to the Paperback Edition Preface to the First Edition Introduction: The Astrobiology Revolution and the Rare Earth Hypothesis Dead Zones of the Universe Rare Earth Factors 1 Why Life Might Be Widespread in the Universe 2 Habitable Zones of the Universe 3 Building a Habitable Earth 4 Life’s First Appearance on Earth 5 How to Build Animals 6 Snowball Earth 7 The Enigma of the Cambrian Explosion 8 Mass Extinctions and the Rare Earth Hypothesis 9 The Surprising Importance of Plate Tectonics 10 The Moon, Jupiter, and Life on Earth 11 Testing the Rare Earth Hypotheses 12 Assessing the Odds 13 Messengers from the Stars References Index

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Book SynopsisIn Cosmic Numbers , mathematics professor James Stein traces the discovery, evolution, and interrelationships of the great numbers that define our world. Some numbers, like the speed of light and absolute zero, are well known to the general public. Others, such as Boltzmann''s constant and the Chandrasekhar limit, are known only to those with a deep knowledge of science. But these numbers do far more than the average person might dare to imagine: they tell us how this world began, the way we were and the way we are, and what the future holds. Stein reveals the manner in which certain cosmic numbers came to light, the dramatis personae involved, and cutting-edge developments associated with these numbers. Many are the cornerstones of grand discoveries and theories. They represent landmarks in the history of intellectual achievement. And the stories of these numbers offer a novel understanding of physics, chemistry, and astronomy.Much more than a gee-whiz collection, Cosmic Numbers ilTrade ReviewKirkus "Cheerful but not dumbed-down... Every educated reader should know what these numbers mean. Stein casts his net widely, delivering an entertaining history of each, often wandering into areas of science only distantly related but no less worthwhile." Booklist "In the explanatory power of fundamental numbers, Stein discerns the fundamental harmonies that emerge in the most profound science. Stein teases these harmonies out of their formulas and then weaves them into a broader conceptual fabric...By turns amusing and poignant, Stein's engaging style eases general readers past their fears of scientific math, while also guiding them into a deeper appreciation of the stubborn human complexities of the scientists behind that mat... Numbers become portals to mind-expanding questions." The Boston Globe "A brisk, fun ride...Stein is good at extracting drama from the brilliant minds and experiments that fill his book, and it's impossible to read it without gaping in awe at just how much science got done in the days prior to statistical analysis software and multicore processors." New Scientist "Amid seemingly endless strings of equations, a handful of numbers stand out. These are the physical constants, numbers that hold their true value in any situation--the unbreakable scaffolding of reality. In Cosmic Numbers, mathematician James Stein offers a tour of some of these constants... These are numbers we take for granted today, but Stein stresses the lengths people went to determine them. There is plenty of interesting background too." Washington Independent Review of Books "The author cajoles the reader to enjoy the spirit of discovery with him, keeping a light style of narrative. Nevertheless, Stein does not shy away from introducing mathematical formulae as well as precise descriptions of the science involved, sometimes in a rather condensed form. The nonscientific reader need not be intimidated by these... This book will appeal to a wide audience of readers who are curious to know more about the discovery of the laws that govern our universe... [A]n enjoyable and informative read." Ian Stewart, author of The Mathematics of Life "A vivid exploration of today's science, from the forces that keep our planet in orbit to the origin of the atoms that form our bodies. Clear and concise, easy to read, and enormously informative, Cosmic Numbers relates the stories behind some of the most important numbers in science--where they came from, what they tell us, and how they changed the way we view our world." John L. Casti, Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna, and author of Mood Matters, Paradigms Lost, Five Golden Rules, and The Cambridge Quintet "Most people use numbers like 1, 2, 3 ... to count. But the numbers that really count are the ones described in this book! They tell us why we see the universe we do and not see something else. After reading this very enlightening, informative and entertaining book, you'll see why some numbers are just a bit more equal than others." Leonard Wapner, El Camino College "We memorized them in our high school science classes. Now Jim Stein teaches us to appreciate nature's constants by giving us the stories and the personalities behind their discovery. It's an enjoyable and thought provoking read." Paul J. Nahin, author of Number-Crunching and An Imaginary Tale "It would seem trivially obvious to say all numbers are not equal. Some numbers are especially important, however, not because of mathematics but because of physics. This book discusses the history and 'use' of thirteen such numbers, which if only slightly different would make the world we live in a vastly different place--or simply not even possible. After reading James Stein's Cosmic Numbers you'll understand why existence itself is 'in the numbers.'" The Guardian (UK) "[Cosmic Numbers] is a story of man's lust for measurement...and also a persuasive explanation of why it is worth measuring such apparently arcane phenomena very exactly."

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisPresents an account of ancient Greek theories of the origins of the world. This book covers the period from 800 BC to 600 AD, beginning with myths concerning the creation of the world. It covers the cosmogonies of the major Greek and Roman thinkers, as well as the debate between Greek philosophical cosmogony and early Christian views.

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