Instability Rules: The Ten Most Amazing Ideas of Modern Science - Rilegato

Flowers, Charles

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0471380423 ISBN 13: 9780471380429

Casa editrice: Trade Paper Pr, 2002

Riassunto

World-altering discoveries that reveal a universe of uncertainty and constant change
Whether probing the farthest reaches of the vast universe or exploring the microscopic world of genetics and the subatomic world of quantum mechanics, Instability Rules is a remarkably informative and engaging look at ten milestone discoveries and their discoverers-a wide range of very human personalities whose insights have dramatically altered our most basic assumptions about human existence during the last century. The stories include Edwin Hubble and the expanding universe, Alfred Wegener and continental drift, Neils Bohr and quantum mechanics, Alan Turing and artificial intelligence, and James Watson and Francis Crick and DNA. Also covering discoveries of the twenty-first century that are already refining these and other ideas, Instability Rules is an exhilarating, sometimes amusing encounter with the defining scientific discoveries of our age.

Su questo libro

Informazioni sull?autore

CHARLES FLOWERS is an award-winning author or coauthor of fifty-eight books, most recently Mapping the Stars, The Big Bang (with David Appel), and A Science Odyssey: 100 Years of Discovery, the companion book to the PBS series.

Dalla quarta di copertina

Atomic particles that defy the rules of classical physics, giant landmasses that continually jostle one another, entire galaxies created and consumed in far-off space: The great scientific discoveries of the twentieth century transformed our view of nature. What was once an ideal of harmony and permanence became a churning sea of uncertainty and change. Instability Rules takes a remarkably accessible and engaging look at ten of these milestones, explains their significance, and reveals how they have changed our lives.

You'll meet the brilliant, eccentric, and insufferable Edwin Hubble, who first demonstrated that the universe was expanding, and you'll discover how Einstein came to think of time as the fourth dimension. You'll join Watson, Crick, and others in their unrelenting search for the structure of DNA, and you'll share Alfred Wegener's frustration as his theory of continental drift is ridiculed by the leading geologists of his day.

From the mysteries of the human mind to the humanity of artificial intelligence, from bouncing electrons to fuzzy math, Instability Rules gives you a well-grounded understanding of the defining scientific discoveries of our age. It also reveals the humor, pathos, and adventure that go hand in hand with every great scientific achievement.

Dettagli dell?edizione

• Editore: Trade Paper Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0471380423
• ISBN 13: 9780471380429
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Lingua: Inglese
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 228
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile