A pocket-style edition based on the New York Times bestseller A Brief Welcome to the Universe offers a breathtaking tour of the cosmos, from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes and time ...loops. Bestselling authors and acclaimed astrophysicists Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott take readers on an unforgettable journey of exploration to reveal how our universe actually works.Propelling you from our home solar system to the outermost frontiers of space, this book builds your cosmic insight and perspective through a marvelously entertaining narrative. How do stars live and die? What are the prospects of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? How did the universe begin? Why is it expanding and accelerating? Is our universe alone or part of an infinite multiverse? Exploring these and many other questions, this pocket-friendly book is your passport into the wonders of our evolving cosmos.
Fly me to the moon Belbruno, Edward
2013., 20130912, 2013, 2007, 2007-01-01
eBook
When a leaf falls on a windy day, it drifts and tumbles, tossed every which way on the breeze. This is chaos in action. InFly Me to the Moon, Edward Belbruno shows how to harness the same principle ...for low-fuel space travel--or, as he puts it, "surfing the gravitational field."
Belbruno devised one of the most exciting concepts now being used in space flight, that of swinging through the cosmos on the subtle fluctuations of the planets' gravitational pulls. His idea was met with skepticism until 1991, when he used it to get a stray Japanese satellite back on course to the Moon. The successful rescue represented the first application of chaos to space travel and ushered in an emerging new field.
Part memoir, part scientific adventure story,Fly Me to the Moongives a gripping insider's account of that mission and of Belbruno's personal struggles with the science establishment. Along the way, Belbruno introduces readers to recent breathtaking advances in American space exploration. He discusses ways to capture and redirect asteroids; presents new research on the origin of the Moon; weighs in on discoveries like 2003 UB313 (now named Eris), a dwarf planet detected in the far outer reaches of our solar system--and much more.
Grounded in Belbruno's own rigorous theoretical research but written for a general audience,Fly Me to the Moonis for anybody who has ever felt moved by the spirit of discovery.
A roboticist imagines life with robots that sell us products, drive our cars, even allow us to assume new physical form, and more. With robots, we are inventing a new species that is part material ...and part digital. The ambition of modern robotics goes beyond copying humans, beyond the effort to make walking, talking androids that are indistinguishable from people. Future robots will have superhuman abilities in both the physical and digital realms. They will be embedded in our physical spaces, with the ability to go where we cannot, and will have minds of their own, thanks to artificial intelligence. In Robot Futures , the roboticist Illah Reza Nourbakhsh considers how we will share our world with these creatures, and how our society could change as it incorporates a race of stronger, smarter beings. Nourbakhsh imagines a future that includes adbots offering interactive custom messaging; robotic flying toys that operate by means of “gaze tracking”; robot-enabled multimodal, multicontinental telepresence; and even a way that nanorobots could allow us to assume different physical forms. Nourbakhsh examines the underlying technology and the social consequences of each scenario. He also offers a counter-vision: a robotics designed to create civic and community empowerment. His book helps us understand why that is the robot future we should try to bring about.
Down to Earth Parks, Lisa; Schwoch, James
2012, 20120613, 2012-06-30
eBook
Down to Earthpresents the first comprehensive overview of the geopolitical maneuvers, financial investments, technological innovations, and ideological struggles that take place behind the scenes of ...the satellite industry. Satellite projects that have not received extensive coverage-microsatellites in China, WorldSpace in South Africa, SiriusXM, the failures of USA 193 and Cosmos 954, and Iridium-are explored. This collection takes readers on a voyage through a truly global industry, from the sites where satellites are launched to the corporate clean rooms where they are designed, and along the orbits and paths that satellites traverse. Combining a practical introduction to the mechanics of the satellite industry, a history of how its practices and technologies have evolved, and a sophisticated theoretical analysis of satellite cultures,Down to Earthopens up a new space for global media studies.
Humans are primates, and our closest relatives are the other African apes - chimpanzees closest of all. With the mapping of the human genome, and that of the chimp, a direct comparison of the ...differences between the two, letter by letter along the billions of As, Gs, Cs, and Ts of the DNA code, has led to the widely vaunted claim that we differ from chimps by a mere 1.6% of our genetic code. A mere hair's breadth genetically! To a rather older tradition of anthropomorphizing chimps, trying to get them to speak, dressing them up for 'tea parties', was added the stamp of genetic confirmation. It also began an international race to find that handful of genes that make up the difference - the genes that make us uniquely human. But what does that 1.6% really mean? And should it really lead us to consider extending limited human rights to chimps, as some have suggested? Are we, after all, just chimps with a few genetic tweaks? Is our language and our technology just an extension of the grunts and ant-collecting sticks of chimps? In this book, Jeremy Taylor sketches the picture that is emerging from cutting edge research in genetics, animal behaviour, and other fields. The indications are that the so-called 1.6% is much larger and leads to profound differences between the two species. We shared a common ancestor with chimps some 6-7 million years ago, but we humans have been racing away ever since. One in ten of our genes, says Taylor, has undergone evolution in the past 40,000 years! Some of the changes that happened since we split from chimpanzees are to genes that control the way whole orchestras of other genes are switched on and off, and where. Taylor shows, using studies of certain genes now associated with speech and with brain development and activity, that the story looks to be much more complicated than we first thought. This rapidly changing and exciting field has recently discovered a host of genetic mechanisms that make us different from other apes. As Taylor points out, for too long we have let our sentimentality for chimps get in the way of our understanding. Chimps use tools, but so do crows. Certainly chimps are our closest genetic relatives. But relatively small differences in genetic code can lead to profound differences in cognition and behaviour. Our abilities give us the responsibility to protect and preserve the natural world, including endangered primates. But for the purposes of human society and human concepts such as rights, let's not pretend that chimps are humans uneducated and undressed. We've changed a lot in those 12 million years.
Nearly all major planets and moons in our Solar System have been visited by spacecraft and the data they have returned has revealed the incredible diversity of planetary surfaces. Featuring a wealth ...of images, this textbook explores the geological evolution of the planets and moons. Introductory chapters discuss how information gathered from spacecraft is used to unravel the geological complexities of our Solar System. Subsequent chapters focus on current understandings of planetary systems. The textbook shows how planetary images and remote sensing data are analyzed through the application of fundamental geological principles. It draws on results from spacecraft sent throughout the Solar System by NASA and other space agencies. Aimed at undergraduate students in planetary geology, geoscience, astronomy and solar system science, it highlights the differences and similarities of the surfaces at a level that can be readily understood by non-specialists.
Strategies for Protecting Your Child's Immune System is the first book to focus on prevention of environmental damage to the immune system of embryos, babies and older children. It provides expecting ...and existing parents, their families and physicians with science-based information to protect and proactively manage their child's immune system. Environmental exposures (pollutants, allergens, drugs, diet, physical factors) in the home, school and community can damage the developing immune system and increase the risk of lifelong chronic diseases such as allergies, asthma, type 1 diabetes, celiac disease and neurological problems. This book imparts specific tools to parents and their physicians to help keep the early-life immune system out of harm's way and minimize environmental health risk.
Heart of Darkness Ostriker, Jeremiah P; Mitton, Simon
2013., 20130122, 2013, 2013-01-22, Letnik:
18
eBook
Heart of Darknessdescribes the incredible saga of humankind's quest to unravel the deepest secrets of the universe. Over the past thirty years, scientists have learned that two little-understood ...components--dark matter and dark energy--comprise most of the known cosmos, explain the growth of all cosmic structure, and hold the key to the universe's fate. The story of how evidence for the so-called "Lambda-Cold Dark Matter" model of cosmology has been gathered by generations of scientists throughout the world is told here by one of the pioneers of the field, Jeremiah Ostriker, and his coauthor Simon Mitton.
From humankind's early attempts to comprehend Earth's place in the solar system, to astronomers' exploration of the Milky Way galaxy and the realm of the nebulae beyond, to the detection of the primordial fluctuations of energy from which all subsequent structure developed, this book explains the physics and the history of how the current model of our universe arose and has passed every test hurled at it by the skeptics. Throughout this rich story, an essential theme is emphasized: how three aspects of rational inquiry--the application of direct measurement and observation, the introduction of mathematical modeling, and the requirement that hypotheses should be testable and verifiable--guide scientific progress and underpin our modern cosmological paradigm.
The story is far from complete, however, as scientists confront the mysteries of the ultimate causes of cosmic structure formation and the real nature and origin of dark matter and dark energy.
ANEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLER
Welcome to the Universeis a personal guided tour of the cosmos by three of today's leading astrophysicists. Inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course ...that Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, and J. Richard Gott taught together at Princeton, this book covers it all-from planets, stars, and galaxies to black holes, wormholes, and time travel.
Describing the latest discoveries in astrophysics, the informative and entertaining narrative propels you from our home solar system to the outermost frontiers of space. How do stars live and die? Why did Pluto lose its planetary status? What are the prospects of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? How did the universe begin? Why is it expanding and why is its expansion accelerating? Is our universe alone or part of an infinite multiverse? Answering these and many other questions, the authors open your eyes to the wonders of the cosmos, sharing their knowledge of how the universe works.
Breathtaking in scope and stunningly illustrated throughout,Welcome to the Universeis for those who hunger for insights into our evolving universe that only world-class astrophysicists can provide.
A definitve guide covering all aspects of Bipolar in children, from spotting the symptoms to getting the correct interventions to help cope with the condition. This book explains the Biological ...causes and helps to seperate the symptoms from those of other conditions including, Tourettes, Aspergers and ADHD, whilst acknowledging that the conditions can appear as co-morbid in some children. Full of practical help and support George Lynn discusses various case histories and how to cope as a parent, along with a guide to help the child learn strategies to live with Bipolar.' \- adders.org 'The author, George Lynn, is a certified medical health counselor who has pioneered the usage of psychotherapy for adults and children with neuropsychological issues. When his own son was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in 1991, he realized that personality can be powerfully impacted by brain chemistry independent of environment…The book is orientated for parents, but I believe many professionals can find helpful tips and information.' \- International Journal of Adolescent Medical Health 'George T. Lynn's book, Survival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar Disorder is a valuable resource for parents and those in the mental health profession. The author draws on his experience as a counselor to describe the symptoms of Bipolar Disorder and Bipolar Disorder co-existing with Asperger's Syndrome, Tourette's Disorder or ADHD. He provides a clear, comprehensive perspective on effectively parenting a child with bipolar disorder. He also explains what characteristics the disorders have in common and how they differ from each other. Lynn is skilled at developing the differential diagnosis of disorders that often have significant overlapping characteristics. In every chapter Lynn provides a comprehensive case history, parent survival strategies and simple, straightforward tips for 'surviving meltdowns.' He includes a section on brain physiology, medication management and school success. He gives practical advice about difficult decisions that parents often have to make, including when to call the police and the pros and cons of psychiatric hospitalization. With this book, George Lynn has made a major contribution in the area of parenting children with Bipolar Disorder. He successfully instructs the reader on how to understand and identify the symptoms of these disorders and at the same time how to focus on the child's strengths or "gifts". He delivers a well written and interesting book that provides realistic solutions to difficult problems, and hope to families of these exceptional children.' \- Metapsychology Online Review Up until five years ago, the professional community did not think that Bipolar Disorder occurred in children. Children with symptoms of Bipolar Disorder were diagnosed as 'severe ADHD', 'depressed' or 'Oppositional Defiant'. Now, as it is being increasingly diagnosed, George Lynn offers clear, practical advice on recognizing the symptoms, understanding medication and accessing the necessary support at school as well as the managing the day-to-day challenges of parenting a child with Bipolar Disorder. As it is frequently found in combination with ADHD, Tourette Syndrome and Asperger's Syndrome, the author draws on case-studies from his own psychotherapeutic practice to show what these conditions have in common, how they differ, and how they relate to each other. Survival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar Disorder, tackles the most difficult decisions parents can face, including whether to involve police or consider hospitalization if their children are a danger to themselves and their families. At the same time, it emphasizes the positive qualities these children often have and illustrates how their gifts and abilities can build their self-esteem and help them function better in society. However severe the child's symptoms, George Lynn's book will provide guidance, support and inspiration for parents and carers as well as being a useful resource for professionals working with the families who suffer as a result of this disorder.
