In the book, Sagan explores 15 billion years of cosmic evolution and the development of science and civilization. Cosmos traces the origins of knowledge and the scientific method, mixing science and philosophy, and speculates to the future of science. The book also discusses the underlying premises of science by providing biographical anecdotes about many prominent scientists throughout history, placing their contributions into the broader context of the development of modern science.The book covers a broad range of topics, comprising Sagan's reflections on anthropological, cosmological, biological, historical, and astronomical matters from antiquity to contemporary times. Sagan reiterates his position on extraterrestrial life—that the magnitude of the universe permits the existence of thousands of alien civilizations, but no credible evidence exists to demonstrate that such life has ever visited earth.

    The Panda's Thumb will introduce a new generation of readers to this unique writer, who has taken the art of the scientific essay to new heights.Were dinosaurs really dumber than lizards? Why, after all, are roughly the same number of men and women born into the world? What led the famous Dr. Down to his theory of mongolism, and its racist residue? What do the panda's magical "thumb" and the sea turtle's perilous migration tell us about imperfections that prove the evolutionary rule? The wonders and mysteries of evolutionary biology are elegantly explored in these and other essays by the celebrated natural history writer Stephen Jay Gould.

    From antiquity to the present, expert painters-including abstract modern masters such as Paul Klee and Jackson Pollock-have conveyed harmony through the mathematics of spatial division, ultimately giving geometry a crucial role as the foundation upon which these classics were built. For over half a century, "The Painter's Secret Geometry" has been a seminal work for students of art history and composition. Now this popular, rich analysis is back in print for today's artists and historians.

    An accessible guide for the general reader that reveals the mystery and beauty of physics as few books have before.

    A lifelong Quaker, his 1929 Swarthmore Lecture explores how science and religion define and look at reality. 'You will understand the true spirit neither of science nor of religion unless seeking is placed in the forefront.' 'He puts a strong line against simplistic reductionism in relation to our minds . He emphasizes that when we ask the question, "What are we to think of it all? What is it all about?", the answer must embrace but not be limited to the scientific answer. His lecture explores this in a delightful way, that remains fully relevant today.' - Prof. George Ellis 'The attitude of the scientist, here so admirably explained, is the attitude, also, of the mystic. Experience, to both, is what matters most."'- The Sufi Quarterly, 1929.

    Rather than a chronological approach, Segrè emphasizes interesting, complex personalities who often appear only in footnotes. Readers will find that this book adds considerably to their understanding of science and includes compelling topics of current interest. 1980 edition. IntroductionH. Becquerel, the Curies, and the discovery of radioactivityRutherford in the new world : the transmutation of elementsPlanck, unwilling revolutionary : the idea of quantizationEinstein, new ways of thinking : space, time, relativity, and quantaSir Ernest and Lord Rutherford of NelsonBohr and atomic modelsA true quantum mechanics at lastThe wonder year 1932 : neutron, positron, deuterium, and other discoveriesEnrico Fermi and nuclear energyE.O. Lawrence and particle acceleratorsBeyond the nucleusNew branches from the old stumpConclusionsAppendix 1. Stefan's law, Wien's lawAppendix 2. Planck's hunt for the blackbody radiation formulaAppendix 3. Einstein's heuristic argument for postulating the existence of light quantaAppendix 4. Brownian motionAppendix 5. Blackbody energy fluctuations according to EinsteinAppendix 6. Specific heat of solids according to EinsteinAppendix 7. A and B of EinsteinAppendix 8. J.J. Thomson's parabola method for finding e/m of ionsAppendix 9. Bohr's hydrogen atomAppendix 10. Quantum mechanics in a nutshell.