Best of
Science
1987
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic
Randy Shilts - 1987
America faced a troubling question: What happened? How was this epidemic allowed to spread so far before it was taken seriously? In answering these questions, Shilts weaves the disparate threads into a coherent story, pinning down every evasion and contradiction at the highest levels of the medical, political, and media establishments. Shilts shows that the epidemic spread wildly because the federal government put budget ahead of the nation's welfare; health authorities placed political expediency before the public health; and scientists were often more concerned with international prestige than saving lives. Against this backdrop, Shilts tells the heroic stories of individuals in science and politics, public health and the gay community, who struggled to alert the nation to the enormity of the danger it faced. And the Band Played On is both a tribute to these heroic people and a stinging indictment of the institutions that failed the nation so badly.
Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe
Michio Kaku - 1987
What is superstring theory and why is it important? This revolutionary breakthrough may well be the fulfillment of Albert Einstein's lifelong dream of a Theory of Everything, uniting the laws of physics into a single description explaining all the known forces in the universe. Co-authored by one of the leading pioneers in superstrings, Michio Kaku, and completely revised and updated with the newest groundbreaking research, the book approaches scientific questions with the excitement of a detective story, offering a fascinating look at the new science that may make the impossible possible.
Woman in the Mists: The Story of Dian Fossey and the Mountain Gorillas of Africa
Farley Mowat - 1987
Two 8-page photo inserts.
Biology
Neil A. Campbell - 1987
This text has invited more than 4 million students into the study of this dynamic and essential discipline.The authors have restructured each chapter around a conceptual framework of five or six big ideas. An Overview draws students in and sets the stage for the rest of the chapter, each numbered Concept Head announces the beginning of a new concept, and Concept Check questions at the end of each chapter encourage students to assess their mastery of a given concept. New Inquiry Figures focus students on the experimental process, and new Research Method Figures illustrate important techniques in biology. Each chapter ends with a Scientific Inquiry Question that asks students to apply scientific investigation skills to the content of the chapter.
The Faith Healers
James Randi - 1987
Randi and his team of researchers attended scores of "miracle services" and often were pronounced "healed" of the nonexistent illnesses they claimed. They viewed first-hand the tragedies resulting from the wide-spread belief that faith healing can cure every conceivable disease. The ministries, they discovered, were rife with deception, chicanery, and often outright fraud.Self-annointed ministers of God convince the gullible that they have been healed - and that they should pay for the service. The Faith Healers examines in depth the reasons for belief in faith healing and the catastrophic results for the victims of these hoaxes. Included in Randi's book are profiles of a highly profitable "psychic dentist", and the "Vatican-approved wizard."
Introduction to Elementary Particles
David J. Griffiths - 1987
It is also aimed at graduate students, either as a primary text or as preparation for a more sophisticated treatment.
Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind
George Lakoff - 1987
In addition, it should have repercussions in a variety of disciplines, ranging from anthropology and psychology to epistemology and the philosophy of science. . . . Lakoff asks: What do categories of language and thought reveal about the human mind? Offering both general theory and minute details, Lakoff shows that categories reveal a great deal."—David E. Leary, American Scientist
First Light
Richard Preston - 1987
In First Light, he demonstrates his gift for creating an exciting and absorbing narrative around a complex scientific subject--in this case the efforts by astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California to peer to the farthest edges of space through the Hale Telescope, attempting to solve the riddle of the creation of the universe. Richard Preston's name became a household word with The Hot Zone, which sold nearly 800,000 copies in hardcover, was on The New York Times's bestseller list for 42 weeks, and was the subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. Preston has become a sought-after commentator on popular science subjects. For this hardcover reprint of what has been called "the best popular account of astronomy in action," (Kirkus Reviews) he has revised the text and written a new introduction.
Rang & Dale's Pharmacology
Humphrey P. Rang - 1987
Progressing logically from a molecular understanding of receptors and drug actions to the clinical uses of the most important groups of drugs, it delivers the latest information on cannabinoids and rimonabant, Cox 2 inhibitors, pharmacogenetics, biopharmaceuticals, and drug abuse-as well as "lifestyle drugs" such as performance-enhancing substances, botulinum toxin, and Viagra?. And now, online access via STUDENT CONSULT makes it an even more effective learning resource
Chaos: Making a New Science
James Gleick - 1987
From Edward Lorenz’s discovery of the Butterfly Effect, to Mitchell Feigenbaum’s calculation of a universal constant, to Benoit Mandelbrot’s concept of fractals, which created a new geometry of nature, Gleick’s engaging narrative focuses on the key figures whose genius converged to chart an innovative direction for science. In Chaos, Gleick makes the story of chaos theory not only fascinating but also accessible to beginners, and opens our eyes to a surprising new view of the universe.
Myths of Gender: Biological Theories about Women and Men
Anne Fausto-Sterling - 1987
Features a new chapter and afterward on recent biological breakthroughs.
Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics
John Stewart Bell - 1987
This work has played a major role in the development of our current understanding of the profound nature of quantum concepts and of the fundamental limitations they impose on the applicability of the classical ideas of space, time and locality. This book contains all of John Bell's published and unpublished papers on the conceptual and philosophical problems of quantum mechanics.
It Couldn't Just Happen (Classical Conv): Fascinating Facts about God's World
Lawrence O. Richards - 1987
Fascinating facts about God's world that gives us thousands of pieces of evidence to prove that He created and sustains the universe.
Beginnings: The Story of Origins
Isaac Asimov - 1987
From the explosive flash of the birth of the universe to the evolution of algae and reptiles, Asimov covers the infinite and the microscopic in rich detail.
Chernobyl Notebook
Grigori Medvedev - 1987
This is perhaps the first time we have such a complete firsthand account in which nothing is kept back and there is no departmental “diplomacy.” The author is a nuclear power specialist who worked for a time at the Chernobyl AES and knows it well, just as he is personally acquainted with all the principal participants in the events. By virtue of his official position, he has attended many of the crucial conferences concerning nuclear power plant construction. Immediately after the accident, Medvedev was sent to Chernobyl and had an opportunity to learn a great deal while the trail was still fresh and to see things with his own eyes. He presents many technical details indispensable to understanding the mechanism whereby the accident occurred, he exposes the secrets of bureaucratic relations, he tells about the oversights of scientists and designers, about the disastrous overbearing pressure in the command system, about the violations of glasnost before the accident and in the emergency situation following it that have caused enormous harm. The chronicle of events at Chernobyl in the tragic days of April and May 1986 takes up the central place in the story. The author portrays the behavior and role of numerous participants in the drama, of real living people with their shortcomings and virtues, their doubts, their weaknesses, their illusions, and their heroism alongside the nuclear monster that had gone out of control. It is not possible to read about this without the deepest emotion. We knew about the exploits of the firemen. The author tells about the heroism of the electricians, the turbine specialists, the operators, and other workers at the station who prevented the accident from taking on greater proportions.
Science, Order and Creativity
David Bohm - 1987
David Peat argue that science has lost its way in recent years and needs to go beyond a narrow and fragmented view of nature and embrace a wider holistic view that restores the importance of creativity and communication for all humanity - not just scientists. The result of a close collaboration by one of the 20th century's greatest physicists and thinkers, David Bohm, with leading science writer F. David Peat, provides a rare combination of profound reflection and clear exposition that can be appreciated by anyone concerned with science and its importance in our lives. This new edition includes a new preface and an extended additional chapter by Peat which draws upon further discussions with David Bohm before the latter's death in 1992. A fascinating diagnosis and considered proposal for a cure for science's ills, it is also very accessible entry point to the work of David Bohm. Bohm and Peat contend that science has lost its bearings in the last century in favour of a narrow, abstracted, fragmented approach to nature and reality. Tracing the history of science, Bohm and Peat offer intriguing new insights into how scientific theories come into being, how to eliminate blocks of creativity and how science can lead to a deeper understanding of society, the human condition and the human mind itself.
Honey from Stone: A Naturalist's Search for God
Chet Raymo - 1987
As he wanders the land year upon year, Raymo gathers the revelations embedded in the geological and cultural history of this wild and ancient place. "When I called out for the Absolute, I was answered by the wind," Raymo writes. "If it was God's voice in the wind, then I heard it." In poetic prose grounded in a mind trained to discover fact, Honey from Stone enters the wonder of the material world in search of our deepest nature.
The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man
David Attenborough - 1987
In this book, David Attenborough not only describes the natural history of the Mediterranean, but also tells the fascinating story of mankind's changing attitudes to the natural world and gives a new insight into the communities of animals and plants that live today in this lovely Sea and the lands around it.
Black Holes
Jean-Pierre Luminet - 1987
Jean-Pierre Luminet makes the subject of black holes accessible to any interested reader, who will need no mathematical background. The reader of this book will feel that the developments in modern astrophysics are as fascinating to discover and digest as the most fantastic science fiction novels. While answering such questions, the author takes us on a fabulous journey through space and time. We travel into the realms of supernovae, X-ray stars and quasars--a journey to the very edge of the universe and to the limits of contemporary physics.
Fundamental Astronomy
Hannu Karttunen - 1987
While emphasizing both the astronomical concepts and the underlying physical principles, the text provides a sound basis for more profound studies in the astronomical sciences. The fourth edition of this successful calculus-based textbook and reference includes a wealth of new information and several chapters are restructured for clarity and improved organization. The chapters on radiation mechanisms and temperatures have been combined, and some of the material from the appendices has been redistributed to appropriate places throughout the text. In addition, the chapters on the solar system and cosmology are rewritten to reflect new understanding and tables in the appendix on the theory of relativity have been updated. Long considered a standard text for physical science majors, Fundamental Astronomy is also an excellent reference and entrA(c)e for dedicated amateur astronomers.
The Oxford Companion to the Mind
Richard Langton Gregory - 1987
An important feature of the book is the large number of articles on topics of mental life, in which well-known writers discuss subjects in which they have a particular expertise. Noam Chomsky writes on his own theory of language, Idries Shah on Sufism, John Bowlby on attachment theory, B.F. Skinner on behaviorism, Oliver Sacks on nothingness, A.J. Ayer on philosophical views of the relation between mind and body, and R.D. Laing on interpersonal experience. The editor, Richard Gregory, contributes entries on aesthetics, phrenology, physiognomy, and illusions of perception. The Companion includes entries on such everyday events as sleep, humor, forgetting, and hearing, as well as specialized topics such as bilingualism, jet-lag, military incompetence, computer chess, and animal magnetism. What can, and all too often does, go wrong with the mind is also covered--many forms of mental illness are explored, as well as mental handicap, brain damage, and neurological disorders. Perception and the ways in which our senses are often deceived are treated in full, as are elements of personal development and learning, and the puzzling world of parapsychology with its altered states of consciousness, out-of-body experiences, and extra-sensory perception. The workings of the nervous system are explained in a special tutorial article. The text is supplemented by brief definitions of specialist terms and by biographies of major figures who have contributed to our understanding of the mind--individuals as varied as Plato, Johannes Kepler, William James, Sigmund Freud, and Alan Turing. The entries are arranged alphabetically and, following the style of other recent Companions, are linked by a network of helpful cross-references. The 160 illustrations have been carefully chosen to amplify the text, while specialist bibliographies provide suggestions for further reading.
Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society
Bruno Latour - 1987
The conventional perception of science in Western societies has been modified in recent years by the work of philosophers, sociologists and historians of science. In this book Bruno Latour brings together these different approaches to provide a lively and challenging analysis of science, demonstrating how social context and technical content are both essential to a proper understanding of scientific activity. Emphasizing that science can only be understood through its practice, the author examines science and technology in action: the role of scientific literature, the activities of laboratories, the institutional context of science in the modern world, and the means by which inventions and discoveries become accepted. From the study of scientific practice he develops an analysis of science as the building of networks. Throughout, Bruno Latour shows how a lively and realistic picture of science in action alters our conception of not only the natural sciences but also the social sciences and the sociology of knowledge in general.This stimulating book, drawing on a wealth of examples from a wide range of scientific activities, will interest all philosophers, sociologists and historians of science, scientists and engineers, and students of the philosophy of social science and the sociology of knowledge.
Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics
Michael Zeilik - 1987
It has an algebra and trigonometry prerequisite, but calculus is preferred.
The Lost Notebooks
Loren Eiseley - 1987
Also included are poems, short stories, an array of Eiseley's absorbing observations on the natural world, and his always startling reflections on the nature and future of humankind and the universe.
Organic Chemistry
Leroy G. Wade Jr. - 1987
This text, organized with a traditional functional-group approach, applies the most modern teaching and pedagogical techniques to the study of organic chemistry. In a highly accessible fashion, this top-selling text bridges the gap between conceptual understanding and actual application - while strongly emphasizing the development of problem-solving skills. Additionally, it provides up-to-date aspects of spectroscopy, relevant photographs, and many applications to polymer chemistry integrated throughout the text.
Time Travel and Other Mathematical Bewilderments
Martin Gardner - 1987
Popular Author Martin Gardner's Time Travel and other Mathematical Bewilderments
Oliver Heaviside: The Life, Work, and Times of an Electrical Genius of the Victorian Age
Paul J. Nahin - 1987
His only continuing contacts with women were limited to his mother, nieces, and housekeepers. He was a man who knew the power of money and desired it, but refused to work for it, preferring to live off the sweat of his family and long-suffering friends, whom he often insulted even as they paid his bills."—from the bookThis, then, was Oliver Heaviside, a pioneer of modern electrical theory. Born into a low social class of Victorian England, Heaviside made advances in mathematics by introducing the operational calculus; in physics, where he formulated the modern-day expressions of Maxwell's Laws of electromagnetism; and in electrical engineering, through his duplex equations. Now available in paperback with a new preface by the author, this acclaimed biography will appeal to historians of technology and science, as well as to scientists and engineers who wish to learn more about this remarkable man.
Tracks & Signs of the Birds of Britain & Europe
Roy Brown - 1987
With over 1,000 illustrations, including 47 color plates, this guide provides the most comprehensive coverage of any book on the signs of many European birds, resident, visiting or vagrant.
The Statue Within: An Autobiography: An Autobiography
François Jacob - 1987
Throughout his book, Jacob demonstrates a scientist's eye for detail and a poet's instinct for the inner life, as he tells of a privileged Parisian boyhood, young love, heroism in war, and the fascination of life at the edge of scientific discovery.
The Dreams of Dragons: An Exploration and Celebration of the Mysteries of Nature
Lyall Watson - 1987
The best-selling author of Supernature and Gifts of Unknown Things, Watson takes us on a journey through prehistoric burial sites on the beaches of South Africa, ancient ritual iron mines in Swaziland, and present-day villages in Indonesia and New Guinea inhabited by man-eating dragons and headhunters. In these and other extraordinary travels we encounter phenomenon that defy traditional scientific explanation. Watson looks beyond the scientific "facts" and helps us--through his own remarkable discoveries--to see the poetry and wonder of the natural world.
Neural Darwinism: The Theory Of Neuronal Group Selection
Gerald M. Edelman - 1987
Its central idea is that the nervous system in each individual operates as a selective system resembling natural selection in evolution, but operating by different mechanisms. By providing a fundamental neural basis for categorization of the things of this world it unifies perception, action, and learning. The theory also completely revises our view of memory, which it considers to be a dynamic process of recategorization rather than a replicative store of attributes. This has deep implications for the interpretation of various psychological states from attention to dreaming. Neural Darwinism ranges over many disciplines, focusing on key problems in developmental and evolutionary biology, anatomy, physiology, ethology, and psychology. This book should therefore prove indispensable to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in these fields, to students of medicine, and to those in the social sciences concerned with the relation of behavior to biology. Beyond that, this far-ranging theory of brain function is bound to stimulate renewed discussions of such philosophical issues as the mind-body problem, the origins of knowledge, and the perceptual basis of language.
Neuroanatomy: An Atlas of Structures, Sections, and Systems
Duane E. Haines - 1987
It combines full-color anatomical illustrations with over 200 MRI, CT, MRA, and MRV images to clearly demonstrate anatomical-clinical correlations.This edition contains many new MRI/CT images and is fully updated to conform to Terminologia Anatomica. Fifteen innovative new color illustrations correlate clinical images of lesions at strategic locations on pathways with corresponding deficits in Brown-Sequard syndrome, dystonia, Parkinson disease, and other conditions. The question-and-answer chapter contains over 235 review questions, many USMLE-style.Interactive Neuroanatomy, Version 3, an online component packaged with the atlas, contains new brain slice series, including coronal, axial, and sagittal slices.
The National Geographic Society: 100 Years of Adventure and Discovery
C.D.B. Bryan - 1987
In this celebratory volume, bursting with stunning photography and dramatic accounts, award-winning author C.D.B. Bryan brings to life the Society's formidable legacy.
And Suddenly the Inventor Appeared: Triz, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving
Genrich Altshuller - 1987
The translator, Lev Shulyak an accomplished inventor, engineer and TRIZ expert published the book at his own expense to bring it into American classrooms. This new edition has been revised extensively by Shulyak and editor Steve Rodman, who have added valuable information not found in the original.Topics include an introduction to the development of the TRIZ theory, and a wide range of problems and the solutions that TRIZ helps produce.
Cosmic Loom
Dennis Elwell - 1987
A thoughtful and provocative study.
Exploring the Night Sky: The Equinox Astronomy Guide for Beginners
Terence Dickinson - 1987
Dickinson has designed a superb introduction to astronomy that is clear, concise, beautifully illustrated and very user friendly no matter what the child's age.The book is divided into three sections. The first is a 10-step voyage from the Earth's vicinity to the distant reaches of the universe. Organized by increasing distance from the Earth, it touches on the Moon, Mars, Pluto, comets, the three stars of Alpha Centauri, the center of the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Andromeda Galaxy, and vantage points at 10,000,000 light-years from Earth and 300,000,000 light-years from Earth.The second section, Alien Vistas, is a sequence of 10 close-up looks at some of the most interesting objects mentioned in the first section, including all the planets of the solar system, stars, black holes and quasars, and makes speculations about extraterrestrial life.The final section is a guide to viewing the night sky, which enables readers to go outside on any clear night of the year and identify celestial objects. There is a glossary with explanations of unfamiliar terms and for pronunciations.Exploring the Night Sky is a clearly written, well-illustrated introduction to astronomy for anyone interested in the universe around us.
Beyond the Quantum
Michael Talbot - 1987
He shows that the metaphysics of today may well be the physics of tomorrow.
Molecules of the Mind: The Brave New Science of Molecular Psychology
Jon Franklin - 1987
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jon Franklin takes readers to the new scientific frontier of molecular psychology in this fascinating study of the research of tomorrow.
Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians of the 16th and 17th Centuries
AMORC - 1987
This invaluable Rosicrucian resource includes explanations and exact reproductions of the original Rosicrucian symbols from the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Media Lab: Inventing the Future at M.I.T.
Stewart Brand - 1987
Brand explores the exciting programs, and gives readers a look at the future of communications.
Mechanics of Engineering Materials
P.P. Benham - 1987
Assuming little or no prior knowledge, the theory of the subject is developed from first principles and all topics of stress and strain analysis are covered right up to final year level. Mechanical properties such as tensile behaviour, fatigue, creep, fracture and impact are discussed and more advanced material is also included, particularly on finite element analysis, fracture mechanics and composite materials.This second edition has been brought fully up-to-date in line with today's courses. Incorporating new, two-colour illustrations throughout, the book reinforces student comprehension of the theory through numerous new worked examples and end-of-chapter problems involving real engineering situations. An important new feature of this edition is the use and illustration of computer spreadsheets throughout as a powerful problem-solving tool.Mechanics of Engineering Materials is an indispensible course text for undergraduate students of mechanical engineering, engineering science and civil engineering. It will also be a valuable reference for those studying BTEC and GNVQ courses.
Three Hundred Years of Gravitation
Stephen Hawking - 1987
The resulting volume reflects the significant and exciting advances that have been made in these fields since the editors' acclaimed volume, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey (CUP 1979). Newton's immense contribution to the physical sciences is assessed, and its relevance to today's physics made clear. The international group of contributors then chart the major developments in the study of gravitation, from Newtonian gravity to black hole physics. In the fields of galaxy formation, inflationary and quantum cosmology, and superstring unification, the book provides important overviews written by workers involved in the many advances described. By shaping such a wide-ranging and scholarly series of articles into a cohesive whole, the editors have created a fitting and lasting memorial to the man who continues to inspire scientists the world over.
Vertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution
Robert Lynn Carroll - 1987
"Carroll has to his credit an immense amount of useful labour in writing the book and will probably corner the market for a vertebrate paleontology text for the rest of this century." Nature
The Usborne Children's Encyclopedia
Jane Elliot - 1987
Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide
Kelly Kindscher - 1987
Unfortunately, modern American culture has not paid much attention.White settlers did learn a few plant-based remedies from the Indians, and a few prairie plants were prescribed by frontier doctors. A couple dozen prairie species were listed as drugs in the U.S. Pharmacopeia at one time or another, and one or two, like the Purple Coneflower, found their way into the bottles of patent medicine.But in both the number of species used and the varieties of treatments administered, Indians were far more proficient than white settlers. Their familiarity with the plants of the prairie was comprehensive--there probably were Indian names for all prairie plants, and they recognized more varieties of some species than scientists do today. Their knowledge was refined and exact enough that they could successfully administer medicinal doses of plants that are poisonous. All of the species used by frontier doctors were used first by Indians.In Medicinal Plants of the Prairie, ethnobotanist Kelly Kindscher documents the medicinal use of 203 native prairie plants by the Plains Indians. Using information gleaned from archival materials, interviews, and fieldwork, Kindscher describes plant-based treatments for ailments ranging from hyperactivity to syphilis, from arthritis to worms. He also explains the use of internal and external medications, smoke treatments, moxa (the burning of a medicinal substance on the skin), and the doctrine of signatures (the belief that the form or characteristics of a plant are signatures or signs that reveal its medicinal uses). He adds information on recent pharmacological findings to further illuminate the medicinal nature of these plants.Not since 1919 has the ethnobotany of native Great Plains plants been examined so thoroughly. Kindscher's study is the first to encompass the entire Prairie Bioregion, a one-million-square-mile area bounded by Texas on the south, Canada on the north, the Rocky Mountains on the west, and the deciduous forests of Missouri, Indiana, and Wisconsin in the east. Along with information on the medicinal uses of prairie plants by the Indians, Kindscher also lists Indian, common, and scientific names and describes Anglo folk uses, medical uses, scientific research, and cultivation. Descriptions of the plants are supplemented by 44 exquisite line drawings and over 100 range maps.This book will help increase appreciation for prairie plants at a time when prairies and their biodiversity urgently need protection throughout the region.
Almost Human: A Journey into the World of Baboons
Shirley C. Strum - 1987
Like our own ancestors, baboons had adapted to life on the African savannah, and Strum hoped that by observing baboon behavior, she could learn something about how early humans might have lived. Soon the baboons had won her heart as well as her mind, and Strum has been working with them ever since.Vividly written and filled with fascinating insights, Almost Human chronicles the first fifteen years of Strum's fieldwork with the Pumphouse Gang. From the first paragraph, the reader is drawn along with Strum into the world of the baboons, learning about the tragedies and triumphs of their daily lives—and the lives of the scientists studying them. This edition includes a new introduction and epilogue that place Strum's research in the context of the current global conservation crisis and tell us what has happened to the Pumphouse Gang since the book was first published.
The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary Of Chemistry
Jane Wertheim - 1987
-- Great Study AIDS -- Topics arranged thematically so that words are explained in context-- Fully integrated system of cross referencing plus a comprehensive index-- Illustrated Dictionary of Science contains recommended Web sites
The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought
David Miller - 1987
Encompassing the whole spectrum of the history and theory of politics from Socrates to Rawls, this is the most comprehensive and scholarly reference work available on the subject.
Companion to A Sand County Almanac: Interpretive and Critical Essays
J. Baird Callicott - 1987
The first sustained study of Leopold's seminal book as well as a work of art, philosophy, and social commentary.
Secrets of the Universe: Discovering the Universal Laws of Science
Paul Fleisher - 1987
Includes experiments and activities.
Gauge Fields and Strings
A.M. Polyakov - 1987
Polyakov, one of the world's foremost leaders on the subject of field theory, has created a book from his own scientific diary, synthesizing the most promising approaches and ideals in field theory today. Polyakov presents such subjects as statistical mechanics, quantum field theory and their interrelation, continuous global symmetry, non-Abelian gauge fields, instantons and the quantum theory of loops, and quantum strings and random surfaces. This book is ideally suited for postgraduate students studying field theory and statistical mechanics and for research workers in continuous global theory.BR
Mind Tools: The Five Levels of Mathematical Reality
Rudy Rucker - 1987
Reveals mathematics' great power as an alternative language for understanding things and explores such concepts as logic as a computing tool, digital versus analog processes and communication as information transmission.
Organic Chemistry
John McMurry - 1987
Why? In John McMurry's words: "I have been asked hundreds of times over the past ten years why I wrote this book. I wrote this book because I love writing. I get great pleasure and satisfaction from taking a complicated subject, turning it around until I see it clearly from a new angle, and then explaining it in simple words. I write to explain chemistry to students the way I wish it had been explained to me years ago." Through his lucid writing and ability to show the beauty and logic of organic chemistry, McMurry makes learning enjoyable for students. The highest compliment that can be given to a chemistry book applies to McMurry: It works! Mainstream in level, McMurry's coverage is concise yet doesn't omit any key topics. McMurry blends the traditional functional-group approach with a mechanistic approach. The primary approach, by functional group, begins with the simple and progresses to the more complex so that readers who are not yet versed in the subtleties of mechanisms are first exposed to the "what" of chemistry before beginning to grapple with the "why." Within this primary organization, the author places a heavy emphasis on explaining the fundamental mechanistic similarities. In this edition, McMurry retains his standard-setting features (including his innovative vertical format for explaining reaction mechanisms) while revising his text line-by-line to include hundreds of small but important improvements. For example, the Sixth Edition includes new examples, additional steps in existing examples, new problems, new phrases to clarify the exposition, and a vibrant new art program. In addition, new icons in the text lead students to a variety of new online resources. McMurry's text is in use at hundreds of colleges and universities around the world, from North America, to the United Kingdom and the Pacific Rim.
Welcome to Moonbase
Ben Bova - 1987
With 50 detailed illustrations by NASA artist Rawlings, the guidebook covers Moonbase history, architecture, ecology, transportation, science projects, jobs, training, industries, tourism, sports ("lunar jai alai"), entertainment, day-to-day life, duties, rights and laws: "No one is allowed to walk on the surface alone, except in the specially marked 'Moonwalk Lanes.' " Combining fact and fiction in this "future history," Bova presents a compelling and persuasive argument for mankind's continual exploration of the moon and the establishment of a base on the lunar surface.
Who Got Einstein's Office? Eccentricity and Genius at the Institute for Advanced Study
Ed Regis - 1987
Robert Oppenheimer rode out his political persecution in the Director's mansion. It is the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey; at one time or another, home to fourteen Nobel laureates, most of the great physicists and mathematicians of the modern era, and two of the most exciting developments in twentieth-century science—cellular automata and superstrings.Who Got Einstein's Office? tells for the first time the story of this secretive institution and of its fascinating personalities.
Kingdom of Cats
National Wildlife Federation - 1987
The great cats - lions and tigers among them - fascinate us with their strength, their agility, and their cunning stealth. Domestic cats are but soft, charming companions in the body of a sleek, graceful hunter. The rest of the cat family, from the leopard to the bobcat, are the embodiment of wilderness. It is this spirit of wilderness that has made the cat such a constant wonder to manking throughout the ages.
Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West
Patrick Trotter - 1987
This new edition, thoroughly revised and updated after 20 years, synthesizes what is currently known about one of our most interesting and colorful fishes, includes much new information on its biology and ecology, asks how it has fared in the last century, and looks toward its future. In a passionate and accessibly written narrative, Patrick Trotter, fly fisher, environmental advocate, and science consultant, details the evolution, natural history, and conservation of each of the cutthroat's races and incorporates more personal reflections on the ecology and environmental history of the West's river ecosystems. The bibliography now includes what may be the most comprehensive and complete set of references available anywhere on the cutthroat trout. Written for anglers, nature lovers, environmentalists, and students, and featuring vibrant original illustrations by Joseph Tomelleri, this is an essential reference for anyone who wants to learn more about this remarkable, beautiful, and fragile western native.
Evolutionary Ecology
Eric R. Pianka - 1987
Presenting an evolutionary perspective on many areas of ecology, this book, includes new information on speciation, metapopulations, self-deceit, experimental ecology, modern comparative methods, null models, landscape ecology, macroecology, biodiversity and genetic engineering, equilibrium economics and other aspects of applied ecology.
Welding Metallurgy
Sindo Kou - 1987
Updated to include new technological advancements in welding Uses illustrations and diagrams to explain metallurgical phenomena Features exercises and examples An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all the problems in the book is available from the Wiley editorial department.
Life In Darwin's Universe: Evolution And The Cosmos
Gene Bylinsky - 1987
Bylinsky's journey through time and space gives us a scientific view of what life might be like on uninhabited planets of the galaxies -- how the evolutionary push of life might respond to different physical requirements. Bylinsky even speculates on what creatures might have dominated Earth had conditions here been somewhat different. "What can be so interesting as the story of life's slow and magnificent development in a complex universe?...With verve and imagination...Bylinsky's telling is successful and timely." --Isaac Asimov
Margaret Mee: In Search of Flowers of the Amazon Forests: Diaries of an English Artist Reveal the Beauty of the Vanishing Rainforest
Tony Morrison - 1987
Longing for the Harmonies: Themes and Variations from Modern Physics
Frank Wilczek - 1987
For example, they show that even the most exotic theories always confirm that physical laws are precisely the same throughout the universe, and they explain how we have learned that the most massive molten stars and the tiniest frozen particles are in physical harmony. In their descriptions of the workings of the half-known universe, Wilczek and Devine bring all of us face to face with the beauty of eternal order and the inevitability of rational ends and beginnings.
The Audio Dictionary
Glenn D. White - 1987
Every term from previous editions has been reconsidered and often rewritten. Guest entries are by Dennis Bohn, cofounder and head of research and development at Rane Corporation, and film sound expert Larry Blake, whose credits include Erin Brockovich and Ocean's Eleven. The appendixes--tutorials that gather a lifetime's worth of experience in acoustics--include both new and greatly expanded articles.
Altars Of Unhewn Stone: Science And The Earth
Wes Jackson - 1987
A fresh and engaging look at some serious modern problems: the failure of the family farm, the erosion of soil and the decline in farm yields, and the accelerating and irrevocable loss of biological and cultural information.
Great Experiments in Physics: Firsthand Accounts from Galileo to Einstein
Morris H. Shamos - 1987
Brought together for the first time in one volume are important source readings on 25 epochal discoveries that changed man's understanding of the physical world. The accounts, written by the physicists who made them, include:Isaac Newton: The Laws of MotionHenry Cavendish: The Law of GravitationAugustin Fresnel: The Diffraction of LightHans Christian Oersted: ElecromagnetismHeinrich Hertz: ElectromagneticJames Chadwick: The NeutronNiels Bohr: The Hydrogen Atom, and 17 more.Morris H. Shamos, Professor Emeritus of Physics at New York University, has selected and edited the first published accounts of these important experiments and has also added numerous marginal notes that amplify and clarify the original documents. Moreover, the first 19 experiments can be readily re-created by students in a first-year physics course, making the book ideal for classroom and laboratory work as well as individual reference and study.Finally, Dr. Shamos has provided revealing biographical sketches of the scientists and illuminating references to the political and cultural milieu in which the discoveries are made. The result is a superbly readable presentation — accessible to lay readers — of the crucial theoretical and empirical breakthroughs that altered the course of modern science.
Time: The Familiar Stranger (Tempus)
J.T. Fraser - 1987
This wide-ranging, learned, and accessible book surveys the enormous variety of our understandings of time, both in the everyday world and in the specialized realms of the sciences and humanities. From the majestic visions of time and the timeless in major religions, derived from ordinary activity, J.T.Fraser offers the general reader a history of the idea and experience of time.
Frogs and Toads of the World
Christopher Mattison - 1987
Frogs and Toads of the World is a comprehensive guide to the natural history of this large and diverse group of creatures. Stunningly illustrated throughout with 200 color photographs, this one-of-a-kind book traces the evolution and classification of frogs and toads, providing detailed information about each of the 49 unique families and highlighting distinctive and notable species. It vividly describes their remarkable diversity in shape, color, and markings; anatomy and development; life cycle; habitats; the various methods they use to attract mates and hunt for food; and the physiological and behavioral tricks they use to survive and thrive around the world.This indispensable guide also explores frogs' interaction with humans, from modern-day collection for the meat trade, scientific research, and the trade in exotic pets to how their survival is being threatened by habitat destruction, climate change, and disease.A comprehensive guide to the natural history of frogs and toadsFeatures 200 stunning color photographsCovers each of the 49 unique frog familiesDescribes anatomy, life cycle, habitats, survival tricks, and more
Jet: Frank Whittle and the Invention of the Jet Engine
John Golley - 1987
Past, Present and Future
Isaac Asimov - 1987
Our preeminent popularizer of science, Asimov takes on many of today's most discussed issues here - Star Wars, the Chernobyl disaster, genetic engineering, the creationsim/evolution debate - with a flair, verve, and mastery that have won him innumerable readers. But he also includes many essays written in a personal vein, giving us disarmingly humorous accounts of his triple-bypass surgery and his "Hollywood Non-Career." An entertaining look at Asimov's committment to living in New York City (which he calls "Paradise") is afforded in "I Love New York." On a grand tour of the years ahead, in chapters like "Living on the Moon," "2084," "Should We Fear the Computer?" and "The New Learning," we are shown a future that is thrilling, fearsome, and, as the author insists, our present responsibility.Destined to take its place on the shelves of every Asimov fan, Past, Present, and Future is at once rational, argumentative, informal, and charming.
Elementary Number Theory
Charles Vanden Eynden - 1987
It contains graded exercise sets, as well as clear explanations of number theory with special emphasis on creating and understanding proofs.
Masterpieces Of Medical Photography: Selections From The Burns Archive
Joel-Peter Witkin - 1987
Neuropsychological Bases of God Beliefs
Michael A. Persinger - 1987
The author skillfully blends modern neurophysiology with critical behavioral psychology to offer an objective explanation for why people believe in God. This provocative and scholarly work will interest psychologists, neuroscientists, clergy, and anyone studying mystical experience.
California Marine Life
Marty Snyderman - 1987
It is fully illustrated with brillliant color photographs of the fantastic creatures that live in these waters.
Tokamaks
John Wesson - 1987
This book acts as an introduction to the subject and a basic reference for theory, definitions, equations and experimental results. Since the first introductoryaccount of tokamaks in 1987, when the tokamak had become the predominant device in the attempt to achieve a useful power source from the thermonuclear fusion, and the developments and advances in the subject covered in the second edition in 1997, following substantial research on large tokamaks (thelong awaited achievement of significant amounts of fusion power and the problems involved in designing and building a tokamak reactor), the emphasis has been on preparing the ground for an experimental reactor. In addition, there have been further significant advanced in understanding plasmabehavior, such as the wider experience of internal transport barriers, the appreciation of the role of tearing models driven by neoclassical effects and insights from turbulence simulations. The third edition brings all of this up-to-date, building on the introductory account and developments ofthe first and second editions.
Holography Handbook: Making Holograms the Easy Way
Fred Unterseher - 1987
"A book that describes how to make holograms that work - easily - and without a lot of mumbo jumbo." A "do-it-first, ask questions later book."
The Cambridge Lectures: The Famed Series of Lectures on the Theory of Everything
Stephen Hawking - 1987
Hawking's Cambridge lectures, exploring the most complex theories of physics, both past and present, remain the most important scientific theories known of time, space, and the nature of the cosmos. This 30th Anniversary remastered edition of The Cambridge Lectures offers listeners a unique opportunity to hear the full series of seven famed lectures exactly as Professor Hawking presented them during his tenure as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University.
Enrico Fermi, Physicist
Emilio Segrè - 1987
Explaining in nontechnical terms the scientific problems Fermi faced or solved, Enrico Fermi, Physicist contains illuminating material concerning Fermi's youth in Italy and the development of his scientific style.Emilio Segre was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1959.
North Woods: An Inside Look at the Nature of Forests in the Northeast
Peter J. Marchand - 1987
Beyond identifying plant species, North Woods examines the many influences that shape the ecology of northern forests and alpine areas.
Nobel Dreams: Power, Deceit, and the Ultimate Experiment
Gary Taubes - 1987
Several colorful personalities are introduced--the Italian physicist Carlo Rubbia chief among them.
The Universe
Byron Preiss - 1987
In this book, we gather together the scientists, the intellectuals, and the artists, to learn about and speculate upon the cosmos. The world right now desperately needs both the physicist and the dreamer. G-d has blessed us with the most magnificent world imaginable. We have barely made the first steps in seeing all the light in the darkness. Perhaps it is the dreamer who will find out the nature of dark matter; perhaps it is the scientist who will find solutions to needless hunger and mindless war. For them both, the bounty of the Earth and the cosmos is the currency of hope. Humanity must use what it has been blessed with to survive. Then, as in Paul Simon s phrase, we all might be dancing together with diamonds on the soles of our shoes. They will be the diamonds of the stars and it will be a dance of peace.
Solid State Chemistry and Its Applications
Anthony R. West - 1987
Describes synthetic methods, X-ray diffraction, principles of inorganic crystal structures, crystal chemistry and bonding in solids; phase diagrams of 1, 2 and 3 component systems; the electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of solids; three groups of industrially important inorganic solids--glass, cement, and refractories; and certain aspects of organic solid state chemistry, including the ``organic metal'' of new materials.
Engineering Mechanics 2: Mechanics Of Materials
Dietmar Gross - 1987
It covers numerous topics, and each chapter contains a variety of problems and solutions.
The Quantum Universe
Tony Hey - 1987
For so long the province of mathematicians and physicists alone, the beauty and significance of quantum mechanics has remained hidden to the nonspecialist. Yet its impact on technology has been enormous. The modern electronics industry with the silicon chip that has revolutionised so many aspects of modern life owes its existence to an understanding of the quantum nature of semiconductors. The text explains exactly what quantum mechanics is in a simple nonmathematical way, and is complemented throughout by many superb colour and black-and-white photographs illustrating the varied facets of quantum phenomena. The Quantum Universe will provide a fascinating and accessible introduction to one of the most important scientific disciplines of the twentieth century. Final-year students at school, general readers with an interest in science, and undergraduates in science subjects will all be able to enjoy and benefit from this novel exposition.
The Universe (Childcraft #7)
Childcraft International - 1987
Farewell to Reason
Paul Karl Feyerabend - 1987
Whether discussing Greek art and thought, vindicating the church’s battle with Galileo, exploring the development of quantum physics or exposing the dogmatism of Karl Popper, Feyerabend defends a relativist and historicist notion of the sciences. The appeal to reason, he insists, is empty, and must be replaced by a notion of science that subordinates it to the needs of citizens and communities.Provocative, polemical and rigorously argued, Farewell to Reason will infuriate Feyerabend’s critics and delight his many admirers.
Maia: A Dinosaur Grows Up
Jack Horner - 1987
This wonderful book tells the story of one of these dinosaurs--Maia--from her birth to the birth of her children. Full-color illustrations.
Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry
Pamela C. Champe - 1987
Its signature outline format, full-color illustrations, and end-of-chapter summaries and USMLE-style review questions make it one of the most user-friendly books in the field. New features include boxed, high-yield facts throughout each chapter and expanded coverage of molecular biology.A companion Website features fully searchable online text and additional USMLE-style questions for students and an Image Bank for faculty.
The Particle Explosion
Frank Close - 1987
At some time or another your body has contained atoms that were once part of Moses or Isaac Newton. So begins this spectacular illustrated tour of the subatomic world, the science of particle physics and its attempts to understand the very nature of matter and energy. The Particle Explosion is the first book to describe to the general reader how the study of basic particles by scientists over the last hundred years has led us closer to an understanding of the origins of the Universe. Particle physicists are attempting to answer such questions as: How did theUniverse begin? Why does it have the form it does? Will it continue expanding forever or will it eventually begin to contract? With over 300 illustrations, the book brings together many fascinating historical pictures of leading scientists in the field and the actual images in which the particles were first identified. There are photographs of the increasingly vast and complex equipment they use (bubble chambers, accelerators and modern electronic detectors) as well as some of the most striking images of particle tracks that they have recorded. This journey to the heart of matter opens with an introduction to the basic particles (the subatomic zoo that includes quarks, electrons, leptons, 'strange' particles and 'charmed' particles) and of the methods used to create and investigate them. The even-numbered chapters tell the story oftheir discovery, from the first experiments with X-rays and the elucidation of the nature of the atom, to the great machines that today smash particles together at enormous energies and the underground caverns where physicists are seeking confirmation of a Grand Unified Theory. The odd-numberedchapters describe the major particles in more detail. The book ends with an explanation of how some of the particles have been put to work in the service of medicine, industry, and even the detection of art forgerie
Before Lift-off: The Making of a Space Shuttle Crew
Henry S.F. Cooper Jr. - 1987
The mission has begun a year earlier; however, with the select of its crew. Before Lift-off is the extraordinary day-to-day story of these astronauts' training and flight-and is as close as most of us will ever come to flying on the space shuttle.New Yorker writer Henry Cooper obtained unprecedented permission from NASA to follow the 41-G crew from its formation through the completion of its mission. He was even given access to the heart of the training program: the crew's sessions in the shuttle mision simulators.More than a chronical of different phases in the astronauts' learning process, Before Lift-off tells the story of the bonding of these men and women. It would be Captain Robert Crippen's fourth space flight, his second command in six months, and Sally Ride's second shuttle voyage. For rookies Davida Leestra, Jon McBride, and Kathy Sullivan, and for two payload specialists, the experience would mark an initiation into the most elite groups-those people who have ventured into space.
Evolution and Escalation: An Ecological History of Life
Geerat J. Vermeij - 1987
Geerat Vermeij demonstrates that escalation--the process by which species adapt to, or are limited by, their enemies as the latter increase in ability to acquire and retain resources--has been a dominant theme in the history of life despite frequent episodes of extinction.
Philosophical Issues in Aristotle's Biology
Allan Gotthelf - 1987
This collection brings together some of the best work that has been done in this area, with the aim of exhibiting the contribution that close study of these treatises can make to the understanding of Aristotle's philosophy. The book is divided into four parts, each with an introduction which places its essays in relation to each other and to the wider issues of the book as a whole. The first part is an overview of the relationship of Aristotle's biology to his philosophy; the other three each concentrate on a set of issues central to Aristotelian study - definition and demonstration; teleology and necessity in nature; and metaph themes such as the unity of matter and form and the nature of substance.
Primate Societies
Barbara B. Smuts - 1987
It is a very richsource of ideas about other taxa. "A superb synthesis of knowledge about the social lives ofnon-human primates."—Alan Dixson, Nature