The Ascent of ScienceFrom the revolutionary discoveries of Galileo and Newton to the mind-bending theories of Einstein and Heisenberg, from plate tectonics to particle physics, from the origin of life to universal entropy, and from biology to cosmology, here is a sweeping, readable, and dynamic account of the whole of Western science. In the approachable manner and method of Stephen Jay Gould and Carl Sagan, the late Brian L. Silver translates our most important, and often most obscure, scientific developments into a vernacular that is not only accessible and illuminating but also enjoyable. Silver makes his comprehensive case with much clarity and insight; his book aptly locates science as the apex of human reason, and reason as our best path to the truth. For all readers curious about--or else perhaps intimidated by--what Silver calls "the scientific campaign up to now" in his Preface, The Ascent of Science will be fresh, vivid, and fascinating reading. |
From inside the book
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Page 3
... gas . Gas is the simplest form of matter , the form that we understand best . We live in a gas , in fact , a mixture of gases — air . The way that scientists see gases is not the way that our eyes see them . In fact our eyes don't see ...
... gas . Gas is the simplest form of matter , the form that we understand best . We live in a gas , in fact , a mixture of gases — air . The way that scientists see gases is not the way that our eyes see them . In fact our eyes don't see ...
Page 4
... gases — and not just the air . Man uses gases to weld steel , to fill laser tubes and neon lights , to anesthetize patients , to give sparkle to soft drinks , beer , and champagne , to fly airships , float 1It's easier to write this ...
... gases — and not just the air . Man uses gases to weld steel , to fill laser tubes and neon lights , to anesthetize patients , to give sparkle to soft drinks , beer , and champagne , to fly airships , float 1It's easier to write this ...
Page 5
... gases that at best erode build- ings and change the color of oil paintings , and at worst poison life and perilously disturb the delicate heat balance of this planet . Gases can be indispensable to man or catastrophically destructive ...
... gases that at best erode build- ings and change the color of oil paintings , and at worst poison life and perilously disturb the delicate heat balance of this planet . Gases can be indispensable to man or catastrophically destructive ...
Page 6
... gases . Two vital facts are not revealed by the drawing : Molecules in a gas are in constant motion . The average speed of a molecule in a gas increases with temperature . Be very clear what this motion is and is not . We are not ...
... gases . Two vital facts are not revealed by the drawing : Molecules in a gas are in constant motion . The average speed of a molecule in a gas increases with temperature . Be very clear what this motion is and is not . We are not ...
Page 7
... gas can be both measured experimentally and calculated theoretically . Here are some approximate average speeds , in miles per hour , for molecules in some still gases at room temperature : Hydrogen in a steel cylinder 3800 Helium in an ...
... gas can be both measured experimentally and calculated theoretically . Here are some approximate average speeds , in miles per hour , for molecules in some still gases at room temperature : Hydrogen in a steel cylinder 3800 Helium in an ...
Contents
Part Two | 27 |
Part Three | 79 |
Part Four | 111 |
Part Five | 181 |
Part Six | 251 |
Part Seven | 355 |
Part Eight | 415 |
Part Nine | 477 |
Part Ten | 507 |
513 | |
519 | |
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Common terms and phrases
acceleration amino acids appear atoms basic behavior believe Big Bang body carbon cells century chemical chemistry chromosomes completely concept contains crystal Darwin Descartes Earth effect Einstein electric electromagnetic electron elementary particles elements energy Enlightenment entropy enzyme equation evolution example existence experiments fact Faraday Figure frequencies galaxies Galilean invariance Galileo gases gene genetic give gravity heat helium Higgs boson human hydrogen hydrogen atom idea laws of motion living look mass material mathematical matter means measure metal million molecular molecules moving mutant nature neutron Newton Newtonian nucleus observed organism oxygen particles path philosopher photons physical physicist planets predict probability problem produced proteins Pythagoras quantum mechanics quarks radiation reason relativity result scientific scientists second law space special relativity species speed of light stars structure surface temperature theory tion universe velocity wave function
Popular passages
Page 12 - I now have before me a road which will lead us from the contemplation of the true God (in whom all the treasures of science and wisdom are contained) to the knowledge of the other objects of the universe. For, first of all, I recognise it to be impossible that He should ever deceive me...