|
Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > History of science
This edited volume contains 24 different research papers by members
of the History and Heritage Working Group of the Southeast Asian
Astronomy Network. The chapters were prepared by astronomers from
Australia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Scotland, Sweden, Thailand and Vietnam. They represent
the latest understanding of cultural and scientific interchange in
the region over time, from ethnoastronomy to archaeoastronomy and
more. Gathering together researchers from various locales, this
volume enabled new connections to be made in service of building a
more holistic vision of astronomical history in Southeast Asia,
which boasts a proud and deep tradition.
Angelo Secchi was a key figure in 19th century science. An Italian
Jesuit and scientist, he helped lead the transition from astronomy
to astrophysics and left a lasting legacy in the field. Secchi’s
spectral classification of stars was a milestone that paved the way
for modern astronomical research. He was also a founder of modern
meteorology and an innovator in the design and development of new
instruments and methods across disciplines.This contributed volume
collects together reviews from an international group of
historians, scientists and scholars representing the multiple
disciplines where Secchi made significant contributions during his
remarkable career. It analyzes both his famous and lesser known
pioneering efforts with equal vigor, providing a well-rounded
narrative of his life’s work. Beyond his scientific and
technological work, his role as a Jesuit priest in Rome during the
turbulent years of the mid 19th century is also described and
placed in the context of his scientific and civic activities.
Drawing on published works, correspondence and manuscripts, this
book offers the most comprehensive reconstruction of Boscovich's
theory within its historical context. It explains the genesis and
theoretical as well as epistemological underpinnings in light of
the Jesuit tradition to which Boscovich belonged, and contrasts his
ideas with those of Newton, Leibniz, and their legacy. Finally, it
debates crucial issues in early-modern physical science such as the
concept of force, the particle-like structure of matter, the idea
of material points and the notion of continuity, and shares novel
insights on Boscovich's alleged influence on later developments in
physics. With its attempt to reduce all natural forces to one
single law, Boscovich's Theory of Natural Philosophy, published in
1758, left a lasting impression on scientists and philosophers of
every age regarding the fundamental unity of physical phenomena.
The theory argues that every pair of material points is subject to
one mutual force - and always the same force - which is their
propensity to be mutually attracted or repelled, depending on their
distance from one another. Furthermore, the action of this unique
force is visualized through a famous diagram that fascinated
generations of scientists. But his understanding of key terms of
the theory - such as the notion of force involved and the very idea
of a material point - is only ostensibly similar to our current
conceptual framework. Indeed, it needs to be clarified within the
plurality of contexts in which it has emerged rather than being
considered in view of later developments. The book is recommended
for scholars and students interested in the ideas of the early
modern period, especially historians and philosophers of science,
mathematicians and physicists with an interest in the history of
the discipline, and experts on Jesuit science and philosophy.
This book offers insights relevant to modern history and
epistemology of physics, mathematics and, indeed, to all the
sciences and engineering disciplines emerging of 19th century. This
research volume is the first of a set of three Springer books on
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot's (1753-1823) remarkable work:
Essay on Machines in General (Essai sur les machines en general
[1783] 1786). The other two forthcoming volumes are: Principes
fondamentaux de l'equilibre et du mouvement (1803) and Geometrie de
position (1803). Lazare Carnot - l'organisateur de la victoire - in
Essai sur le machine en general (1786) assumed that the
generalization of machines was a necessity for society and its
economic development. Subsequently, his new coming science applied
to machines attracted considerable interest for technician, as
well, already in the 1780's. With no lack in rigour, Carnot used
geometric and trigonometric rather than algebraic arguments, and
usually went on to explain in words what the formulae contained.
His main physical- mathematical concepts were the Geometric motion
and Moment of activity-concept of Work . In particular, he found
the invariants of the transmission of motion (by stating the
principle of the moment of the quantity of motion) and theorized
the condition of the maximum efficiency of mechanical machines
(i.e., principle of continuity in the transmission of power). While
the core theme remains the theories and historical studies of the
text, the book contains an extensive Introduction and an accurate
critical English Translation - including the parallel text edition
and substantive critical/explicative notes - of Essai sur les
machines en general (1786). The authors offer much-needed insight
into the relation between mechanics, mathematics and engineering
from a conceptual, empirical and methodological, and universalis
point of view. As a cutting-edge writing by leading authorities on
the history of physics and mathematics, and epistemological
aspects, it appeals to historians, epistemologist-philosophers and
scientists (physicists, mathematicians and applied sciences and
technology).
This book tells the story of two of the most important figures in
the history of chemistry. Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) was the
first to prepare oxygen and realise that air is a mixture of
nitrogen and oxygen; he also discovered many important organic and
inorganic substances. His fellow chemist and good friend, Torbern
Bergman (1735-1784), was one of the pioneers in analytical and
physical chemistry. In this carefully researched biography, the
author, Anders Lennartson, explains the chemistry of Scheele and
Bergman while putting their discoveries in the context of other
18th-century chemistry. Much of the information contained in this
work is available in English for the first time.
This book contains stories of women engineers' paths through the
golden age of microelectronics, stemming from the invention of the
transistor in 1947. These stories, like the biographies of Marie
Curie and the National Geographic's stories of Jane Goodall's
research that inspired the authors will inspire and guide readers
along unconventional pathways to contributions to microelectronics
that we can only begin to imagine. The book explores why and how
the women writing here chose their career paths and how they
navigated their careers. This topic is of interest to a vast
audience, from students to professionals to university advisers to
industry CEOs, who can imagine the advantages of a future with a
diverse work force. Provides insight into women's early
contributions to the field of microelectronics and celebrates the
challenges they overcame; Presents compelling innovations from
academia, research, and industry into advances, applications, and
the future of microelectronics; Includes a fascinating look into
topics such as nanotechnologies, video games, analog electronics,
design automation, and neuromorphic circuits.
Climate Change and Human History provides a concise introduction to
the relationship between human beings and climate change throughout
history. Starting hundreds of thousands of years ago and going up
to the present day, this book illustrates how natural climate
variability affected early human societies and how human activity
is now leading to drastic changes to our climate. Taking a
chronological approach the authors explain how climate change
created opportunities and challenges for human societies in each
major time period, covering themes such as phases of climate and
history, climate shocks, the rise and fall of civilizations,
industrialization, accelerating climate change and our future
outlook. This 2nd edition includes a new chapter on the explosion
of social movements, protest groups and key individuals since 2017
and the implications this has had on the history of climate change,
an improved introduction to the Anthropocene and extra content on
the basic dynamics of the climate system alongside updated
historiography. With more case studies, images and individuals
throughout the text, the second edition also includes a glossary of
terms and further reading to aid students in understanding this
interdisciplinary subject. An ideal companion for all students of
environmental history, Climate Change and Human History clearly
demonstrates the critical role of climate in shaping human history
and of the experience of humans in both adapting to and shaping
climate change.
Albert Einstein said, "Science without religion is lame, and
religion without science is blind." The very basis of religion is
the creatorship of God. Science, the study of the created world,
therefore, is a subset of theology, the study of God. As a result,
when secular or religious scientists discover new facts about the
physical world, they are contributing to our understanding of the
Creator who made heaven and earth and set all things in motion.
George Javor, PhD, has spent his career teaching, studying, and
conducting research in the field of biochemistry. A Scientist
Celebrates Creation examines the existence of God and His creative
power. Javor presents readers with a mountain of evidence from the
solar system down to the miniscule organisms that he has spent his
life researching-Escherichia coli-coupled with Bible references
that provide clear evidence to the formation of our world by a
loving Creator. In the last chapter of the book, Javor provides
readers with a personal glimpse into his life and career. From
surviving World War II in Hungary as a Jew, moving to the United
States and becoming an Adventist, to dedicating his life to science
and his Creator, Javor shares his life experiences in A Scientist
Celebrates Creation.
This volume is part of the definitive edition of letters written by
and to Charles Darwin, the most celebrated naturalist of the
nineteenth century. Notes and appendixes put these fascinating and
wide-ranging letters in context, making the letters accessible to
both scholars and general readers. Darwin depended on
correspondence to collect data from all over the world, and to
discuss his emerging ideas with scientific colleagues, many of whom
he never met in person. The letters are published chronologically:
Volume 21 includes letters from 1873, the year in which Darwin
received responses to his work on human and animal expression. Also
in this year, Darwin continued his work on carnivorous plants and
plant movement, finding unexpected similarities between the plant
and animal kingdoms, raised a subscription for his friend Thomas
Henry Huxley, and decided to employ a scientific secretary for the
first time - his son Francis.
The Derby Philosophers focuses upon the activities of a group of
Midland intellectuals that included the evolutionist and physician
Erasmus Darwin, Rev. Thomas Gisborne the evangelical philosopher
and poet, Robert Bage the novelist, Charles Sylvester the chemist
and engineer, William George and his son Herbert Spencer, the
internationally renowned evolutionist philosopher who coined the
phrase ‘survival of the fittest’, and members of the Wedgwood
and Strutt families. The book explores how, inspired by science and
through educational activities, publications and institutions
including the famous Derbyshire General Infirmary (1810) and Derby
Arboretum (1840), the Derby philosophers strove to promote social,
political and urban improvements with national and international
consequences. Much more than a parochial history of one
intellectual group or town, this book examines science, politics
and culture during one of the most turbulent periods of British
history. -- .
This encyclopedia surveys the scientific research on gender
throughout the ages-the people, experiments, and impact-of both
legitimate and illegitimate findings on the scientific community,
women scientists, and society at large. Women, Science, and Myth:
Gender Beliefs from Antiquity to the Present examines the ways
scientists have researched gender throughout history, the ways
those results have affected society, and the impact they have had
on the scientific community and on women, women scientists, and
women's rights movements. In chronologically organized entries,
Women, Science, and Myth explores the people and experiments that
exemplify the problematic relationship between science and gender
throughout the centuries, with particular emphasis on the 20th
century. The encyclopedia offers a section on focused cross-period
themes such as myths of gender in different scientific disciplines
and the influence of cultural norms on specific eras of gender
research. It is a timely and revealing resource that celebrates
science's legitimate accomplishments in understanding gender while
unmasking the sources of a number of debilitating biases concerning
women's intelligence and physical attributes. Chronologically
organized entries describing people and events influential in the
development of scientific research on gender 40 thematic entries
looking at larger issues across regions, disciplines, and
historical eras A section of supportive demographic/statistical
information
This book presents a compelling account of atomic development over
the last century that demonstrates how humans have repeatedly
chosen to ignore the associated impacts for the sake of
technological, scientific, military, and economic expediency. In
1945, Albert Einstein said, "The release of atomic power has
changed everything except our way of thinking ... the solution to
this problem lies in the heart of mankind." This statement seems
more valid today than ever. Romancing the Atom: Nuclear Infatuation
from the Radium Girls to Fukushima presents compelling moments that
clearly depict the folly and shortsightedness of our "atomic
mindset" and shed light upon current issues of nuclear power, waste
disposal, and weapons development. The book consists of ten
nonfiction historical vignettes, including the women radium dial
painters of the 1920s, the expulsion of the Bikini Island residents
to create a massive "petri dish" for post-World War II bomb and
radiation testing, the government-subsidized uranium rush of the
1950s and its effects on Native American communities, and the
secret radioactive material development facilities in residential
neighborhoods. In addition, the book includes original interviews
of prominent historians, writers, and private citizens involved
with these poignant stories. More information is available online
at www.romancingtheatom.com. Draws from top-secret government and
military documents from the history of atomic development, archival
documents from the Library of Congress, and letters from Albert
Einstein and other prominent scientists during the 1950s and 1960s
Presents chronological histories of events such as the displacement
and relocation of the Bikini Islanders, uranium mines on Native
American lands, and the cleanup of a secret uranium milling
facility in a residential neighborhood in Oxford, Ohio Contains
various maps including radioactive cleanup sites in the United
States and other parts of the world Includes many photographs and
illustrations that accompany the text Provides a bibliography
containing a significant collection of books, magazine articles,
newspaper reports, movies, comics, government documents, and other
related archival materials
This well-documented and fascinating book tells how, over the
centuries, a series of visionaries, scientists, technologists, and
politicians fostered the involvement of Italy in space exploration.
The lives of these pioneers was often far from easy, yet they
persevered. The fruits of their efforts can today be witnessed in
Italy's success within the cutting-edge space sector. Italy's
history in space started at the end of the fourteenth century and
continued with the development of fireworks. Later, the nineteenth
century marked the beginning of research into rockets in a more
scientific way. After World War II, rocket technology was advanced
with the aid of German scientists, and in the 1960s Luigi Broglio,
the father of Italian space exploration, designed the San Marco
satellite. In 1979 the first Italian Space Plan was launched, but
it was the foundation of the Italian Space Agency in 1988 that
kick-started a program of exploration in various fields of cosmic
research. The outcome was construction of the Vega launcher and
collaboration in the International Space Station. Now the Italian
space industry stands ready to play an important role in the
Gateway orbital station. All of this history, and more, is explored
in this riveting book.
|
|