Science : Astrophysics & Space Science

Fred Hoyle was a down-to-earth, argumentative Yorkshireman who became the voice of British astronomy. For fifty years, he spoke out for astronomy in the newspapers, on government committees, at scientific meetings, in popular books and on the radio. He devised the steady-state theory of the universe and worked out how the elements are formed in the nuclei of stars. He also founded a prestigious institute, led the project to build a giant telescope and, if it rained on his summer. holiday, he sat in his caravan and wrote science fiction novels for his legions of fans around the world. This book tells the behind-the-scenes story of one of the twentieth century's most distinguished and controversial scientists. - ;Fred Hoyle was one of the most widely acclaimed and colourful scientists of the twentieth century, a down-to-earth Yorkshireman who combined a brilliant scientific mind with a relish for communication and controversy. Best known for his steady-state theory of cosmology, he described a universe with both an infinite past and an infinite future. He coined the phrase 'big bang' to describe the main competing theory, and sustained a long-running, sometimes ill-tempered, and typically public debate with his scientific rivals. He showed how the elements are formed by nuclear reactions inside stars, and explained how we are therefore all formed from stardust. He also claimed that diseases fall from the sky,. attacked Darwinism, and branded the famous fossil of the feathered Archaeopteryx a fake. Throughout his career, Hoyle played a major role in the popularization of science. Through his radio broadcasts and his highly successful science fiction novels he became a household name, though his outspokenness and support for increasingly outlandish causes later in life at times antagonized the scientific community. Jane Gregory builds up a vivid picture of Hoyle's role in the ideas, the organization, and the popularization of astronomy in post-war Britai more...

Price: $48.00

Detailed introduction for graduate students and researchers, which connects the astrophysics of massive stars with the extremes of galaxy evolution. more...

Price: $104.00

Around the time of the first "Earth Day," on April 22, 1970, the academic world joined in a virtual explosion of societal interest in a topic that inherently lies in the confluence between "social problems" and "public policy" -- the ways in which humans use and abuse the natural environment. In the worlds of social movement organizations and policy, that newfound interest showed up in dramatic growth of environmental organizations and a stream of powerful new environmental laws. In the academic world, echoes of the explosion showed up in equally dramatic growth of interdisciplinary "environmental" programs with an explicit focus on the fact that "environmental problems" are inherently social problems as well. Over the past decade, a growing body of research has shown that equity issues need to receive greater attention in academia -- not just among activists, and not just as the focus of courses on environmental ethics, but as topics that deserve careful academic study and that in many ways are at the core of what we call "environmental" problems. As David Orr (1992) noted, "the symptoms of environmental deterioration are in the domain of the natural sciences, but the causes lie in the realm of the social sciences and humanities.". This volume is intended to call this research to attention, but also to encourage its further expansion; far from being the kind of topic that ought to be relegated to a small pigeonhole, issues of equity and inequality deserve to be absolutely central to the study of connections between humans and the habitat that we share with all other life on earth. Research in Social Problems and Public Policy is now available online at ScienceDirect — full-text online from volume 8 onwards. more...

Price: $208.00

There are several textbooks available on solar astronomy which deal with advanced astrophysical aspects of solar physics, and books which provide very elementary knowledge about the Sun. This book will help to bridge the gap. It aims to stimulate interest in solar astronomy, presenting at one place the basic methods and techniques used in the field, together with the latest findings and the excitement in solar physics. As solar astronomy is becoming very popular among amateur astronomers and laymen, the book provides the practical knowledge to build simple solar telescopes and other equipment for making solar observations. Amateur astronomers have made important contributions to solar astronomy, and this book will help to guide them in their endeavours. The book can also serve as a text for undergraduate and graduate students starting out on solar physics. Using it, graduate students can easily embark on specific topics of research in solar astronomy. more...

Price: $75.40

Revised second edition for advanced undergraduate students in astronomy and astrophysics. more...

Price: $52.00