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Extraterrestrial Civilizations
by Isaac AsimovThe master of science fiction speculates about life on other planets..."Intriguing"--Publishers Weekly From the Trade Paperback edition.
Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Human Imagination
by John TraphaganThe search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) represents one of the most significant crossroads at which the assumptions and methods of scientific inquiry come into direct contact with--and in many cases conflict with--those of religion. Indeed, at the core of SETI is the same question that motivates many interested in religion: What is the place of humanity in the universe? Both scientists involved with SETI (and in other areas) and those interested in and dedicated to some religious traditions are engaged in contemplating these types of questions, even if their respective approaches and answers differ significantly. This book explores this intersection with a focus on three core points: 1) the relationship between science and religion as it is expressed within the framework of SETI research, 2) the underlying assumptions, many of which are tacitly based upon cultural values common in American society, that have shaped the ways in which SETI researchers have conceptualized the nature of their endeavor and represented ideas about the potential influence contact might have on human civilization, and 3) what sort of empirical evidence we might be able to access as a way of thinking about the social impact that contact with alien intelligence might have for humanity, from both religious and cultural perspectives. The book developed as a result of a course the author teaches at the University of Texas at Austin: Religion, Science, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
Extraterrestrial Languages (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Daniel OberhausIf we send a message into space, will extraterrestrial beings receive it? Will they understand?The endlessly fascinating question of whether we are alone in the universe has always been accompanied by another, more complicated one: if there is extraterrestrial life, how would we communicate with it? In this book, Daniel Oberhaus leads readers on a quest for extraterrestrial communication. Exploring Earthlings' various attempts to reach out to non-Earthlings over the centuries, he poses some not entirely answerable questions: If we send a message into space, will extraterrestrial beings receive it? Will they understand? What languages will they (and we) speak? Is there not only a universal grammar (as Noam Chomsky has posited), but also a grammar of the universe? Oberhaus describes, among other things, a late-nineteenth-century idea to communicate with Martians via Morse code and mirrors; the emergence in the twentieth century of SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence), CETI (communication with extraterrestrial intelligence), and finally METI (messaging extraterrestrial intelligence); the one-way space voyage of Ella, an artificial intelligence agent that can play cards, tell fortunes, and recite poetry; and the launching of a theremin concert for aliens. He considers media used in attempts at extraterrestrial communication, from microwave systems to plaques on spacecrafts to formal logic, and discusses attempts to formulate a language for our message, including the Astraglossa and two generations of Lincos (lingua cosmica).The chosen medium for interstellar communication reveals much about the technological sophistication of the civilization that sends it, Oberhaus observes, but even more interesting is the information embedded in the message itself. In Extraterrestrial Languages, he considers how philosophy, linguistics, mathematics, science, and art have informed the design or limited the effectiveness of our interstellar messaging.
Extraterrestrial Life: We are not alone
by Antonino Del PopoloAre we alone in the universe? This ancient question remains unanswered, but we are inching closer to finding out. Since the 1970s, probes have explored various objects in our solar system, revealing no advanced civilizations beyond Earth. However, bacterial life likely existed on Mars and might still exist today. Venus, though a scorching hellscape, could host bacterial life in its atmosphere. Some moons of gas giants are believed to harbor underground oceans potentially capable of supporting life. The greatest hopes for discovering life lie in the myriad of exoplanets in our galaxy and beyond, the first of which was discovered in 1995. This discovery revolutionized our understanding, showing that planets are common, with each star often hosting one or more. This significantly increases the likelihood of both microscopic life and advanced civilizations. While not all planets are suitable for life, billions of habitable planets exist in our galaxy alone, some even classified as super-habitable, possessing conditions more favorable for life than Earth. Current and future space telescopes aim to study these planets' atmospheres, searching for life-producing molecules. One such molecule, produced exclusively by life, has already been detected on a discovered planet. Despite extensive searches, no signals from other civilizations have been found, but this doesn't rule out their existence. Recent studies based on star formation, the prevalence of planets, and the potential for life-supporting conditions suggest that technological civilizations have certainly existed in the Universe. The next decade will be crucial in answering the question: are we alone?
The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900
by Michael J. Crowe"There isn't an uninteresting page in it. It is a masterly review of an intriguing subject, erudite and entertaining, clear and all-encompassing reading for anyone interested in 'one of the most wondrous and noble questions in nature' - does extraterrestrial life exist?" - New Scientist.Are we alone in the universe? Are there other beings on other worlds who gaze into the night sky and try to imagine us, as we try to imagine them? Those questions have been debated since antiquity, but it was during the Enlightenment that they particularly began to engage the interest of prominent scientists and thinkers. In this fascinating volume, Professor Michael Crowe offers the first in-depth study in English of the international debate that developed between 1750 and 1900 concerning the existence of extraterrestrial life, a problem that engaged an extraordinary variety of Western thinkers across the spectrum of intellectual endeavor. Astronomers such as Herschel, Bode, Lalande, and Flammarion all weighed in, along with French philosophers Rousseau and Voltaire, American patriot Thomas Paine, Scots churchman Thomas Chalmers, and a host of others. Professor Crowe gives them all their say, as they address the question as a point of science, as a problem of philosophy, as well as a religious issue. The book ends with the "discovery" by Schiaparelli of the canals of Mars, the expansion of the canal theory by the American astronomer Percival Lowell, and the culmination of the canal controversy with the demonstration of its illusory nature."Crowe's book is lucid and rich in historical detail. His analysis is so fascinating and his comments on the contemporary debate so pertinent that The Extraterrestrial Life Debate can be recommended for the thoughtful reader without reservation. While a model of scholarly analysis, it has the unusual virtue of reading with the excitement of high adventure." - Sky & Telescope.
Extraterrestrial Seismology
by Vincent C. H. Tong Rafael A. GarcíaSeismology is a highly effective tool for investigating the internal structure of the Earth. Similar techniques have also successfully been used to study other planetary bodies (planetary seismology), the Sun (helioseismology), and other stars (asteroseismology). Despite obvious differences between stars and planetary bodies, these disciplines share many similarities and together form a coherent field of scientific research. This unique book takes a transdisciplinary approach to seismology and seismic imaging, reviewing the most recent developments in these extraterrestrial contexts. With contributions from leading scientists, this timely volume systematically outlines the techniques used in observation, data processing, and modelling for asteroseismology, helioseismology, and planetary seismology, drawing comparisons with seismic methods used in geophysics. Important recent discoveries in each discipline are presented. With an emphasis on transcending the traditional boundaries of astronomy, solar, planetary and Earth sciences, this novel book is an invaluable resource and reference for undergraduates, postgraduates and academics.
Extraterrestrials (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series)
by Wade RoushAre we alone in the universe? If not, where is everybody? An engaging exploration of one of the most important unsolved problems in science. Everything we know about how planets form and how life arises suggests that human civilization on Earth should not be unique. We ought to see abundant evidence of extraterrestrial activity—but we don't. Where is everybody? In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, science and technology writer Wade Roush examines one of the great unsolved problems in science: is there life, intelligent or otherwise, on other planets? This paradox (they're bound to be out there; but where are they?), first formulated by the famed physicist Enrico Fermi, has fueled decades of debate, speculation, and, lately, some actual science. Roush lays out the problem in its historical and modern-day context and summarizes the latest thinking among astronomers and astrobiologists. He describes the long history of speculation about aliens (we've been debating the idea for thousands of years); the emergence of SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) as a scientific discipline in the 1960s, and scientists' use of radio and optical techniques to scan for signals; and developments in astrobiology (the study of how life might arise in non-Earth like environments) and exoplanet research (the discovery of planets outside our solar system). Finally, he discusses possible solutions to the Fermi Paradox and suggests way to refocus SETI work that might increase the chances of resolving the paradox—and finding extraterrestrials.
Extraterrestrische Maschinen: Auf der Suche nach außerirdischer Intelligenz
by Wilfried DomainkoIn diesem Buch wird die Suche nach extraterrestrischen Strukturen diskutiert, die möglicherweise künstlichen Ursprungs sind. Die Fahndung nach künstlichen, extraterrestrischen Objekten wird jedoch durch die extrem vielfältigen Erscheinungsformen von natürlichen Himmelkörpern erschwert. Trotzdem ist die gezielte Suche nach außerirdischen Maschinen von riesigen Ausmaßen eine Möglichkeit, extraterrestrische Intelligenz zu entdecken. Tatsächlich besteht die Möglichkeit, einige Beobachtungen von außergewöhnlichen Himmelsobjekten entweder im Zusammenhang mit exotischen natürlichen Phänomenen oder aber als solche Technologiesignaturen zu deuten. Extraterrestrische Maschinen könnten technologisch viel fortschrittlicher sein als ihre irdischen Gegenstücke. Im Rahmen des zweiten Erklärungsansatzes könnten modifizierte Sterne als stellare Maschinen dienen, ganze Planeten nach den Bedürfnissen ihrer Bewohner umgestaltet werden oder gigantische Megastrukturen ihre Heimatsterne verdunkeln. Auch in unserem Sonnensystem wären Signaturen von extraterrestrischen Maschinen denkbar. Entsprechend könnten Beobachtungen von einigen sich bewegenden Himmelsobjekten mitunter im Zusammenhang mit interstellaren Raumsonden oder extraterrestrischem Weltraumschrott interpretiert werden. Neben der Vorstellung von möglichen beobachteten Technologiesignaturen und deren natürlichen und künstlichen Erklärungsmodellen, werden in diesem Buch auch verwandte irdische Technikvorhaben mit den entsprechenden Beobachtungen verglichen. In diesem Zusammenhang könnte das Auffinden von extraterrestrischen Maschinen sogar die menschliche Technologieentwicklung verändern.
The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos
by Robert P. KirshnerThe Extravagant Universe tells the story of a remarkable adventure of scientific discovery. One of the world's leading astronomers, Robert Kirshner, takes readers inside a lively research team on the quest that led them to an extraordinary cosmological discovery: the expansion of the universe is accelerating under the influence of a dark energy that makes space itself expand. In addition to sharing the story of this exciting discovery, Kirshner also brings the science up-to-date in a new epilogue. He explains how the idea of an accelerating universe--once a daring interpretation of sketchy data--is now the standard assumption in cosmology today. This measurement of dark energy--a quality of space itself that causes cosmic acceleration--points to a gaping hole in our understanding of fundamental physics. In 1917, Einstein proposed the "cosmological constant" to explain a static universe. When observations proved that the universe was expanding, he cast this early form of dark energy aside. But recent observations described first-hand in this book show that the cosmological constant--or something just like it--dominates the universe's mass and energy budget and determines its fate and shape. Warned by Einstein's blunder, and contradicted by the initial results of a competing research team, Kirshner and his colleagues were reluctant to accept their own result. But, convinced by evidence built on their hard-earned understanding of exploding stars, they announced their conclusion that the universe is accelerating in February 1998. Other lines of inquiry and parallel supernova research now support a new synthesis of a cosmos dominated by dark energy but also containing several forms of dark matter. We live in an extravagant universe with a surprising number of essential ingredients: the real universe we measure is not the simplest one we could imagine.
Extreme: Outer Space
by Paul BeckExplore outer space from our solar system to the edges to the universe! Extreme: Outer Space pairs the most bizarre and mind-blowing facts about our planets with breathtaking images!
Extreme: Dangerous Animals
by Paul BeckWarning: Extreme danger! They stalk, sting, pounce, and chomp. They're the deadliest creatures on earth, and now you can see why as you explore them all through incredible action photos. Extreme: Dangerous Animals brings you face-to-face with tigers, wolves, great whites, and cobras--and a few animals you might not expect!
Extreme: Sharks
by Nancy HonovichGo face-to-face with the world's most awesome predators! Extreme: Sharks is packed with incredible photos of the most fascinating creatures in the sea!
Extreme 3-D: Outer Space
by Paul BeckExplore outer space from our solar system to the edges to the universe! Extreme 3-D: Outer Space pairs the most bizarre and mind-blowing facts about our planets with breathtaking images--all in 3-D!
Extreme 3-D: Dangerous Animals
by Paul BeckWarning: Extreme danger! They stalk, sting, pounce, and chomp. They're the deadliest creatures on earth, and now you can see why as you explore them all through incredible 3-D photos. Extreme 3-D: Dangerous Animals brings you face-to-face with tigers, wolves, great whites, and cobras--and a few animals you might not expect!
Extreme 3-D: Sharks
by Nancy HonovichGo face-to-face with the world's most awesome predators! Extreme 3-D: Sharks is packed with incredible 3-D photos of the most fasincating creatures in the sea!
Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth (Animal Science)
by Nicola DaviesFrom the persevering emperor penguins of the South Pole to the brave bacteria inside bubbling volcanoes, from the hardy reptiles of the driest deserts to the squash-proof creatures of the deepest seabeds, animals have adapted to survive in conditions that would kill a human faster than you can say "coffin." Discover how they do it in this amazing natural history book from a celebrated team -- and find out who wins the title of the toughest animal of them all. Back matter includes an index and a glossary.
Extreme Biomimetics
by Hermann EhrlichThis book discusses the current direction of the research approach to extreme biomimetics through biological materials-inspired chemistry and its applications in modern technology and medicine. It is a resource covering topics of extreme (psychrophilic and thermopilic) biomineralization, solvothermal and hydrothermal chemistry of metal oxides and nanostructured composites, and bioinspired materials science in a diverse areas. The authors review the current advances in the extreme biomimetics research field and describe various approaches introduced and explored by their respective laboratories. * Details the basic principles of extreme biomimetics approach for design of new materials and applications; * Includes numerous examples of the hierarchical organization of hydrothermally or psychrophilically obtained biocomposites, structural bioscaffolds, biosculpturing, biomimetism, and bioinspiration as tools for the design of innovative materials; * Describes and details the principles of extreme biomimetics with respect to metallization of chemically and thermally stable biopolymers.
Extreme Conservation: Life at the Edges of the World
by Joel Berger"Extraordinary. . . . Berger is a hero of biology who deserves the highest honors that science can bestow."—Tim Flannery, New York Review of Books On the Tibetan Plateau, there are wild yaks with blood cells thinner than those of horses’ by half, enabling the endangered yaks to survive at 40 below zero and in the lowest oxygen levels of the mountaintops. But climate change is causing the snow patterns here to shift, and with the snows, the entire ecosystem. Food and water are vaporizing in this warming environment, and these beasts of ice and thin air are extraordinarily ill-equipped for the change. A journey into some of the most forbidding landscapes on earth, Joel Berger’s Extreme Conservation is an eye-opening, steely look at what it takes for animals like these to live at the edges of existence. But more than this, it is a revealing exploration of how climate change and people are affecting even the most far-flung niches of our planet. Berger’s quest to understand these creatures’ struggles takes him to some of the most remote corners and peaks of the globe: across Arctic tundra and the frozen Chukchi Sea to study muskoxen, into the Bhutanese Himalayas to follow the rarely sighted takin, and through the Gobi Desert to track the proboscis-swinging saiga. Known as much for his rigorous, scientific methods of developing solutions to conservation challenges as for his penchant for donning moose and polar bear costumes to understand the mindsets of his subjects more closely, Berger is a guide par excellence. He is a scientist and storyteller who has made his life working with desert nomads, in zones that typically require Sherpas and oxygen canisters. Recounting animals as charismatic as their landscapes are extreme, Berger’s unforgettable tale carries us with humor and expertise to the ends of the earth and back. But as his adventures show, the more adapted a species has become to its particular ecological niche, the more devastating climate change can be. Life at the extremes is more challenging than ever, and the need for action, for solutions, has never been greater.
Extreme Cosmos: A Guided Tour of the Fastest, Brightest, Hottest, Heaviest, Oldest, and Most Amazing Aspects of Our Universe
by Bryan GaenslerA star-gazer since childhood, astronomer Gaensler has not lost his wide-eyed fascination with the stars. In this engaging, accessible, and eye-opening read, he gives readers a guided tour of the universe, with an emphasis on the extremes of temperature, light, and more.
Extreme Environmental Events: Complexity in Forecasting and Early Warning
by Robert A. MeyersExtreme Environmental Events is an authoritative single source for understanding and applying the basic tenets of complexity and systems theory, as well as the tools and measures for analyzing complex systems, to the prediction, monitoring, and evaluation of major natural phenomena affecting life on earth. These phenomena are often highly destructive, and include earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, climate change,, and weather. Early warning, damage, and the immediate response of human populations to these phenomena are also covered from the point of view of complexity and nonlinear systems. In 61 authoritative, state-of-the art articles, world experts in each field apply such tools and concepts as fractals, cellular automata, solitons game theory, network theory, and statistical physics to an understanding of these complex geophysical phenomena.
Extreme Environments: Unique Ecosystems – Amazing Microbes
by Anita Pandey; Avinash SharmaThe book Extreme Environments: Unique Ecosystems – Amazing Microbes is an attempt to showcase the uniqueness of extremophiles, the largely unexplored group that has the abilities to function in hostile conditions and represent the very ancient life forms that thrived on earth billions of years ago. The book covers a wide range of research achievements in the field of microbiology of extreme environments right from the conventional approaches of cultivation to recently evolved high throughput sequencing technologies. The book provides a broad spectrum of information about the taxonomy, physiology, ecology and biotechnological applications of extremophiles from various extreme environments across the globe.
The Extreme Future
by James CantonA renowned global futurist prepares businesses and individuals for the radical changes on the horizon An advisor to three presidents spanning over thirty years, Dr. James Canton identifies probable outcomes and future trends in business, technology, environment, terrorism, population, and medicine to help companies and individuals prepare for the coming complex and volatile global changes, including: * How climate change and energy trends will reshape the planet* How astounding medicine trends will enhance people's lives* How the rise of China will bring on a new global power struggle In the tradition of Future Shock, Megatrends, and The Tipping Point, Extreme Future is the essential forecasting handbook for navigating the twenty-first century.
Extreme Garage Science for Kids!
by James Orgill Joanna OrgillFor years, James Orgill has amazed millions of YouTube fans with zany experiments in his popular videos on The Action Lab channel. Now, for the first time, you can do these experiments at home! Extreme Garage Science for Kids! is jam-packed with killer projects and irresistibly nerdy explanations of how the world works. Draw on water. Remove the iron from your Cheerios. Defy Newtonian physics! Bursting with fun illustrations and full-color, photographed step-by-step instructions, Extreme Garage Science for Kids! is a thrilling scientific adventure for young minds everywhere!
Extreme Habitable Environments: A Bridge between Astrophysics and Astrobiology
by Madhu Kashyap Jagadeesh Usha ShekharExtreme Habitable Environments is a book authored with the intention of providing introductory material suitable for those interested in learning about exoplanets. The focal point of this book is to expose its readers to the excitement in identifying exoplanets and exploring the possibility of life on them. This book offers structured content enriched with graphics, flow charts, images and worked examples that make reading and learning a delight. This book further serves as a hands-on perspective of the solar system and exoplanets. The first two chapters give a thorough insight into the solar system replete with the dynamics of star and planet formation. Exoplanets are introduced in the third chapter. Remaining chapters deal with various aspects of exoplanets, in a phased manner. Every chapter starts with an inspirational quote by a renowned personality. Content for every chapter is written in a down-to-earth style to facilitate readers' understanding and appreciation of the fundamental concepts. While some topics are basically descriptive, others start with a simple concept and progressively become more rigorous and detailed. Every effort has been made to make each chapter as complete as possible with a view of inciting curiosity in the minds of the readers and motivating them towards additional knowledge acquisition. Numerical exercises are included at the end of relevant chapters to help readers develop independent thinking, logical analysis and deductive skills. It is hoped that this book will cater to the needs of students desirous of pursuing research and a career in the field of Exoplanets.
Extreme Lebensräume: Wie Mikroben unseren Planeten erobern
by Skander Elleuche Claudia StyrskyIst Leben in heißer Säure oder in seifigen Flüssen vorstellbar? Wie tot ist das Tote Meer tatsächlich? Und welche Lebewesen frieren bereits bei 60 °C? Das Buch nimmt den Leser mit auf eine Reise zu den undenkbarsten ökologischen Nischen unseres Planeten und ihren Herrschern. In den faszinierendsten Habitaten geben mikroskopisch kleine Organismen den Takt an: Sie besiedeln das kälteste Packeis, bezwingen die tiefste Tiefsee und die heißesten Quellen und trotzen sogar den salzigsten Seen. Selbst durch Katastrophen oder die Industrialisierung entstandene Lebensräume wie der ölbelastete Boden der Meere, vergiftete Industrieabwässer oder durch radioaktive Strahlung verseuchte Tümpel können diese kleinen Überlebenskünstler nicht aufhalten. Sie sind die Extremophilen („die das Extreme lieben“). Aufgrund ihrer enormen Anpassungsfähigkeit und ihres Talents, kaum vorstellbare Lebensräume zu erobern, spielen derartige Mikroben heute auch in der Astrobiologie und in der industriellen Biotechnologie wichtige Rollen.