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Wegbereiter der subatomaren Physik: James Chadwick und Charles D. Ellis (essentials)
by Gerhard EckerDas Energiespektrum der Elektronen beim Betazerfall war lange Zeit umstritten. 1914 fand Chadwick Hinweise auf ein kontinuierliches Energiespektrum, doch seine Ergebnisse wurden nicht allgemein anerkannt. Chadwick und Ellis lernten einander in einem deutschen Internierungslager während des 1. Weltkriegs kennen. Ellis gelang im Jahre 1927 der endgültige Beweis für das kontinuierliche Spektrum. Damit war der Weg frei für Paulis Neutrino-Hypothese und für die Fermi-Theorie der schwachen Wechselwirkung. In Streuexperimenten mit Alphateilchen fanden Rutherford, Chadwick und andere ab 1920 Hinweise auf eine bis dahin unbekannte Kernkraft, die wir heute als starke Wechselwirkung bezeichnen. Die Entdeckung des Neutrons durch Chadwick im Jahre 1932 war ein entscheidender Beitrag zum Verständnis beider Kernkräfte. Die Biografien der beiden Physiker werden beleuchtet.
Wege aus der Klimakatastrophe: Wie eine nachhaltige Energie- und Klimapolitik gelingt
by Lars JaegerÜberschwemmungen, Artensterben, Völkerwanderungen, Dürren, Supertornados - der Klimawandel ist keine am Horizont drohende Gefahr mehr, sondern längst in unserem Alltag angekommen. Die Lage ist sehr ernst, aber wir haben durchaus Konzepte, den verheerenden Klimatrend aufzuhalten und umzukehren.Alle durch den Menschen erzeugten klimarelevanten Einflüsse lassen sich auf einen einzigen Faktor zurückführen: Energie. Wer die aktuelle Klimadynamik stoppen und sogar umkehren will, muss daher auch auf die drei zentralen Fragen zur Energie und dem Klima eine Antwort finden: Wie genau beeinflusst unsere bestehende Art des Energieverbrauchs das Klima? Welche Möglichkeiten haben wir, Energie ohne negative Klimaeffekte zu erzeugen? Welche technologischen Fortschritte werden uns dabei in der Zukunft konkret helfen?Lars Jaeger gibt einen Ausblick auf eine mögliche klimafreundliche Wirtschaft der Zukunft, beschreibt, wie eine ökologische Gesellschaft funktionieren kann und wie lokale Energiekonzepte weltweiten Erfolg haben können. Er kommt dabei mit einer klaren und optimistischen Botschaft: Wir verfügen schon heute über die technischen Möglichkeiten (und in der Zukunft umso mehr), um den verheerenden Klimatrend ohne signifikante Wohlstandsbeschränkung umzukehren. Die Hindernisse liegen vor allem in ökonomischen und politischen „Sachzwängen“ und partikulären wirtschaftlichen Interessenskonflikten. Diese zu überwinden, darum geht es in der zukünftigen Energiepolitik.
The Weierstrass Elliptic Function and Applications in Classical and Quantum Mechanics: A Primer for Advanced Undergraduates (SpringerBriefs in Physics)
by Georgios PastrasThe field of elliptic functions, apart from its own mathematical beauty, has many applications in physics in a variety of topics, such as string theory or integrable systems. This book, which focuses on the Weierstrass theory of elliptic functions, aims at senior undergraduate and junior graduate students in physics or applied mathematics. Supplemented by problems and solutions, it provides a fast, but thorough introduction to the mathematical theory and presents some important applications in classical and quantum mechanics. Elementary applications, such as the simple pendulum, help the readers develop physical intuition on the behavior of the Weierstrass elliptic and related functions, whereas more Interesting and advanced examples, like the n=1 Lamé problem-a periodic potential with an exactly solvable band structure, are also presented.
Weigh Them All!: Cosmological Searches for the Neutrino Mass Scale and Mass Ordering (Springer Theses)
by Sunny VagnozziThe three neutrinos are ghostly elementary particles that exist all across the Universe. Though every second billions of them fly through us, they are extremely hard to detect. We used to think they had no mass, but recently discovered that in fact they have a tiny mass. The quest for the neutrino mass scale and mass ordering (specifying how the three masses are distributed) is an extremely exciting one, and will open the door towards new physics operating at energy scales we can only ever dream of reaching on Earth. This thesis explores the use of measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (the oldest light reaching us, a snapshot of the infant Universe) and maps of millions of galaxies to go after the neutrino mass scale and mass ordering. Neutrinos might teach us something about the mysterious dark energy powering the accelerated expansion of the Universe, or about cosmic inflation, which seeded the initial conditions for the Universe. Though extremely baffling, neutrinos are also an exceptionally exciting area of research, and cosmological observations promise to reveal a great deal about these elusive particles in the coming years.
Weighing the Future: Race, Science, and Pregnancy Trials in the Postgenomic Era (Critical Environments: Nature, Science, and Politics #9)
by Natali ValdezEpigenetics, the study of heritable changes in gene expression, has been heralded as one of the most promising new fields of scientific inquiry. Current large-scale studies selectively draw on epigenetics to connect behavioral choices made by pregnant people, such as diet and exercise, to health risks for future generations. As the first ethnography of its kind, Weighing the Future examines the sociopolitical implications of ongoing pregnancy trials in the United States and the United Kingdom, illuminating how processes of scientific knowledge production are linked to capitalism, surveillance, and environmental reproduction. Natali Valdez argues that a focus on individual behavior rather than social environments ignores the vital impacts of systemic racism. The environments we imagine to shape our genes, bodies, and future health are intimately tied to race, gender, and structures of inequality. This groundbreaking book makes the case that science, and how we translate it, is a reproductive project that requires feminist vigilance. Instead of fixating on a future at risk, this book brings attention to the present at stake.
Weighing the Soul: The Evolution of Scientific Beliefs
by Dr Len FisherFrom the IgNobel-winning author of How to Dunk a Doughnut, another slice of the weird and wonderful side of scienceGood science and common sense often don't mix. In Weighing the Soul, Len Fisher shows the path to scientific discovery is frequently a bumpy one that follows Schopenhauer's famous maxim - 'All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; and Third, it is accepted as self-evident.' Fisher tells the fascinating, human stories behind some of the great as well as some of the not-so-great scientific ideas of the past - those that were truly bizarre, peculiar or downright daft, and those that just seemed that way at the time. As he shows, it is often only with hindsight that the two can be told apart, and it is some of those who appeared most wrong - and who were variously ignored, persecuted and imprisoned as a result - that ultimately went on to be proved most right.
Weighing the Soul: The Evolution of Scientific Beliefs
by Len FisherFrom the IgNobel-winning author of How to Dunk a Doughnut, another slice of the weird and wonderful side of scienceGood science and common sense often don't mix. In Weighing the Soul, Len Fisher shows the path to scientific discovery is frequently a bumpy one that follows Schopenhauer's famous maxim - 'All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; and Third, it is accepted as self-evident.' Fisher tells the fascinating, human stories behind some of the great as well as some of the not-so-great scientific ideas of the past - those that were truly bizarre, peculiar or downright daft, and those that just seemed that way at the time. As he shows, it is often only with hindsight that the two can be told apart, and it is some of those who appeared most wrong - and who were variously ignored, persecuted and imprisoned as a result - that ultimately went on to be proved most right.
Weighing the Soul: Scientific Discovery from the Brilliant to the Bizarre
by Len FisherFrom the man who "puts the fizz in physics" (Entertainment Weekly), an entertaining and thought-provoking foray into the science of the bizarre, the peculiar, and the downright nutty! Winner of the IgNobel Prize in physics and the 2004 American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award, Len Fisher showed just how much fun science can be in his enthusiastically praised debut, How to Dunk a Doughnut. In this new work, he reveals that science sometimes takes a path through the ridiculous and the bizarre to discover that Nature often simply does not follow common sense. One experiment, involving a bed, platform scales, and a dying man, seemed to prove that the soul weighed the same as a slice of bread. But other, no less fanciful experiments and ideas led to the fundamentals of our understanding of movement, heat, light, and energy, and such things as the discovery of electricity, and the structure of DNA; improved engines; and the invention of computers. As in his previous book, Fisher uses personal stories and examples from everyday life, as well as humor, to make the science accessible. He touches on topics from lightning to corsets and from alchemy to Frankenstein and water babies, but he may not claim the last word on the weight of the soul!
Weighing the World
by Russell MccormmachThe book about John Michell (1724-93) has two parts. The first and longest part is biographical, an account of Michell's home setting (Nottinghamshire in England), the clerical world in which he grew up (Church of England), the university (Cambridge) where he studied and taught, and the scientific activities he made the center of his life. The second part is a complete edition of his known letters. Half of his letters have not been previously published; the other half are brought together in one place for the first time. The letters touch on all aspects of his career, and because they are in his words, they help bring the subject to life. His publications were not many, a slim book on magnets and magnetism, one paper on geology, two papers on astronomy, and a few brief papers on other topics, but they were enough to leave a mark on several sciences. He has been called a geologist, an astronomer, and a physicist, which he was, though we best remember him as a natural philosopher, as one who investigated physical nature broadly. His scientific contribution is not easy to summarize. Arguably he had the broadest competence of any British natural philosopher of the eighteenth century: equally skilled in experiment and observation, mathematical theory, and instruments, his field of inquiry was the universe. From the structure of the heavens through the structure of the Earth to the forces of the elementary particles of matter, he carried out original and far-reaching researches on the workings of nature.
Weight Bearing Cone Beam Computed Tomography (WBCT) in the Foot and Ankle: A Scientific, Technical and Clinical Guide
by Scott Ellis Martinus Richter Francois Lintz Alexej Barg Arne Burssens Cesar de Cesar NettoThis scientific, technical and clinical guide to Weight Bearing Cone Beam Computed Tomography (WBCT), written by the board of the International WBCT Society, presents all of the relevant content to date on the development, implementation, interpretation and clinical application of WBCT for the foot and ankle. Part One describes the history of the development of, and need for, WBCT as an imaging option and a scientific overview of the procedure. Part Two is an exhaustive scientific background, comprised of 16 landmark studies, describing its advantages for selected foot and ankle injuries and deformities (both congenital and acquired). With this science as context, Part Three includes chapters on the technical aspects and necessary background for WBCT, introduces the different devices, and provides insight into the actual measurement possibilities, including the initial software solutions for automatic measurements. Current clinical applications via case material are illustrated in atlas-like fashion in the next chapter, and a final chapter on future developments explores further applications of WBCT, such as dynamic scans and measurements or hologram-like visualization.The first book publication of its kind on this exciting and developing imaging modality, Weight Bearing Cone Beam Computed Tomography (WBCT) in the Foot and Ankle will be an excellent resource for orthopedic and foot and ankle surgeons, radiologists, and allied medical professionals working in this clinical area.
Weight Function Methods in Fracture Mechanics: Theory and Applications
by Xue-Ren Wu Wu XuThis book provides a systematic and standardized approach based on the authors’ over 30 years of research experience with weight function methods, as well as the relevant literature. Fracture mechanics has become an indispensable tool for the design and safe operation of damage-tolerant structures in many important technical areas. The stress intensity factor—the characterizing parameter of the crack tip field—is the foundation of fracture mechanics analysis. The weight function method is a powerful technique for determining stress intensity factors and crack opening displacements for complex load conditions, with remarkable computational efficiency and high accuracy.The book presents the theoretical background of the weight function methods, together with a wealth of analytical weight functions and stress intensity factors for two- and three-dimensional crack geometries; many of these have been incorporated into national, international standards and industrial codes of practice. The accuracy of the results is rigorously verified, and various sample applications are provided. Accordingly, the book offers an ideal reference source for graduate students, researchers, and engineers whose work involves fracture and fatigue of materials and structures, who need not only stress intensity factors themselves but also efficient and reliable tools for obtaining them.
The Weight of Nature: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Brains
by Clayton Page AldernA New York Times Editors' ChoiceA Next Big Idea Club and Sierra Magazine Must-Read BookA Behavioral Scientist&’s Summer Book List PickA Financial Times Best Summer BookA deeply reported, eye-opening book about climate change, our brains, and the weight of nature on us all. The march of climate change is stunning and vicious, with rising seas, extreme weather, and oppressive heat blanketing the globe. But its effects on our very brains constitute a public-health crisis that has gone largely unreported. Based on seven years of research, this book by the award-winning journalist and trained neuroscientist Clayton Page Aldern, synthesizes the emerging neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics of global warming and brain health. A masterpiece of literary journalism, this book shows readers how a changing environment is changing us today, from the inside out. Aldern calls it the weight of nature. Hotter temperatures make it harder to think clearly and problem-solve. They increase the chance of impulsive violence. Immigration judges are more likely to reject asylum applications on hotter days. Umpires, to miss calls. Air pollution, heatwaves, and hurricanes can warp and wear on memory, language, and sensory systems; wildfires seed PTSD. And climate-fueled ecosystem changes extend the reach of brain-disease carriers like mosquitos, brain-eating amoebas, and the bats that brought us the mental fog of long COVID. How we feel about climate change matters deeply; but this is a book about much more than climate anxiety. As Aldern richly details, it is about the profound, direct action of global warming on our brains and behavior—and the most startling portrait yet of unforeseen environmental influences on our minds. From farms in the San Joaquin Valley and public schools across the United States to communities in Norway&’s Arctic, the Micronesian islands, and the French Alps, this book is an unprecedented portrait of a global crisis we thought we understood.
The Weight of the Vacuum
by Helge S. Kragh James M. OverduinThe 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of cosmic acceleration due to dark energy, a discovery that is all the more perplexing as nobody knows what dark energy actually is. We put the modern concept of cosmological vacuum energy into historical context and show how it grew out of disparate roots in quantum mechanics (zero-point energy) and relativity theory (the cosmological constant, Einstein's "greatest blunder"). These two influences have remained strangely aloof and still co-exist in an uneasy alliance that is at the heart of the greatest crisis in theoretical physics, the cosmological-constant problem.
Weighted Network Analysis
by Steve HorvathHigh-throughput measurements of gene expression and genetic marker data facilitate systems biologic and systems genetic data analysis strategies. Gene co-expression networks have been used to study a variety of biological systems, bridging the gap from individual genes to biologically or clinically important emergent phenotypes.
Weihnachtsbaum und Osterhase: Unsere Jahresfeste – biologisch betrachtet
by Bruno P. KremerMit diesem Buch lassen sich Feiertage wie Pfingsten, Halloween und Silvester neu entdecken. Lernen Sie in der Chronologie des Jahreslaufs einige bemerkenswerte kulturelle, z.T. auch überraschende und kuriose Hintergründe kennen und erfahren Sie, wie die jeweiligen organismischen Begleiter zu ihren spezifischen Einsatzgebieten kamen. Neben den kulturellen und kulturhistorischen Hintergründen der Feste widmet sich der Autor bestimmten Organismenarten, die als Symbolträger bekannt sind und oft auch kulinarisch mit bestimmten Feiertagen verknüpft werden, und stellt die gängigsten hinsichtlich ihrer Biologie vor. In den Kapiteln werden Fragen wie „Was ist der Kürbis für eine seltsame Frucht?“ und „Wieso ist Dezember nicht der zehnte Monat?“ thematisiert und erläutert. Sollten Sie also bisher noch nicht gewusst haben, dass der Osterhase ein Kaninchen ist, wie der Kürbis zur Halloween-Ikone wurde oder was es mit den Barbarazweigen auf sich hat, ist es zweifellos gut, dass Sie jetzt dieses Buch in Händen halten.
The Weil Conjectures: On Math and the Pursuit of the Unknown
by Karen OlssonA New York Times Editors' Pick and Paris Review Staff Pick"A wonderful book." --Patti Smith"I was riveted. Olsson is evocative on curiosity as an appetite of the mind, on the pleasure of glutting oneself on knowledge." --Parul Sehgal, The New York TimesAn eloquent blend of memoir and biography exploring the Weil siblings, math, and creative inspirationKaren Olsson’s stirring and unusual third book, The Weil Conjectures, tells the story of the brilliant Weil siblings—Simone, a philosopher, mystic, and social activist, and André, an influential mathematician—while also recalling the years Olsson spent studying math. As she delves into the lives of these two singular French thinkers, she grapples with their intellectual obsessions and rekindles one of her own. For Olsson, as a math major in college and a writer now, it’s the odd detours that lead to discovery, to moments of insight. Thus The Weil Conjectures—an elegant blend of biography and memoir and a meditation on the creative life.Personal, revealing, and approachable, The Weil Conjectures eloquently explores math as it relates to intellectual history, and shows how sometimes the most inexplicable pursuits turn out to be the most rewarding.
Weird and Wonderful Nature: Tales of More Than 100 Unique Animals, Plants, and Phenomena (DK Treasures)
by Ben HoareEnjoy more than 100 extraordinary stories of unusual species, behaviors, and objects all told by author Ben Hoare.Why do Mexican jumping beans jump? How do sea cucumbers defend themselves? What causes the northern lights? This book is filled with facts about the most surprising and curious plants, animals, rocks, and phenomena in nature.Children aged 7-9 can read stories of more than one hundred unique animals, plants and phenomena and learn about the weird and wonderful side of the natural world. Weird and Wonderful Nature is the third installment of the DK Treasure&’s series, exploring the many bizarre animals and plants that are uniquely adapted to their way of life.This fascinating nature book for kids offers: - Facts from a range of topics, from animals to plants and rocks to natural phenomena, that are guaranteed to wow adults and children alike.- Large photographs that show each species or item in incredible detail, with diagrams help to support understanding.- A gold foil cover and beautiful illustrations, making this book an ideal gift for young nature lovers.In Weird and Wonderful Nature, Ben Hoare&’s friendly, informative explanations are paired with photographs and charming illustrations to make sure every page captivates the imagination, while a glossary and index help to navigate the chapters.The third title by best selling author Ben Hoare, after Nature&’s Treasures and The Secret World of Plants, this is the ideal gift book series that will be treasured for years to come.More in the SeriesWeird and Wonderful Nature is part of DK&’s Treasure&’s series. Complete the series and inspire your child's curiosity in natural world with Nature&’s Treasures, or bring out their inner botanist with The Secret World of Plants.
The Weird and Wonderful World of Bats: Demystifying These Often-Misunderstood Creatures
by Alyson BrokawIn this fascinating science book, a behavioral and bat ecologist reintroduces readers to bats, redeeming their historically bad reputation. These woefully misunderstood creatures dwell in darkness, inspire fear, and threaten danger. They&’ve been viewed as the pawns of evil deities and taken the undeserved blame for the spread of deadly viruses. The Weird and Wonderful World of Bats provides a fresh introduction to these curious flying mammals, explaining how they experience the world through unique senses, where and how they fly, the origins of their complex relationships with humans, and how we can learn from them—not only to coexist, but potentially grow healthier and wiser together. Over 180 personality-filled photographs showcase the rich diversity of bats from all over the world.
The Weird and Wonderful World of Bugs: A Book About Beetles, Butterflies, and Other Fascinating Insects
by Rea Manderino PhDFascinating facts and up-close photos to delight bug fans ages 5 to 7 Calling all young bug enthusiasts! Come along on a journey into The Weird and Wonderful World of Bugs. Kids from ages 5 to 7 will learn all about the insects and other arthropods we call "bugs." They'll meet moths, bees, fireflies, spiders, and mosquitos in detailed, full-color photos that bring the bugs to life from antennae to abdomen. Entomologist Rea Manderino, PhD, offers scientific facts on every page, inspiring budding bug scientists to explore their backyards with new eyes. Discover intriguing facts like: More than one-third of all the insects on Earth are beetles. There are almost 390,000 species! Some ants are farmers! They bring leaves back to the nest and use them to grow fungus, which they feed to their babies. Pillbugs are a type of crustacean—like crabs—with many legs, a hard exoskeleton, and gills that need water to breathe. Leap, fly, and crawl into a big world of small wonders with this incredible bug book for kids.
Weird Astronomical Theories of the Solar System and Beyond
by David SeargentAfter addressing strange cosmological hypotheses in Weird Universe, David Seargent tackles the no-less bizarre theories closer to home. Alternate views on the Solar System's formation, comet composition, and the evolution of life on Earth are only some of the topics he addresses in this new work. Although these ideas exist on the fringe of mainstream astronomy, they can still shed light on the origins of life and the evolution of the planets. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Astronomical Theories presents an approachable exploration of the still mysterious questions about the origin of comets, the pattern of mass extinctions on Earth, and more. The alternative theories discussed here do not come from untrained amateurs. The scientists whose work is covered includes the mid-20th century Russian S. K. Vsekhsvyatskii, cosmologist Max Tegmark, British astronomers Victor Clube and William Napier, and American Tom Van Flandern, a specialist in celestial mechanics who held a variety of unusual beliefs about the possibility of intelligent life having come from elsewhere. Despite being outliers, their work reveals how much astronomical understanding is still evolving. Unconventional approaches have also pushed our scientific understanding for the better, as with R. W. Mandl's approaching Einstein with regard to gravitational lensing. Even without full substantiation (and some theories are hardly credible), their hypotheses allow for a new perspective on how the Solar System became what it is today.
Weird Astronomy
by David A.J. SeargentWeird Astronomy appeals to all who are interested in unusual celestial phenomena, whether they be amateur or professional astronomers or science buffs who just enjoy reading of odd coincidences, unexplained observations, and reports from space probes that "don't quite fit." This book relates a variety of "unusual" astronomical observations - unusual in the sense of refusing to fit easily into accepted thinking, or unusual in the observation having been made under difficult or extreme circumstances. Although some of the topics covered are instances of "bad astronomy," most are not. Some of the observations recorded here have actually turned out to be important scientific breakthroughs. Included are some amusing anecdotes (such as the incident involving "potassium flares" in ordinary stars and the story of Abba 1, the solar system's own flare star!), but the book's purpose is not to ridicule those who report anomalous observations, nor is it to challenge scientific orthodoxy. It is more to demonstrate how what's "weird" often turns out to be far more significant than observations of what we expect to see.
Weird Dinosaurs: The Strange New Fossils Challenging Everything We Thought We Knew
by John PickrellFrom the outback of Australia to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and the savanna of Madagascar, the award-winning science writer and dinosaur enthusiast John Pickrell embarks on a world tour of new finds, meeting the fossil hunters who work at the frontier of discovery. He reveals the dwarf dinosaurs unearthed by an eccentric Transylvanian baron; an aquatic, crocodile-snouted carnivore bigger than T. rex that once lurked in North African waterways; a Chinese dinosaur with wings like a bat; and a Patagonian sauropod so enormous it weighed more than two commercial jet airliners. Other surprising discoveries hail from Alaska, Siberia, Canada, Burma, and South Africa. Why did dinosaurs grow so huge? How did they spread across the world? Did they all have feathers? What do sauropods have in common with 1950s vacuum cleaners? The stuff of adventure movies and scientific revolutions, Weird Dinosaurs examines the latest breakthroughs and new technologies that are radically transforming our understanding of the distant past. Pickrell opens a vivid portal to a brand-new age of fossil discovery, in which fossil hunters are routinely redefining what we know and how we think about prehistory's most iconic and fascinating creatures.
Weird Dinosaurs: The Strange New Fossils Challenging Everything We Thought We Knew
by John Pickrell&“A tour de force…highlights the odd reptiles that roamed all corners of the earth millions of years ago.&”—Sydney Morning Herald From the outback of Australia to the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and the savanna of Madagascar, the award-winning science writer and dinosaur enthusiast John Pickrell embarks on a world tour of new finds, meeting the fossil hunters who work at the frontier of discovery. He reveals the dwarf dinosaurs unearthed by an eccentric Transylvanian baron; an aquatic, crocodile-snouted carnivore bigger than T. rex that once lurked in North African waterways; a Chinese dinosaur with wings like a bat; and a Patagonian sauropod so enormous it weighed more than two commercial jet airliners. Other surprising discoveries hail from Alaska, Siberia, Canada, Burma, and South Africa. Why did dinosaurs grow so huge? How did they spread across the world? Did they all have feathers? What do sauropods have in common with 1950s vacuum cleaners? The stuff of adventure movies and scientific revolutions, Weird Dinosaurs examines the latest breakthroughs and new technologies that are radically transforming our understanding of the distant past. &“This history of the discovery of some of the most outlandish creatures that ever lived, and the excitement of paleontological research, will be sure to both entertain and instruct.&”—Spencer Lucas, author of Dinosaurs: The Textbook, Sixth Edition &“Fascinating.... Readers learn of beautiful opalised dinosaur bones from Australia and a crested dinosaur found approximately 13,000 feet up Antarctica's Mt. Kirkpatrick, demonstrating that dinosaurs were widely distributed across the globe.&”—Publishers Weekly
Weird Earth: Debunking Strange Ideas About Our Planet
by Donald R. Prothero“A breath of intellectual fresh air . . . [an] amusing look at how to dispel endemic pseudoscience and conspiracy theories through rational thinking.” —Publishers WeeklyAliens. Ley lines. Water dowsing. Conspiracies and myths captivate imaginations and promise mystery and magic. Whether it’s arguing about the moon landing hoax or a Frisbee-like Earth drifting through space, when held up to science and critical thinking, these ideas fall flat. In Weird Earth: Debunking Strange Ideas About Our Planet, Donald R. Prothero demystifies these conspiracies and offers answers to some of humanity’s most outlandish questions. Applying his extensive scientific knowledge, Prothero corrects misinformation that con artists and quacks use to hoodwink others about geology—hollow earth, expanding earth, and bizarre earthquakes—and mystical and paranormal happenings—healing crystals, alien landings, and the gates of hell. By deconstructing wild claims such as prophesies of imminent natural disasters, Prothero provides a way for everyone to recognize dubious assertions. Prothero answers these claims with facts, offering historical and scientific context in a light-hearted manner that is accessible to everyone, no matter their background. With a careful layering of evidence in geology, archaeology, and biblical and historical records, Prothero’s Weird Earth examines each conspiracy and myth and leaves no question unanswered.Weird Earth is about the facts and the people who don’t believe them. Don Prothero describes the process of science—and the process of not accepting it. If you’re wondering if humans walked on the Moon, if you’ve wondered where the lost City of Atlantis went, or if you’re wondering what your cat will do before an earthquake, check out Weird Earth.” —Bill Nye
Weird Inventions (Anything But Ordinary)
by Jennifer KaulHumans are ingenious when it comes to meeting challenges. We invent all sorts of useful contraptions from the wheel to the can opener. But some of the things people have come up with are truly odd. Who came up with grass sandals, and why? Have you ever heard of a portable radio hat? Not many people have, but someone invented it. Get the inside scoop on these odd contraptions and many more weird inventions.