The Ascent of Science
1st Edition
Published in December 2000
553 pages
978-0-19-802769-0 (ISBN)
Description
From 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 readable 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; he locates science as the apex of human reason, and reason as our best path to the truth. For all readers curious about--and especially those 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.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Academic/professional/technical: Undergraduate. Academic/professional/technical: Postgraduate. Academic/professional/technical: Research and professional
Illustrations
88 line illus
File size
35,46 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-19-802769-0 (9780198027690)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Silver
The Ascent of Science
Book
03/2000
Oxford University Press Inc
€50.90
Shipment within 15-20 days
Brian L. Silver
The Ascent of Science
Book
02/1998
Oxford University Press Inc
€36.53
Article exhausted; check different version
Person
About the Author:
Brian Silver is Professor of Physical Chemistry, Israel Institute of Technology
Content
- Intro
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part One
- 1. Newton Gets It Completely Wrong
- 2. I Believe
- Part Two
- 3. Thomas Aquinas versus Neil Armstrong
- 4. The Second Law
- 5. Predicting Catastrophe
- 6. From Newton to De Sade: The Partial Triumph of Reason
- 7. From Rousseau to Blake: The Revolt against Reason
- Part Three
- 8. Lodestone, Amber, and Lightning
- 9. Belief and Action
- Part Four
- 10. The Demise of Alchemy
- 11. The Nineteenth Century
- 12. The Material Trinity: The Atom
- 13. The Stuff of Existence
- 14. Scipio's Dream
- Part Five
- 15. Making Waves
- 16. The Ubiquity of Motion
- 17. Energy
- 18. Entropy: Intimations of Mortality
- 19. Chaos
- Part Six
- 20. The Slow Birth of Biology
- 21. In a Monastery Garden
- 22. Evolution
- 23. The Descent of Man
- 24. The Gene Machine
- 25. The Lords of Nature?
- 26. Life: The Molecular Battle
- 27. The Origin of Life? Take Your Choice
- Part Seven
- 28. The Inexplicable Quantum
- 29. New Ways of Thinking
- 30. The Land of Paradox
- 31. The Elementary Particles
- Part Eight
- 32. Relativity
- 33. Cosmology
- 34. The Cosmos and Peeping Tom
- 35. The Impossibility of Creation
- Part Nine
- 36. The Tree of Death
- 37. "What the Devil Does It All Mean?
- Part Ten
- 38. The Future
- Annotated Bibliography
- Index
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- X
- Y
- Z
