Showing titles in History

Voici une histoire radicalement nouvelle de l'énergie qui montre l’étrangeté fondamentale de la notion de transition. Elle explique comment matières et énergies sont reliées entre elles, croissent ensemble, s’accumulent et s’empilent les unes sur les autres. Pourquoi la notion de transition énergétique s’est-elle alors imposée ? Comment ce futur sans passé est-il devenu, à partir des années 1970, celui des gouvernements, des entreprises et des experts, bref, le futur des gens raisonnables ?

Why are we cruel? Why are we kind? Charles Darwin, the father of modern biology, wrestled with these very questions in order to explain the human race, struggling to fit a loving God into a harsh and challenging universe. Animal behavior scientist and evolutionary biologist Jacob Johnson’s entertaining new take on Darwin’s work explores his crisis of faith, the origin of morality and the evolution of “good” and “evil.”

There are ninety thousand registered dams in the United States, fifty thousand of them classified as “major.” Nearly all of this infrastructure was built during a forty-year period, from 1932 to 1972, in an era of public investment and political consensus that seems inconceivable today. These incredible structures—sometimes called the American Pyramids—helped the country rebound from the Great Depression, brought water and electricity to enormous reaches, helped win World War II for the Allies, and became the basis for decades of prosperous stability.

Da sempre misuriamo il mondo. Per conoscerlo ed esplorarlo, per viverci, per interagire con i nostri simili. L'umanità misura per conoscere il passato, comprendere il presente, progettare il futuro. Ci sono voluti però millenni perché due rivoluzioni, quella scientifica iniziata con Galileo e quella francese, avviassero il percorso per rendere il sistema di misura condiviso e non più basato su deperibili artefatti umani, ma su elementi invariabili e universali della natura.

Since the beginning of time, science has shaped human history, culture and daily life. Learn about fascinating stories like how dreams changed the world of science, the origins of tattoo culture, how early civilizations supplied their drinking water and more in this curated collection from Seeker.

In 1997, scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory found a small leak of radioactive water near their research reactor. Brookhaven was—and is—a world-class lab, and its reactor was the cornerstone of US materials science. But its discovery triggered a media and political firestorm that resulted in the reactor's shutdown, and even attempts to close the entire laboratory. A quarter century later, the episode reveals the dynamics of today's controversies in which fears and the dismissal of science disrupt serious discussion and research of vital issues.

Johns Hopkins University, one of the preeminent medical schools in the nation today, has played a unique role in the history of medicine. When it first opened its doors in 1893, medicine was a rough-and-ready trade. It would soon evolve into a rigorous science. In recent years, medical science has mapped the human genome, deployed robotic tools to perform delicate surgeries, and developed effective vaccines against a host of deadly pathogens. But this transformation could not have happened without the game-changing vision, talent, and dedication of a small cadre of individuals.

Un giorno al compositore inglese Sir Edward Elgar venne chiesto da dove provenisse la sua musica. La risposta fu: "La mia idea è che ci sia musica nell’aria, musica dappertutto intorno a noi, il mondo ne è pieno e ne puoi prendere ogni volta tutta quella di cui hai bisogno". Lo stesso accade per le piante che, come la musica per Elgar, sono letteralmente dappertutto e per scriverne non si deve far altro che ascoltare le loro storie e raccontarle.

"In nome della mia ormai pluridecennale consuetudine con le piante, ho immaginato che queste care compagne di viaggio, come genitori premurosi, dopo averci reso possibile vivere, vengano a soccorrerci osservando la nostra incapacità a garantirci la sopravvivenza. Come? Suggerendoci una vera e propria costituzione su cui costruire il nostro futuro di esseri rispettosi della Terra e degli altri esseri viventi.

Come spiegare l'astronomia in termini chiari ed esaurienti? Questo libro, insieme rigoroso e divulgativo, è con disegni, foto e brevi testi di approfondimento un "abbicì" dell'astronomia che aiuta a familiarizzare con stelle, pianeti, eclissi, galassie e il mondo extragalattico.

Nuclear Russia probes the juncture of history of science and technology, political and cultural history, and environmental history. It considers the atom in Russian society as a reflection of Leninist technological utopianism, Cold War imperatives, scientific hubris, public acceptance, and a state desire to conquer nature. Furthermore the audiobook examines the vital – and perhaps unexpected – significance of ethnicity and gender in nuclear history by looking at how Kazakhs and Nenets lost their homelands and their health in Russia in the wake of nuclear testing.

William L. Laurence was fascinated with atomic science and its militarization. When the Manhattan Project drew near to perfecting the atomic bomb, he was recruited to write much of the government's press materials that were distributed on the day that Hiroshima was obliterated. That instantly crowned Laurence as one of the leading journalistic experts on the atomic bomb.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, North American and European governments generously funded the discoveries of such famous paleontologists and geologists as Henry de la Beche, William Buckland, Richard Owen, Thomas Hawkins, Edward Drinker Cope, O. C. Marsh, and Charles W. Gilmore. In this book, Jane Davidson explores the motivation behind this rush to fund exploration, arguing that eagerness to discover strategic resources like coal deposits was further fueled by patrons who had a genuine passion for paleontology and the fascinating creatures that were being unearthed.

The wonders of the universe never seemed so close. Who named the planets? Why isn't Pluto a planet? And what's the future of space? From ancient cave paintings to flying drones on Mars, humanity's relationship with the skies has changed dramatically. Gazing at the Night Sky looks back at over 5,000 years of history, from ancient Mesopotamian astronomers to the next horizons in space travel.

Look around. Clearly, we humans are radically different from the other creatures on this planet. But why? Where are the Bronze Age beavers? The Iron Age iguanas? Byron Reese argues that we owe our special status to our ability to imagine the future and recall the past, escaping the perpetual present that all other living creatures are trapped in. Envisioning human history as the development of a societal superorganism he names Agora, Reese shows us how this escape enabled us to share knowledge on an unprecedented scale, and predict—and eventually master—the future.

Nothing captivates the human imagination like the vast unknowns of space. Ancient petroglyphs present renderings of the heavens, proof that we have been gazing up at the stars with wonder for thousands of years. Since then, mankind has systematically expanded our cosmic possibilities. What were once flights of fancy and dreams of science fiction writers have become nearly routine. Space travel is a sometimes heroic, sometimes humorous, and always dangerous journey fraught with perils. Space Oddities brings unknown, offbeat, and obscure stories of space to life.

We have more scientific information at our fingertips today than ever before. And more disinformation too. Online, on television, and in print, science is often communicated through shorthand analogies and phrases that obscure or omit important facts. Lifelong educator R. Philip Bouchard is a stickler for this kind of thing, and he is prepared to set the record straight. The Stickler’s Guide to Science in the Age of Misinformation unpacks the many misuses of terms we see used every day, revealing how these popular “scientific” concepts fall short of real science.

Nel 1990, il telescopio spaziale più avanzato mai messo a punto venne lanciato con un inglorioso difetto di fabbricazione, grazie al quale anni dopo si riuscì a fare diagnosi più precoci di cancro al seno. Percival Lowell sbagliò alcuni calcoli sull'orbita di Urano, che però portarono alla scoperta di Plutone. Albert Michelson ed Edward Morley lavorarono anni per realizzare un apparato sperimentale che dimostrasse l'esistenza dell'etere luminifero: non lo trovarono, ma il loro esperimento pose le basi per la nascita della relatività.

Detrás de cada fármaco se esconde una historia. Puede ser la de un investigador excéntrico que resultó ser un genio, un momento decisivo en la historia geopolítica, un nuevo avance tecnológico o un inesperado pero afortunado efecto secundario descubierto en un ensayo clínico. A través de datos curiosos, anécdotas poco conocidas y personajes un tanto extravagantes, Thomas Hager propone un recorrido por las diez drogas más significativas de la historia a la vez que muestra la evolución de nuestra cultura y práctica de la medicina.

Sin tener en cuenta la ética ni el bienestar de hombres y mujeres, la historia de la ciencia acumula experimentos transgresores, crueles y con consecuencias irreparables para quienes participaron en ellos. Gabriel León nos presenta investigaciones médicas como las esterilizaciones forzadas, los experimentos dermatológicos en cárceles, la separación al nacer de gemelos idénticos y un largo y horroroso etcétera narrado con la claridad, potencia y los fundamentos que lo han convertido en uno de los autores best sellers de la divulgación científica en Chile.