Naturvidenskabens historie

Science is a serious business, right? Wrong. Scientists have been participants in the best reality show of all time, with all the highs, lows, bust-ups, and strange personalities of any show on telly today. From Luke O'Neill - the science teacher you wish you'd had - this hugely accessible history of science reveals the human stories behind the biggest discoveries. For example, we meet Charles Darwin as he weighs up the pros and cons of marrying his cousin: 'constant companion' vs 'less money for books'. Tough call. To Boldly Go Where No Book Has Gone Before covers everything from space travel and evolution to alchemy and AI. Written by one of our leading scientists, this is an insider's account that celebrates the joy of science. It is filled with all the juicy bits that other histories leave out.

In this book, a case study of a humanistic reading of an essential evolutionary theorist, George C. Williams (May 12, 1926-September 8, 2010), the author contends that certain classic works of evolutionary theory and history are the most important nature writing of recent times. What it means to be scientifically literate-is essential for humanistic scholars, who must ground themselves with literary reading of scientific texts. As the most influential American evolutionary theorist of the second half of the twentieth century, Williams masters critique, frames questions about adaptation and natural selection, and answers in a plain, aphoristic writing style. Williams aims for parsimony-to "e;recognize adaptation at the level necessitated by the facts and no higher"e;-through a minimalist writing style. This voice articulates a powerful process that operates at very low levels by blind and selfish chance at the expense of its designed products, using purely trial and error. 

Pleasant Ways in Science, a classical book, has been considered essential throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we at Alpha Editions have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable.

"This book contains the text of Thomas Kuhn's unfinished book, The Plurality of Worlds: An Evolutionary Theory of Scientific Development, which Kuhn himself described as "a return to the central claims of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and the problems that it raised but did not resolve." The Plurality of Worlds is preceded by two related texts that Kuhn publicly delivered but never published in English: his paper "Scientific Knowledge as a Historical Product" and his Shearman Memorial Lectures, "The Presence of Past Science." The book opens with an introduction by the editor that describes the origins and structure of The Plurality of Worlds, and sheds light on its central philosophical problems. Kuhn's aims in his last writings are bold. He sets out to develop an empirically grounded theory of meaning that would allow him to make sense of both the possibility of historical understanding and the inevitability of incommensurability between past and present science. Moreover, he intends to show that incommensurability is fully compatible with a robust notion of a real world that science investigates, with the rationality of scientific belief change, and with the idea that scientific development is progressive. This is a must-read follow-up to The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, one of the most important books of the twentieth century"--

"Flying saucers. Bigfoot. Frogs raining from the sky. Such phenomena fascinated Charles Fort, the maverick writer who scanned newspapers, journals, and magazines for reports of bizarre occurrences: dogs that talked, vampires, strange visions in the sky, and paranormal activity. His books of anomalies advanced a philosophy that saw science as a small part of a larger system in which truth and falsehood continually transformed into one another. His work found a ragged following of skeptics who questioned not only science but the press, medicine, and politics. Through their worldviews varied, they shared compelling questions about genius, reality, and authority. At the center of the community was adman, writer, and enfant terrible Tiffany Thayer, who founded the Fortean SOciety and ran it for almost three decades, collecting and reporting on every manner of oddity and conspiracy. In Think to New Worlds, Joshua Blu Buhs argues that the FOrtean effect on modern culture is deeper than you think. Fort's descending provided tools to expand the imagination, explore the social order, and demonstrate how power is exercised. Science fiction writers put these ideas to work as they sought to uncover the hidden structures undergirding reality. Avant-garde modernists--including the authors William Gaddis, Henry Miller, and Ezra Pount, as well as Surrealist visual artists--were inspired by Fort's writing about metaphysical and historical forces. And in the years following World War II, flying saucer enthusiasts convinced of alien life raised questions about who controlled the universe."--Publisher marketing.

This monograph is dedicated to the lives and scientific achievements of the physiology pioneers Warren and Margaret Lewis. Their story spans the first half of the 20th century, from their respective educations through early, independent research to joint research from 1910 to 1955. Among the numerous developments they initiated, were the discovery of pinocytosis, the beginnings of video microscopy and the development of the first mammalian tissue cultures. Their research expanded the theoretical knowledge of cell structure and function. On a more practical level, they advanced many laboratory methods, like the first recipes for culture media. The text is beautifully enriched with personal anecdotes about their lives.This is the story of two scientific pioneers in the context of early 20th century biology and physiology. It is an inspiration for senior and aspiring researchers.

This book tells the story of a unique scientific and human adventure, following the life and science of Bruno Touschek, an Austrian born physicist, who conceived and built AdA, the first matter-antimatter colliding-beam storage ring, the ancestor of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN where the Higgs Boson was discovered in 2012. Making extensive use of archival sources and personal correspondence, the author offers for the first time a unified history of European efforts to build modern-day particle accelerators,  from the dark times of war-ravaged Europe up to the rebuilding of science in Germany, UK, Italy and France through the 1950s and early 1960s. This book, the result of several years of scholarly research work, includes numerous previously unpublished photos as well as original drawings by Bruno Touschek. 

Impossible Monsters is the captivating story of the discovery of the dinosaurs and how it upended our understanding of the origins of the world.'An astonishing book about an extraordinary subject' PETER FRANKOPAN'As thrilling as it is sweeping' TOM HOLLAND'This book dazzles in its originality . . . a triumph' SATHNAM SANGHERAIn 1811, a twelve-year-old girl uncovered some strange-looking bones in Britain's southern shoreline. They belonged to no known creature and were buried beneath a hundred feet of rock. Over the next two decades, as several more of these 'impossible monsters' emerged from the soil, the leading scientists of the day were forced to confront a profoundly disturbing possibility: the Bible, as a historical account of the Earth's origins, was wildly wrong.This is the dramatic story of the crisis that engulfed science and religion when we discovered the dinosaurs. It takes us into the lives and minds of the extraordinary men and women who made these heretical discoveries, those who resisted them, as well as the pioneering thinkers, Darwin most famous among them, who took great risks to construct a new account of the earth's and mankind's origins.Impossible Monsters is the riveting story of a group of people who not only thought impossible things but showed them to be true. In the process they overturned the literal reading of the Bible, liberated science from the authority of religion and ushered in the secular age.'Truly marvellous ... an intellectual thriller' RICHARD HOLMES'A stunning work ... of surprises and revelations' STEVE BRUSATTE*Chosen by the Times Literary Supplement, Waterstones and Bloomberg as a Book of the Year 2024*

From bestselling author and British astronaut Tim Peake, an inspirational human history of space travel, from the Apollo missions to our future forays to Mars. The Right Stuff for a new generation.THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ANY SPACE TRAVEL ENTHUSIAST____________________________________________________________________'This book is brilliant - once in a blue moon. A book for the whole family.' Chris Evans, Virgin Radio'The most wonderful book ... Tim Peake is a historian and encyclopaedia of space.' Rory Stewart'An extraordinary book. For anyone - even if you're not interested in Space. If you're interested in human stories and the human character - this is delightful.' BBC Breakfast'A fascinating, detailed, playful book drawn from extensive research - Peake met seven Apollo astronauts, Russian cosmonauts and various other space technicians - as well as his considerable personal experience. Lifts the lid on what space is like: the dedication and sacrifice; the politics and pantomime; the practicalities and the peril; the glory and fame; the adjustment back to normal life.' iPaper'A thrilling human history of space' Daily Mirror'The bible of space travel' Chris Moyles, Radio X____________________________________________________________________As seen in the major TV series Secrets of Our Universe with Tim Peake.Only 656 people in human history have left Earth. In Space: The Human Story, astronaut Tim Peake traces the lives of these remarkable men and women who have forged the way, from Yuri Gagarin to Neil Armstrong, from Valentina Tereshkova to Peggy Whitson.Full of exclusive new stories, and astonishing detail only an astronaut would know, the book conveys what space exploration is really like: the wondrous view of Earth, the surreal weightlessness, the extraordinary danger, the surprising humdrum, the unexpected humour, the newfound perspective, the years of training, the psychological pressures, the gruelling physical toll, the thrill of launch and the trepidation of re-entry. The book also examines the surprising, shocking and often poignant stories of astronauts back on Earth, whose lives are forever changed as they readjust to terra firma.Publication of the book comes on the eve of NASA's plans to return to the moon, fifty years after an astronaut last walked on the lunar surface. In 2024 the Artemis II mission will send four astronauts to orbit the moon.In 2025 Artemis III will send the first woman and the first person of colour to step on the lunar surface. What will separate these upcoming moonwalkers from the legendary Apollo crews? Does it still take a daring-do attitude, super-human fitness, intelligence, plus the 'Right-stuff' - a fabled grace under pressure? And how will astronauts travel even further - to Mars and beyond? Space: The Human Story reveals all.

The Repair Shop's Dominic Chinea takes you on an exploration of 100 essential machines found in the workshops and studios of the world's finest artisans and heritage craftspeople. Filled with stunning illustrations and lively, engaging text, The Repair Shop's Dom Chinea guides readers through this celebration of the history and uses of 100 machines that have allowed artisans to create beautiful items for centuries.Fans of prime-time TV series The Repair Shop and Make It at Market will not want to miss Dom's insightful and complete appraisal of history's most game-changing mechanisms, with commentary that allows readers to get under the hood of inventions that have defined modern life as we know it.Immerse yourself in the visual history of the world's most remarkable machines:The sequel to 2022's Tools: A Visual History.Explores inventions from the potter's wheel and grain mill to the sewing machine, printing press, wheel maker and plenty more.Each machine is creatively profiled and deconstructed in pinpoint detail, with Dom Chinea's trademark insight and commentary.Striking illustrations by award-winning artist Lee John Philips highlight the beauty of each tool.A beautiful gift book with a vintage design.Each machine has a fascinating history and story to tell that highlights its contribution to artisanal crafts. And with every machine accompanied by beautifully ornate illustrations by Lee John Philips, Machines: A Visual History is certain to be a treasured volume for all creators, craftspeople and those who like to delve into how things work.

Over the last half century, a quiet revolution has taken place. In a series of breathtaking discoveries, biochemist Thomas Cech and a diverse cast of brilliant scientists have revealed RNA at the centre of biology's greatest mysteries, from how life began to what makes us human to why we age. At last, The Catalyst pulls back the curtain to show how RNA-long sidelined as the passive servant of DNA-defines life from its very origins to our future in the twenty-first century. Recounting his own paradigm-shifting discovery that RNA can catalyse biochemical reactions, as well as his work on the "fountain of youth" telomerase, Cech unfolds how RNA holds the key to the intricate machinery of our cells, the critical processes of ageing and disease and the spectacular powers of breakthrough therapies from CRISPR to mRNA vaccines. From one of our foremost scientists, The Catalyst is a must-read guide to the present and future of biology and medicine.

"This book is published under the aegis of the Science and Engineering editorial board of ANU Press."

"Exploration of the largely unknown history of Chinese-language computing systems, accessible to an audience unfamiliar with the Chinese language or the technical workings of personal computers"--

Following his groundbreaking work on the Carnac alignments, Howard Crowhurst reveals the hiddenmeaning of one of the most enigmatic objects ever unearthed and shows the profound understanding it encodes. The Nebra Sky Disc is the oldest representation of the night sky known to date. Made of precious metals from different parts of Europe, it is the Rosetta stone of European prehistoric astronomy and shows the existence of time cycles maintained to the present day. Crowhurst's astounding discoveries stem from the 39 holes punched out around the disc's perimeter, which hold the key to a pattern in the solar system. These holes have been totally ignored by all researchers until now. Photos and diagrams are in color to facilitate understanding. According to reviewer's, the book is very readable.