Libros de Estudios generales, página 27 de 118

In this classic work that continues to inspire many readers Jim Lovelock puts forward his idea that the Earth functions as a single organism Written for non scientists Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence in support of a radically different model of our planet In contrast to conventional belief that life is passive in the face of threats to its existence the book explores the hypothesis that the Earth s living matter influences air ocean and rock to form a complex self regulating system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life Since Gaia was first published Jim Lovelock s hypothesis has become a hotly debated topic in scientific circles In a new Preface to this edition he outlines his view of the present state of the debate Oxford Landmark Science books are must read classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas and shaped the way we think

A fascinating celebration of the impact that structural engineering has on all our lives an eye opening book The Sunday Times In BUILT structural engineer Roma Agrawal takes a unique look at how construction has evolved from the mud huts of our ancestors to skyscrapers of steel that reach hundreds of metres into the sky She unearths how engineers have tunnelled through kilometres of solid mountains how they ve bridged across the widest and deepest of rivers and tamed Nature s precious and elusive water resources She tells vivid tales of the visionaries who created the groundbreaking materials in the Pantheon s record holding concrete dome and the frame of the record breaking Eiffel Tower Through the lens of an engineer Roma examines tragedies like the collapse of the Quebec Bridge highlighting the precarious task of ensuring people s safety they hold at every step With colourful stories of her life long fascination with buildings and her own hand drawn illustrations Roma reveals the extraordinary secret lives of structures

Frank Close delves into fundamental particles and forces to find clues to a deep unsolved mystery of physics why is matter neutral Human beings have long been aware of the electric and magnetic forces around us from the electrostatic charge built up by rubbing amber with fur to the pull of the lodestone and scientific investigation showed that the two are intimately connected as electromagnetism Lightning shows how devastating electricity can be in nature while humans learned to exploit the flow of negatively charged electrons that make up an electric current In the early part of the 20th century the experiments of Ernest Rutherford showed that at the heart of atoms lies a positively charged nucleus The positive charge comes from protons Atoms are neutral because the charges of the electron and proton cancel out And that enables the much weaker force of gravity always attractive to dominate at large scales building planets stars and galaxies Things would have been very different had the charges not cancelled As far as we know the charges of the proton and electron are opposite and exactly equal even though the proton is far bigger and composed of three quarks tightly bound within it while the electron is a fundamental particle But why are they

Most people remember chemistry from their schooldays as largely incomprehensible a subject that was fact rich but understanding poor smelly and so far removed from the real world of events and pleasures that there seemed little point except for the most introverted in coming to terms with its grubby concepts spells recipes and rules Peter Atkins wants to change all that In this Very Short Introduction to Chemistry he encourages us to look at chemistry anew through a chemist s eyes in order to understand its central concepts and to see how it contributes not only towards our material comfort but also to human culture Atkins shows how chemistry provides the infrastructure of our world through the chemical industry the fuels of heating power generation and transport as well as the fabrics of our clothing and furnishings By considering the remarkable achievements that chemistry has made and examining its place between both physics and biology Atkins presents a fascinating clear and rigorous exploration of the world of chemistry its structure core concepts and exciting contributions to new cutting edge technologies ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every sub

In For the Love of Physics beloved MIT professor Walter Lewin whose riveting physics lectures made him a YouTube super star takes readers on a remarkably fun inventive and often wacky journey that brings the joys of physics to life For the Love of Physics captures Walter Lewin s extraordinary intellect passion for physics and brilliance as a teacher Bill Gates For more than thirty years as a renowned professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lewin s lectures made physics not only accessible but fun whether putting his head in the path of a wrecking ball supercharging himself with three hundred thousand volts of electricity or demonstrating why the sky is blue and clouds are white In For the Love of Physics Lewin takes readers on a marvelous journey opening our eyes as never before to the wonders of physics and its amazing ability to reveal the beauty and power embedded in our world Could it be true that we are shorter standing up than lying down Why can we snorkel no deeper than about one foot below the surface Why are the colors of a rainbow always in the same order can we stretch a hand out and touch one Using superbly clear and simple explanations of phenomena we ve always wondered about such as what the big bang would have sound

AN INTRIGUING AND BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF YORICK WILKS INSIDERS GUIDE TO AIThe benefits and potential nightmares of artificial intelligence have long inspired science fiction writers but in a world where most of us carry a portable device that knows infinitely more than we do these are increasingly real concerns Artificial Intelligence is the essential companion to this unsettling science It surveys the history philosophies and current state of AI and asks key questions such as how should robots think and can machines really learn With subjects ranging from the World Wide Web to artificial companions the book considers such ethical issues as automated warfare internet surveillance and fake news speculating on just how far robots will infiltrate our future This illustrated edition combines compelling photographs with circuit board infographics to lift the curtain on the hidden world of AI

Una descripción del universo; es decir, de todo el mundo exterior, de contenido científico y divulgativo. El pasado siglo XX nos ha aportado enormes avances en el conocimiento científico: El concepto de la unidad espaciotiempo La relacion intima entre masa y energia La estructura del atomo La constitucion del genomaEstos nuevos conocimientos cientificos nos permit...

¿Sabes que hiciste hace 8 minutos y 19 segundos? Ese es el tiempo que tarda en llegar la luz del sol a la Tierra, y el Sol es la estrella que nos ilumina y calienta, la más cercana a nosotros y sin la cual no habria vida en nuestro planeta. Pero surgen muchas mas preguntas: ¿cuanto de lejos esta el agujero negro del centro de nuestra galaxia, la Via Lactea? ¿Cuanto de nuestras galaxias vecinas como Andromeda? ¿Cuanto hace que salio la luz de Andromeda, cuantos millones de kilometros recorrio hasta llegar a nuestro planeta y que sucedia entonces en la Tierra? Este libro nace del dialogo entre un astrofisico y un prehistoriador cuando conversan sobre el tiempo que transcurrio en llegar la luz de ciertos astros o eventos astronomicos a la Tierra y que sucedia en aquellos momentos en la historia de la humanidad. A traves de sus paginas podremos averiguar la luz de que astro alcanzo la Tierra cuando nuestros antepasados inventaron la escritura, nuestra especie Homo sapiens dio sus primeros pasos o nuestros tataratatarabuelos los Austrolopithecus vivieron en Çfrica.

Este relato, que hemos titulado El caso Oppenheimer, es un ensayo sobre el juicio al que fue sometido Oppenheimer en 1954 para probar su lealtad hacia su patria y negar su pertenencia al partido comunista.Estrictamente hablando, no fue un juicio, sino un conjunto de audiciones de testigos (hearings, en ingles) para discutir si se mantenia su derecho a recibir informacion sec...

Existe un acuerdo general entre los especialistas de que el siglo XXI será el siglo de la Biología, así como el siglo XX ha sido el siglo de la Física. Pero, sin duda, el siglo XX no sólo fue el siglo de la Física, sino también el siglo de los genes. En esta reconstrucción histórica de la genética desde 1900, los autores analizan los descubrimientos que en el siglo XX han abierto el camino hacia los avatares del siglo XXI. Los patrones de explicación en genética se han modificado a través del tiempo, debido principalmente al desarrollo de técnicas experimentales, al uso de diferentes organismos y a los nuevos conocimientos o formulación de nuevas teorías. El avance científico ha sido gradual y continúa hasta el presente. Es necesario impulsar discusiones a fondo y difundir el conocimiento acerca de los organismos transgénicos, las terapias génicas, sus posibles riesgos, y aprender de lo que las ideologías eugenésicas han ocasionado en el pasado.

With humor easy to understand language and fun illustrations marine scientist Ellen Prager and meteorologist Dave Jones use frequently asked and zany questions about the ocean and atmosphere to combat misinformation and make science engaging and understandable for all

Nuestro universo tuvo un principio, el conocido como Big Bang o Gran Estallido, y se encuentra en expansión, incluso acelerada. Por otro lado, la evolución de todas las especies vivas por selección natural y competencia, en su busqueda de supervivencia, esta ampliamente aceptada. En este contexto, muchos cientificos consideran un concepto evolutivo mas amplio, no limitado exclusivamente a las especies vivas. La expansion del universo parece proveer un marco en el que las estructuras mas simples evolucionan hacia otras mas complejas. Existe, ademas, una fascinante similitud entre la red neuronal de nuestro cerebro, constituida por millones de neuronas, y el universo a gran escala, estructurado en cumulos y supercumulos de galaxias. Sorprendentemente, ¡el numero de neuronas de nuestro cerebro es del mismo orden de magnitud que el de estrellas de la Via Lactea o el de galaxias del universo! Ciencia y consciencia estan mas interrelacionadas de lo que podria parecer, como sugieren las modernas teorias fisicas y neurologicas. Por otra parte, los avances en el estudio de la inteligencia artificial estan afectando decisivamente a todas estas cuestiones, aportando nuevas perspectivas. En Universo y Sapiens se constata que tanto la naturaleza y el universo cambiante como nuestra historia humana son, en buena medida, sistemas caoticos mas o menos deterministas, pero con una notable influencia del azar. Desde el macrocosmos hasta el microcosmos, emergen patrones similares. Si se dan todas estas coincidencias, ¿por que no ofrecer en este libro una divulgacion conjunta que entrelace deliberadamente conceptos cientificos especialmente aquellos enfocados en la cosmologia, geopoliticos, historicos y humanisticos?

Esta obra analiza desde el escepticismo científico algunas de las tendencias pseudocientíficas actuales. Comenzando con las leyendas y creencias en torno al cielo, los planetas y las estrellas, se reflexiona sobre fenomenos como los negacionistas del cambio climatico o las medicinas alternativas. Tambien se dirige una mirada critica hacia algunos cientificos, en la medida en que han dado pie a interpretaciones esotericas o pseudocientificas de sus teorias. Esto es especialmente relevante en el caso de la mecanica cuantica: algunas de las mayores figuras de la fisica del siglo XX han contribuido de una u otra forma a hacer de ella interpretaciones extravagantes. La relevancia de la figura de Einstein en la sociedad actual y los estudios parapsicologicos en el antiguo bloque sovietico tienen tambien su lugar en estas paginas. Los bulos, el auge de las terapias alternativas y las teorias conspirativas son un desafio para las sociedades actuales. El objetivo de este libro es el de contribuir a la lucha contra estos fenomenos desde una perspectiva cientifica, manteniendo un enfoque abierto al debate

Desde Copérnico que a humanidade se vê a si própria como uma partícula insignificante, à deriva num universo grande e frio. O físico e astrónomo brasileiro Marcelo Gleiser, vencedor do Templeton Pri

Each animal on the planet owes its existence to one very simple but crucial piece of evolutionary engineering the egg It s time to tell a new story of life on Earth

A celebration of the miraculous phenomenon of flight through fourteen species and across millions of years from pterosaurs to dragonflies butterflies to albatross

Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2024 Couldn t be a bolder more forthright SOS for sport The ObserverThe world of sport has a new opponent climate change In recent years a world championship marathon was held at midnight to avoid the blistering sun Professional athletes needed oxygen tanks to play during wildfire season in California Players collapsed and play was suspended amid the heat and bushfire smoke at the Australian Tennis open Ski resorts in the Alps have turned into ghost towns Golf courses are sinking into the sea And then there s the Qatar World Cup among the greatest follies in sporting history one that saw hundreds perhaps thousands of heat induced deaths before a ball was even kicked The threat climate change poses to sport is clear but with billions of participants and fans around the world who rely on the sector for entertainment jobs fitness and health this is one industry we can t afford to lose In this book Madeleine Orr shows it doesn t have to be this way There are ways to mitigate and perhaps counter even the worst elements of climate change A world leading sport ecologist Madeleine interviews athletes coaches politicians and thought leaders to learn more about the inevitable consequences for thi

One bright February afternoon on a beach in Cornwall GavinPretor Pinney took a break from cloudspotting and started watching thewaves rolling into shore Mesmerised he wondered where they had comefrom and decided to find out He soon realised that waves don t justappear on the ocean they are everywhere around us and our livesdepend on them From the rippling beats of our hearts to the movement of food throughour digestive tracts and of signals across our brains waves are thetransport systems of our bodies Everything we see and hear reaches usvia light and sound waves and our information age is reliant on themicrowaves and infrared waves used by the telephone and internetinfrastructure From shockwaves unleashed by explosions to torsionalwaves that cause suspension bridges to collapse from sonar waves thatallow submarines to see with sound to Mexican waves that sweepthrough stadium crowds there were waves it seemed wherever Gavinlooked But what he wondered could they all have in common with oneswe splash around in on holiday By the time he made the ultimate surfer s pilgrimage to Hawaii Gavinhad become a world class wavewatcher although he was still rubbish atsurfing And while this fascinating funny book may not teach you howto ride the wave

A Waterstones Best Paperback of 2022 pick Perfect for fans of Radio 4 s The Infinite Monkey Cage and Professor Brian Cox A delightful and scintillating hymn to science Professor Carlo Rovelli Comedian Robin Ince quickly abandoned science at school bored by a fog of dull lessons and intimidated by the barrage of equations But twenty years later he fell in love and he now presents one of the world s most popular science podcasts Every year he meets hundreds of the world s greatest thinkers In this erudite and witty book Robin reveals why scientific wonder isn t just for the professionals Filled with interviews featuring astronauts comedians teachers quantum physicists neuroscientists and more as well as charting Robin s own journey with science The Importance of Being Interested explores why many wrongly think of the discipline as distant and difficult From the glorious appeal of the stars above to why scientific curiosity can encourage much needed intellectual humility this optimistic and profound book will leave you filled with a thirst for intellectual adventure

In the early 1960s scientists at the University of California Berkeley set out to establish the key factors affecting health and longevity Their results known as the Alameda 7 you already know don t smoke drink in moderation sleep seven to eight hours a night exercise eat regular meals maintain a moderate weight eat breakfast Years later however the same team discovered an eighth factor one that proved more important than all the others social connection When we form meaningful bonds with others our wounds heal faster we shake off infections more quickly and our blood pressure drops We are less likely to have Alzheimer s heart attacks or strokes When people feel that they have strong social support they perform better on tests of mental focus memory and problem solving Greater connection can fuel creativity increase our financial stability and enhance our work productivity But making friends can also be daunting In The Laws of Connection David Robson does two important things he takes us through the fascinating science behind the effects of social connection and he unpacks the research that shows that we are all better at being social than we might think We meet ideas such as the liking gap and the gratitude gap learn to re