Physical Science

In "Paradigms and Barriers" Howard Margolis offers an innovative interpretation of Thomas S. Kuhn's landmark idea of "paradigm shifts, " applying insights from cognitive psychology to the history and philosophy of science. Building upon the arguments in his acclaimed "Patterns, Thinking, and Cognition," Margolis suggests that the breaking down of particular habits of mind--of critical "barriers"--is key to understanding the processes through which one model or concept is supplanted by another. Margolis focuses on those revolutionary paradigm shifts-- such as the switch from a Ptolemaic to a Copernican worldview--where challenges to entrenched habits of mind are marked by incomprehension or indifference to a new paradigm. Margolis argues that the critical problem for a revolutionary shift in thinking lies in the robustness of the habits of mind that reject the new ideas, relative to the habits of mind that accept the new ideas. Margolis applies his theory to famous cases in the history of science, offering detailed explanations for the transition from Ptolemaic to cosmological astronomy, the emergence of probability, the overthrow of phlogiston, and the emergence of the central role of experiment in the seventeenth century. He in turn uses these historical examples to address larger issues, especially the nature of belief formation and contemporary debates about the nature of science and the evolution of scientific ideas. Howard Margolis is a professor in the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and in the College at the University of Chicago. He is the author of "Selfishness, Altruism, and Rationality" and "Patterns, Thinking, and Cognition," both published by theUniversity of Chicago Press.

Winner of the prestigious 2013 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books

"A modern voyage of discovery." --Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate, author of The Lightness of Being

The Higgs boson is one of our era's most fascinating scientific frontiers and the key to understanding why mass exists. The most recent book on the subject, The God Particle, was a bestseller. Now, Caltech physicist Sean Carroll documents the doorway that is opening--after billions of dollars and the efforts of thousands of researchers at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland--into the mind-boggling world of dark matter. The Particle at the End of the Universe has it all: money and politics, jealousy and self-sacrifice, history and cutting-edge physics--all grippingly told by a rising star of science writing.

Lavishly illustrated volume revealing the intricacies of a 1742 map of the cosmos.

The expansive and intricate Atlas Coelestis, created by Johann Doppelmayr in 1742, set out to record everything known about astronomy at the time, covering constellations, planets, moons, comets, and more, all rendered in exquisite detail. Through stunning illustrations, historical notes, and scientific explanations, Phenomena contextualizes Doppelmayr's atlas and creates a spectacular handbook to the heavens.

Phenomena begins by introducing Doppelmayr's life and work, placing his extraordinary cosmic atlas in the context of discoveries made in the Renaissance and Enlightenment and highlighting the significance of its publication. This oversized book presents thirty beautifully illustrated and richly annotated plates, covering all the fundamentals of astronomy--from the dimensions of the solar system to the phases of the moon and the courses of comets. Each plate is accompanied by expert analysis from astronomer Giles Sparrow, who deftly presents Doppelmayr's references and cosmological work to a modern audience. Each plate is carefully deconstructed, isolating key stars, planets, orbits, and moons for in-depth exploration. A conclusion reflects on the development of astronomy since the publication of the Atlas and traces the course of the science up to the present day. Following the conclusion is a timeline of key discoveries from ancient times onward along with short biographies of the key players in this history.

One of the central questions of physics is whether or not a theory of everything is possible. Many physicists believe that such a theory might be attainable, a belief that has led to speculation that we might one day "know the mind of God." The philosophical implications of having a blueprint for the Universe are a subject of great debate. In this fascinating book, a group of distinguished physicists and philosophers examine not only the claims of modern physics, but also the impact these claims have on our view of the world. Among the contributors are: Jan Hilgevoord, Gerard 't Hooft, John Barrow, Dennis Dieks, Ernan McMullin, Bas van Fraassen, Paul Feyerabend, Willem Drees, Paul Davies, and Mary Hesse. At a time when many people view science with deep suspicion, this book will be of great interest to anyone wishing to explore the complex relationships that exist between physics and philosophy, theology and ideology.

We live in complicated, dangerous times. Present and future presidents need to know if North Korea's nascent nuclear capability is a genuine threat to the West, if biochemical weapons are likely to be developed by terrorists, if there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government, if private companies should be allowed to lead the way on space exploration, and what the actual facts are about the worsening threats from climate change. This is "must-have" information for all presidents--and citizens--of the twenty-first century.

Winner of the 2009 Northern California Book Award for General Nonfiction.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Inspired by the fantastic worlds of Star Trek, Star Wars, and Back to the Future, the renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation takes an informed, serious, and often surprising look at what our current understanding of the universe's physical laws may permit in the near and distant future.

Teleportation, time machines, force fields, and interstellar space ships--the stuff of science fiction or potentially attainable future technologies? Entertaining, informative, and imaginative, Physics of the Impossible probes the very limits of human ingenuity and scientific possibility.

"A truly remarkable achievement." --Jill Lepore

"A gorgeous story of human nature and animal behavior--and of the way science itself evolves." --Dava Sobel

The tumultuous life and radical science of a revolutionary thinker, and the history of an idea that changed the world

In the early nineteenth century, the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed the first evolutionary theory of life and, with it, a new science: biology. Yet for centuries, evolutionary theorists have endeavored to discredit Lamarck and his theory of self-transforming organisms, rejecting the idea that animals play an active role in shaping their own evolution. In his lifetime, he was mocked by his adversaries and personally insulted by Napoleon. In this virtuosic melding of biography, history, politics, and science, Jessica Riskin sets out to correct the record. Riskin tells the story of Lamarck's life and work as an intense struggle between rival forces to answer questions that remain foundational to our modern worldview: What is a living being, and what is science?

New findings suggest Lamarck's basic claim was, in many ways, right, and a reconsideration of his life and work is long overdue. Denying the agency of living beings has informed two centuries of eugenic policies and environmental destruction, allowing people to regard the living world as so much raw material to shape and exploit for economic, industrial, and imperial gain.

Deeply researched, strikingly original, and beautifully written, The Power of Life shines a much-needed light on an underappreciated biologist whose radical ideas offered a more inclusive, collaborative, and enlightened approach to science.

As important to modern world views as any work of Darwin, Marx, or Freud, Principles of Geology is a landmark in the history of science. In this first of three volumes, Charles Lyell (1797-1875) sets forth his powerful uniformitarian argument: processes now visibly acting in the natural world are essentially the same as those that have acted throughout the history of the earth, and are sufficient to account for all geological phenomena.

Martin J. S. Rudwick's new Introduction, summarizing the origins of the Principles, guides the reader through the structure of the entire three-volume first edition and considers the legacy of Lyell's great work.

The definitive English edition of the "Father of Medicine."

This is the second volume in the Loeb Classical Library's complete edition of Hippocrates' invaluable texts, which provide essential information about the practice of medicine in antiquity and about Greek theories concerning the human body. The first two treatises, Prognostic and Regimen in Acute Diseases, are manuals respectively on how to predict the course and outcome of acute diseases and how to apply appropriate dietetic measures. Sacred Disease, The Art, and Breaths are rhetorically polished monographs, each arguing in favor of a specific hypothesis: that sacred disease is a misnomer; that medicine is a legitimate art; and that air plays important roles in life and health. Law sketches a new model of medical education; Decorum summarizes a public address on the components of medical wisdom; and Dentition collects pediatric aphorisms dealing mainly with the nursing of infants and ulcerations of their tonsils, uvula, and throat.

This Loeb edition replaces the original by W. H. S. Jones.

The works available in the Loeb Classical Library edition of Hippocrates are:

Volume I: Ancient Medicine. Airs, Waters, Places. Epidemics 1 and 3. The Oath. Precepts. Nutriment.
Volume II: Prognostic. Regimen in Acute Diseases. The Sacred Disease. The Art. Breaths. Law. Decorum. Dentition.
Volume III: On Wounds in the Head. In the Surgery. On Fractures. On Joints. Mochlicon.
Volume IV: Nature of Man. Regimen in Health. Humors. Aphorisms. Regimen 1-3. Dreams.
Volume V: Affections. Diseases 1-2.
Volume VI: Diseases 3. Internal Affections. Regimen in Acute Diseases.
Volume VII: Epidemics 2 and 4-7.
Volume VIII: Places in Man. Glands. Fleshes. Prorrhetic 1-2. Physician. Use of Liquids. Ulcers. Haemorrhoids and Fistulas.
Volume IX: Anatomy. Nature of Bones. Heart. Eight Months' Child. Coan Prenotions. Crises. Critical Days. Superfetation. Girls. Excision of the Fetus. Sight.
Volume X: Generation. Nature of the Child. Diseases 4. Nature of Women. Barrenness.
Volume XI: Diseases of Women 1-2.

Feynman's bestselling introduction to the mind-blowing physics of QED--presented with humor, not mathematics

Celebrated for his brilliantly quirky insights into the physical world, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman also possessed an extraordinary talent for explaining difficult concepts to the public. In this extraordinary book, Feynman provides a lively and accessible introduction to QED, or quantum electrodynamics, an area of quantum field theory that describes the interactions of light with charged particles. Using everyday language, spatial concepts, visualizations, and his renowned Feynman diagrams instead of advanced mathematics, Feynman clearly and humorously communicates the substance and spirit of QED to the nonscientist.

With an incisive introduction by A. Zee that places Feynman's contribution to QED in historical context and highlights Feynman's uniquely appealing and illuminating style, this Princeton Science Library edition of QED makes Feynman's legendary talks on quantum electrodynamics available to a new generation of readers.

An exploration of quantum entanglement and the ways in which it contradicts our everyday assumptions about the ultimate nature of reality.

Quantum physics is notable for its brazen defiance of common sense. (Think of Schrödinger's Cat, famously both dead and alive.) An especially rigorous form of quantum contradiction occurs in experiments with entangled particles. Our common assumption is that objects have properties whether or not anyone is observing them, and the measurement of one can't affect the other. Quantum entanglement--called by Einstein "spooky action at a distance"--rejects this assumption, offering impeccable reasoning and irrefutable evidence of the opposite. Is quantum entanglement mystical, or just mystifying? In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Jed Brody equips readers to decide for themselves. He explains how our commonsense assumptions impose constraints--from which entangled particles break free.

Brody explores such concepts as local realism, Bell's inequality, polarization, time dilation, and special relativity. He introduces readers to imaginary physicists Alice and Bob and their photon analyses; points out that it's easier to reject falsehood than establish the truth; and reports that some physicists explain entanglement by arguing that we live in a cross-section of a higher-dimensional reality. He examines a variety of viewpoints held by physicists, including quantum decoherence, Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation, genuine fortuitousness, and QBism. This relatively recent interpretation, an abbreviation of "quantum Bayesianism," holds that there's no such thing as an absolutely accurate, objective probability "out there," that quantum mechanical probabilities are subjective judgments, and there's no "action at a distance," spooky or otherwise.

Quantum theory is weird. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren't shocked by quantum theory, you didn't really understand it. For most people, quantum theory is synonymous with mysterious, impenetrable science. And in fact for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly written account of this fundamental scientific revolution, focusing on the central conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. This revelatory book takes a close look at the golden age of physics, the brilliant young minds at its core--and how an idea ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century.

In less than a century, the accepted picture of the universe transformed from a stagnant place, composed entirely of our own Milky Way galaxy, to a realm inhabited by billions of individual galaxies, hurtling away from one another. We must thank, in pa

Since the publication of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity in 1905, the discovery of such astronomical phenomena as quasars, pulsars, and black holes -- all intimately connected to relativity -- has provoked a tremendous upsurge of interest in the subject.This volume, a revised version of Martin Gardner's earlier Relativity for the Million, brings this fascinating topic up to date. Witty, perceptive, and easily accessible to the general reader, it is one of the clearest and most entertaining introductions to relativity ever written.
Mr. Gardner offers lucid explanations of not only the special and general theories of relativity, but of the Michelson-Morley experiment, gravity and spacetime, Mach's principle, the twin paradox, models of the universe, and other topics. A new Postscript, examining the latest developments in the field, and specially written for this edition, is also included.
The clarity of the text is especially enhanced by the brilliant graphics of Anthony Ravielli, making this by far the best layman's account of this difficult subject. -- Christian Science Monitor.