The Sky At Einstein S Feet

Specifically traces the impact of Einstein's ideas on astronomy, including the way we interpret observations of stars and galaxies. Includes comments from principals in important discoveries, illuminating the processes behind these results. Presents many applications of relativity that have not been shown in earlier popular-level books and illustrates how deeply physics permeates the way we interpret many astronomical phenomena. Highlights light-travel delays in cosmic jets, using gravitational lensing to trace cosmic mass distribution. Illustrations employ new and archival data from ground- and space-based observatories.

Specifically traces the impact of Einstein's ideas on astronomy, including the way we interpret observations of stars and galaxies. Includes comments from principals in important discoveries, illuminating the processes behind these results. Presents many applications of relativity that have not been shown in earlier popular-level books and illustrates how deeply physics permeates the way we interpret many astronomical phenomena. Highlights light-travel delays in cosmic jets, using gravitational lensing to trace cosmic mass distribution. Illustrations employ new and archival data from ground- and space-based observatories.

A one-of-a-kind guidebook for planning physics-and-chemistry-themed trips across the U.S.--from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to the Florida Solar Power Energy Center, from the Titan Missile Museum in Tucson to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis.

What makes ice cubes cloudy? How do shark attacks make airplanes safer? Can a person traveling in a car at the speed of sound still hear the radio? Moreover, would they want to...? Do you often find yourself pondering life's little conundrums? Have you ever wondered why the ocean is blue? Or why birds don't get electrocuted when perching on high-voltage power lines? Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and acclaimed author of What Einstein Didn't Know, understands the need to...well, understand. Now he provides more amusing explanations of such everyday phenomena as gravity (If you're in a falling elevator, will jumping at the last instant save your life?) and acoustics (Why does a whip make such a loud cracking noise?), along with amazing facts, belly-up-to-the-bar bets, and mind-blowing reality bites all with his trademark wit and wisdom. If you shoot a bullet into the air, can it kill somebody when it comes down? You can find out about all this and more in an astonishing compendium of the proverbial mind-boggling mysteries of the physical world we inhabit. Arranged in a question-and-answer format and grouped by subject for browsing ease, WHAT EINSTEIN TOLD HIS BARBER is for anyone who ever pondered such things as why colors fade in sunlight, what happens to the rubber from worn-out tires, what makes red-hot objects glow red, and other scientific curiosities. Perfect for fans of Newton's Apple, Jeopardy!, and The Discovery Channel, WHAT EINSTEIN TOLD HIS BARBER also includes a glossary of important scientific buzz words and a comprehensive index. -->

A new generation of observatories, now being completed worldwide, will give astronomers not just a new window on the cosmos but a whole new sense with which to explore and experience the heavens above us. Instead of collecting light waves or radio waves, these novel instruments will allow astronomers to at last place their hands upon the fabric of space-time and feel the very rhythms of the universe. These vibrations in space-time-or gravity waves-are the last prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity yet to be observed directly. They are his unfinished symphony, waiting nearly a century to be heard. When they finally reveal themselves to astronomers, we will for the first time be able to hear the cymbal crashes from exploding stars, tune in to the periodic drumbeats from swiftly rotating pulsars, listen to the extended chirps from the merger of two black holes, and eavesdrop on the remnant echoes from the mighty jolt of the Big Bang itself. When Einstein introduced general relativity in 1915, it was hailed as a momentous conceptual achievement. Einstein attained celebrity status. But, once scientists verified what they could of the theory, given the scant experiments available at the time, general relativity became "largely a theoretical curiosity," writes Marcia Bartusiak. Now, after decades of technological advancement, general relativity is being tested with unprecedented accuracy. It even affects our everyday lives. Satellites used by both travelers and soldiers to peg their positions require constant corrections of Einsteinian precision. Meanwhile, the first gravity-wave "telescopes"--Including the LIGO facility-are about to come alive.

When he discovers that his father worked on missiles for a defense contractor, Jeff Porter is inspired to revisit America’s atomic past and our fallen heroes, in particular J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. The result, Oppenheimer Is Watching Me, takes readers back to the cold war, when men in lab coats toyed with the properties of matter and fears of national security troubled our sleep. With an eye for strange symmetries, Porter traces how one panicky moment shaped the lives of a generation.

This brief and witty book, by the award-winning science writer Donald Goldsmith, takes on key questions about the origin and evolution of the cosmos. By clearly laying out what we currently know about the universe as a whole, Goldsmith lets us see firsthand whether modern cosmology is in a state of crisis.

In a book filled with anecdotes and disarming stories, Zee discusses phenomena ranging from the emergence of galaxies to the curvature of space-time, evidence for the existence of gravity waves, and the shape of the universe at creation and today. 52 halftones & line illustrations.