This book spells out in detail how the age of the Earth has been determined over the centuries. First — the 'biblical' age: how was the date of Creation 4004 BC figured out? A date which is so important even today ... it is the basis of claims made by millions that the Earth is only about 6000 years old. Next — the response of geologists (and Darwin) for a very old Earth. Then, Kelvin's calculation of how long it would take for a hot Earth to cool down to its present state. And finally, today's answer ('billions'), based on the properties of radioactive materials. So, how old is Planet Earth?Related Link(s)
This book spells out in detail how the age of the Earth has been determined over the centuries. First -- the 'biblical' age: how was the date of Creation 4004 BC figured out? A date which is so important even today ... it is the basis of claims made by millions that the Earth is only about 6000 years old. Next -- the response of geologists (and Darwin) for a very old Earth. Then, Kelvin's calculation of how long it would take for a hot Earth to cool down to its present state. And finally, today's answer ('billions'), based on the properties of radioactive materials. So, how old is Planet Earth?
The debate over the age of the Earth has been ongoing for over two thousand years, and has pitted physicists and astronomers against biologists, and religious philosophers against geologists. The Chronologers' Quest tells the fascinating story of our attempts to determine the age of the Earth. This book investigates the many novel methods used in the search for the Earth's age, from James Ussher and John Lightfoot examining biblical chronologies, and from Comte de Buffon and Lord Kelvin determining the length of time for the cooling of the Earth, to the more recent investigations of Arthur Holmes and Clair Patterson into radioactive dating of rocks and meteorites. The Chronologers' Quest is a readable account of the measurement of geological time. It will be of great interest to a wide range of readers, from those with little scientific background to students and scientists in a wide range of the Earth sciences.
Science has its roots in human curiosity. It is the process of exploration and research that has led to a better understanding of our surroundings: Copernicus set the Earth in its right place in our models of the Universe, Charles Darwin elucidated the mechanism of the evolution of living species, and Albert Einstein brought out the intimate connection between energy, space, and time.This book provides a reliable guide to acquaint oneself with the scientific process. It explains in easy terms how scientific investigation has historically developed to reach our present understanding of the world around us. It also discusses the place of science in modern society in relation to culture and to the technological advances that it brings.
The story of matter and the history of the cosmos from the perspective of a single oxygen atom, told with the insight and wit of one of the most dynamic physicists and writers working today. Through this astonishing work, he manages to stoke wonder at the powers and unlikely events that conspired to create our solar system, our ecosystem, and us.
In 1824, William Buckland stood in front of the Royal Geological Society and told them about the bones he had been studying – the bones of an enormous, lizard-like creature, that he called Megalosaurus. This was the first full account of a dinosaur. In this brilliantly entertaining, colourful biography – the first to be written for over a century – Buckland’s fascinating life is explored in full. From his pioneering of geology and agricultural science to becoming Dean of Westminster, this is a captivating story of an exceptional and eccentric scientist whose legacy extends down to this day. William Buckland DD, FRS (1784–1856) was a theologian and a scientist, who is widely regarded as the founder of the science of geology. He was an older contemporary of Charles Darwin and played a central role in the nineteenth-century ferment of ideas about the origins of the earth and of living things. A field geologist of genius, an avid fossil hunter and brilliant interpreter of fossils, landscapes, and earth history, Buckland was also a pioneer of agricultural science and an early ecologist. He demonstrated how the earth’s climate has undergone radical changes over geological time – from carboniferous swamps to ice ages, each with their own flora and fauna. Buckland was also a pioneer of public health reform, who (well before germ theory was established) grasped the centrality of clean drinking water to health, and who waged war on bad drains and slum landlords who exploited the poor.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation details the developments in computer technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, space travel, and more, that are poised to happen over the next century. “Mind-bending…. [An] alternately fascinating and frightening book.” —San Francisco Chronicle Space elevators. Internet-enabled contact lenses. Cars that fly by floating on magnetic fields. This is the stuff of science fiction—it’s also daily life in the year 2100. Renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku considers how these inventions will affect the world economy, addressing the key questions: Who will have jobs? Which nations will prosper? Kaku interviews three hundred of the world’s top scientists—working in their labs on astonishing prototypes. He also takes into account the rigorous scientific principles that regulate how quickly, how safely, and how far technologies can advance. In Physics of the Future, Kaku forecasts a century of earthshaking advances in technology that could make even the last centuries’ leaps and bounds seem insignificant.
