The field of astrophysics is in the midst of a technological renaissance. The emphasis of this collection of essays, composed by a stellar group of astronomers and astrophysicists, is on the current state of our knowledge as a preparation for future unraveling of more mysteries of the universe, which appear most amenable to solution. Aspiring atrophysicists will be enthralled.
The field of astrophysics is in the midst of a technological renaissance. The emphasis of this collection of essays, composed by a stellar group of astronomers and astrophysicists, is on the current state of our knowledge as a preparation for future unraveling of more mysteries of the universe, which appear most amenable to solution. Aspiring atrophysicists will be enthralled.
The field of astrophysics is in the midst of a technologically driven renaissance, as fundamental discoveries are being made with astonishing frequency. In the last decade, new detectors in space, on earth, and deep underground have, when coupled with the computational power of modern computers, revolutionized our knowledge and understanding of the astronomical world. This is a great time for a student of any age to become acquainted with the remarkable universe in which we live. This volume is a collection of essays, originally presented orally to a diverse group of students and professionals, which reveal the most fertile areas for future study of astronomy and astrophysics. The emphasis of this work is on the clear description of the current state of our knowledge as a preparation for the future unraveling of the mysteries of the universe that appear today as most fundamental and most amenable to solution. A stellar group of astronomers and astrophysicists describes the directions and styles of work that they think are most likely to lead to progress. Bibliographical notes at the end of each presentation provide guidance for the reader who wishes to go more deeply into a given subject. Unsolved Problems in Astrophysics is a uniquely stimulating introduction to some of the most important topics in modern astrophysics.
When Phebe Hedges, a woman in East Hampton, New York, walked into the sea in 1806, she made visible the historical experience of a family affected by the dreaded disorder of movement, mind, and mood her neighbors called St.Vitus's dance. Doctors later spoke of Huntington’s chorea, and today it is known as Huntington's disease. This book is the first history of Huntington’s in America. Starting with the life of Phebe Hedges, Alice Wexler uses Huntington’s as a lens to explore the changing meanings of heredity, disability, stigma, and medical knowledge among ordinary people as well as scientists and physicians. She addresses these themes through three overlapping stories: the lives of a nineteenth-century family once said to “belong to the disease”; the emergence of Huntington’s chorea as a clinical entity; and the early-twentieth-century transformation of this disorder into a cautionary eugenics tale. In our own era of expanding genetic technologies, this history offers insights into the social contexts of medical and scientific knowledge, as well as the legacy of eugenics in shaping both the knowledge and the lived experience of this disease.
People have always wanted answers to the big questions. Where did we come from? How did the universe begin? What is the meaning and design behind it all? Is there anyone out there? The creation accounts of the past now seem less relevant and credible. They have been replaced by a variety of what can only be called superstitions, ranging from New Age to Star Trek. But real science can be far stranger than science fiction, and much more satisfying. I am a scientist. And a scientist with a deep fascination with physics, cosmology, the universe and the future of humanity. I was brought up by my parents to have an unwavering curiosity and, like my father, to research and try to answer the many questions that science asks us. I have spent my life travelling across the universe, inside my mind. Through theoretical physics, I have sought to answer some of the great questions. At one point, I thought I would see the end of physics as we know it, but now I think the wonder of discovery will continue long after I am gone. We are close to some of these answers, but we are not there yet. The problem is, most people believe that real science is too difficult and complicated for them to understand. But I don't think this is the case. To do research on the fundamental laws that govern the universe would require a commitment of time that most people don't have; the world would soon grind to a halt if we all tried to do theoretical physics. But most people can understand and appreciate the basic ideas if they are presented in a clear way with equations, which I believe is possible and which is something I have enjoyed trying to do throughout my life. I want to add my voice to those who demand why we must ask the big questions immediate action on the key challenges for our global community. I hope that going forward, even when I am no longer here, people with power can show creativity, courage and leadership. Let them rise to the challenges and act now.
This book journeys into one of the most fascinating intellectual adventures of recent decades - understanding and exploring the final fate of massive collapsing stars in the universe. The issue is of great interest in fundamental physics and cosmology today, from both the perspective of gravitation theory and of modern astrophysical observations. This is a revolution in the making and may be intimately connected to our search for a unified understanding of the basic forces of nature, namely gravity that governs the cosmological universe, and the microscopic forces that include quantum phenomena. According to the general theory of relativity, a massive star that collapses catastrophically under its own gravity when it runs out of its internal nuclear fuel must give rise to a space-time singularity. Such singularities are regions in the universe where all physical quantities take their extreme values and become arbitrarily large. The singularities may be covered within a black hole, or visible to faraway observers in the universe. Thus, the final fate of a collapsing massive star is either a black hole or a visible naked singularity. We discuss here recent results and developments on the gravitational collapse of massive stars and possible observational implications when naked singularities happen in the universe. Large collapsing massive stars and the resulting space-time singularities may even provide a laboratory in the cosmos where one could test the unification possibilities of basic forces of nature.
Designed to teach plasma physics and astrophysics 'from the ground up', this textbook proceeds from the simplest examples through a careful derivation of results and encourages the reader to think for themselves.
Essays discuss the present state of knowledge following recent discoveries about the structure of the universe, galaxies, quasars, neutrinos, and other topics, and suggest areas for future research
