J. S.(James S.) Trefil Knihy

Podtitul: Neobvyklá encyklopedie aneb „Bůh má obzvláštní zálibu v broucích“.

Co řídí naše geny? Jak starý je vesmír?... Autor vás zve na výpravu do světa kvantové mechaniky, černých děr, temné hmoty či kvazarů, provede vás světem molekulární biologie, dotkne se problémů skleníkového efektu a likvidace toxických odpadů a umožní vám nahlédnout do prostředí virtuální reality. Kniha se stala bestsellerem a lahůdkou pro laické milovníky vědy, které zajímají tajemství kontroverzních témat.

In this guided tour of our planetary neighborhood, the Milky Way and other galaxies, and beyond, detailed maps and fascinating imagery from recent space missions partner with clear, authoritative scientific information. For this new edition, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his moonwalk, astronaut and American hero Buzz Aldrin offers a new special section on Earth's moon and its essential role in space exploration past and future.

"Filled with lavish illustrations, this book is a grand tour of the universe. Three ever widening domains are presented--the planets, the stars, and the large scale universe itself--each including the ones before it and extending outward"--

"In this fast-paced information age, how can Americans know what's really important and what's just a passing fashion? Now more than ever, we need a source that concisely sums up the knowledge that matters to Americans - the people, places, ideas, and events that shape our cultural conversation. With more than six thousand entries, The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy is that invaluable source. Wireless technology. Gene therapy, NAFTA. In addition to the thousands of terms described in the original Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, here are more than five hundred new entries to bring Americans' essential knowledge bank up to date. Are you familiar with the digital divide, European Union, Kwanzaa, pheromones, Type A and Type B personalities, spam? Or, test your knowledge on cultural icons that have stood the test of time: Odysseus, Leaves of Grass, Cleopatra, Winston Churchill, the Taj Mahal, and many, many more. Numerous original entries have been revised to reflect the many recent changes in world history and politics, American literature, and, especially, science and technology."--Jacket

Exploring the intersection of science and technology, this book provides insights into the modern cities we inhabit while envisioning the future urban landscapes. The author, known for their previous works, delves into innovations shaping city life and the potential advancements that could redefine urban living. Readers will discover how current trends can influence the design and functionality of future cities, making it a thought-provoking read for those interested in urban development and technological progress.

Defines the people, places, sayings, and ideas representing what the authors consider essential information for literate americans

The past few years have seen an incredible explosion in our knowledge of the universe. Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than two thousand exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, and even more remarkable than the sheer number of exoplanets is their variety. In Exoplanets, astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space. This captivating book reveals the latest discoveries and argues that the incredible richness and complexity we are finding necessitates a change in our questions and mental paradigms. In short, we have to change how we think about the universe and our place in it, because it is stranger and more interesting than we could have imagined

The captivating possibilities of extraterrestrial life on exoplanets, based on current scientific knowledge of existing worlds and forms of lifeIt is now known that we live in a galaxy with more planets than stars. The Milky Way alone encompasses 30 trillion potential home planets. Scientists Trefil and Summers bring readers on a marvelous experimental voyage through the possibilities of life--unlike anything we have experienced so far--that could exist on planets outside our own solar system.Life could be out there in many forms: on frozen worlds, living in liquid oceans beneath ice and communicating (and even battling) with bubbles; on super-dense planets, where they would have evolved body types capable of dealing with extreme gravity; on tidally locked planets with one side turned eternally toward a star; and even on "rogue worlds," which have no star at all. Yet this is no fictional flight of fancy: the authors take what we know about exoplanets and life on our own world and use that data to hypothesize about how, where, and which sorts of life might develop. Imagined Life is a must-have for anyone wanting to learn how the realities of our universe may turn out to be far stranger than fiction.