Book Description
More than 150 orchid genera are described, each accompanied by a superb Marion Sheehan illustration that shows a representative species; all display the same structures in similar views so that the reader can easily compare the variations among genera. In 1995, the authors received the American Orchid Society's Gold Medal of Achievement.
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Orchid Genera Illustrated
Thomas J. Sheehan , and
Marion Sheehan
Manufacturer: Cornell Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Flowers
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ASIN: 0801493579 |
Book Description
Smart, contemporary and compact guide helping travellers discover more from their city visit. Covers main attractions but also gives the freedom to escape the tourist trail.
Book Description
It is a widely known but insufficiently appreciated fact that Albert Einstein and Kurt Goedel were best friends for the last decade and a half of Einstein's life. They walked home together from Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study every day; they shared ideas about physics, philosophy, politics, and the lost world of German-Austrian science in which they had grown up. What is not widely known is that in 1949 Goedel made a remarkable discovery: there exist possible worlds described by the theory of relativity in which time, as we ordinarily understand it, does not exist. He added a philosophical argument that demonstrates, by Goedel's lights, that as a consequence, time does not exist in our world either. If Goedel is right, Einstein has not just explained time; he has explained it away.
Without committing himself to Goedel's philosophical interpretation of his discovery, Einstein acknowledged that his friend had made an important contribution to the theory of relativity, a contribution that he admitted raised new and disturbing questions about what remains of time in his own theory. Physicists since Einstein have tried without success to find an error in Goedel's physics or a missing element in relativity itself that would rule out the applicability of Goedel's results. Philosophers, for the most part, have been silent.
_A World Without Time_, addressed to experts and non experts alike, brings to life the sheer intellectual drama of the companionship of Goedel and Einstein, and places their discoveries -- which can only be measured on a millennial scale -- in the context of the great and disturbing intellectual movements of the twentieth century -- in physics, mathematics, logic, philosophy, and the arts. It contains, as well, a poignant and intimate account of the friendship between these two thinkers, each put on the shelf by the scientific fashions of their day -- and ours -- and attempts to rescue from undeserved obscurity the work Goedel did, inspired by Einstein, which made clear for the first time the truly revolutionary nature of the theory of relativity, which to this day is hardly recognized.
Customer Reviews:
more about philosophy than about physics or math.......2007-02-27
A World Without Time is a book about the friendship between Einstein and Godel that occurred toward the end of their lives. The friendship was fruitful in that Godel used Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to prove the existence of what are now called Godel Universes. Godel Universes are universes where time loops back on itself so, if you go sufficiently fast, you would end up back where you started in time. This is interesting but perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book for me was it's philosophical aspect. The author mentions the Vienna Circle and some concepts of philosophy such as positivism and ontology and epistemology which I found very interesting. I found the explanations of Godel's theories hard to follow but got the basic idea. I recommend this book for it's philosophical content. If you want to learn about Godel's Incompleteness theorem I recommend reading Godel, Escher Bach, An Eternal Golden Braid.
Should we dispense with clocks ?.......2007-02-12
The title of the book suggests time does not exist. The justification is a certain solution to Einstein cosmological equation, where the universe is rotating and time travel is possible. A path could reach into the past going around the universe.It is the Godel solution.
Modern cosmology is based on the Robertson Walker metric , or model,where there is a universal time. It fits the obseved universal expansion.The universe was born in a big bang fifteen billions years ago.
Goodel gave too much importance to his solution. After all any equation can allow many mathematical solutions which bear no relation to physical reality or fact.
The book is good reading with old and rare photos.It compelled me to reread "The Godel Solution" in Adler ,Bazin and Schiffer General Relativity.
Early in the century,Kurt Godel had laid a golden egg with his incompleteness theorem, pertaining to pure mathematics, causing some stir among Hilbert and Russell.But his attempt to abolish time, much later in 1949, felt in deaf ears among physicists and cosmologists.This is not about to change any time soon.
Yourgrau does an elegant work in rescuing an old story.It takes us through Europe and the beginnings of the Princeton Advanced Study Institute.
A World Without Time.......2007-01-23
Great book about Godel & Einstein. It tells much about their human side & their friendship. Does good job explaining some of their work.
Very bad book: a waste of your money.......2007-01-17
It is a heap op philosophy, not science. No formula, math, explanation, working examples whatsoever. Just small-talk to fill up the pages. This is NOT a physics book. I was lured into buying it thinking to get a complete textbook on Gödel's explanation of time. Forget it, this book is not worth your money. Go check the internet for PDF's or webpages containing the original publications of Gödel, they are there allright.
A World Without Time.......2007-01-04
I bought this book because I loved the cover. Everyone knows Einstein but it is amazing how few know the equally revolutionary Godel and still fewer know of their freindship. This is an invaluable book for those that (somehow) don't know about Godel's work. I didn't expect much from this book because I know of Godel's revolving universe time paradox. However, I found this book to be extremely interesting. The author's minimalist definition of Godel's theorm (syntax does not equal semantics) was worth the price alone. Unfortunatley the last chapter of the book is muddled in philosophic musings, since I am a Physicist I am less appreciative of pure philosophy.
Book Description
Galileo’s
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in Florence in 1632, was the most proximate cause of his being brought to trial before the Inquisition. Using the dialogue form, a genre common in classical philosophical works, Galileo masterfully demonstrates the truth of the Copernican system over the Ptolemaic one, proving, for the first time, that the earth revolves around the sun. Its influence is incalculable. The Dialogue is not only one of the most important scientific treatises ever written, but a work of supreme clarity and accessibility, remaining as readable now as when it was first published. This edition uses the definitive text established by the University of California Press, in Stillman Drake’s translation, and includes a Foreword by Albert Einstein and a new Introduction by J. L. Heilbron.
Customer Reviews:
A masterpiece written by a superb scientist.......2006-11-04
This is the famous book that got Galileo in trouble with the Inquisition. Galileo Galilei was one of the greatest scientists of all time. In Galileo's time the all powerful Catholic Church had decreed that the Earth was at the center of the Universe and that all celestial bodies orbited the Earth. The reasons given for this were Theological in nature, not scientific. According to the Church the Earth was a special place in the Universe, because God had chosen the Earth to be Man's home. By the sixteenth century Science had progressed to the point where this view of the Universe became increasingly untenable as it did not agree with observations about planetary motion. To resolve the difficulties created by these observations Copernicus had published from his deathbed a new theory proposing that the planets moved around the Sun in nearly circular orbits. Copernicus theory seemed to agree much better with what was known at the time about planetary motion. Galileo being perhaps the greatest scientist of his time immediately saw that the Copernican theory must be right, and debated the matter with people holding the opposite view at the University where he was a renowned professor, Mathematician and Scientist. For a while debates, arguments and counterarguments followed, until in July 1609 Galileo found the definitive proof that the Copernican theory was right. The story has been recounted in the "Starry Messenger" by Galileo. He had seen a toy sold by a Flemish spectacle maker in Venice which made distant objects look like they were near. Galileo bought the toy and did not rest until he had figured out how it worked. He then turned the toy into a scientific instrument, and the first telescope was born. Galileo soon turned his invention towards the heavens, and he almost immediately made a number of groundbreaking discoveries. When he observed Jupiter he noticed that Jupiter had Moons just like the Earth had, and by observing the Moons of Jupiter and Jupiter on successive nights he soon discovered that the Moons of Jupiter clearly orbited Jupiter, not the Earth, as they were supposed to by the Ptolomaic theory taught by the Church. This was the definitive proof that the Ptolomaic theory was just plain wrong. He started to teach this but trouble soon ensued. Galileo had been ordered by the Church that he could not discuss the Copernican theory except as a Hypothesis. When Pope Urban VIII became the Pope Galileo was greatly encouraged, because as Cardinal Maffeo Barberini prior to being elected Pope Urban VIII, he had been a great admirer of Galileo. When the new Pope was elected, Galileo had an interview with him and was told that he could teach the Copernican theory, but only as a Hypothesis, and he was not allowed to teach it as the "objective truth". In 1632 Galileo published this great book in which he debated the two systems between three protagonists. One of them called Simplicio (roughly simple-minded) was defending the Ptolomaic Theory and two others called Salviati and Sagredo defended the Copernican view. All the various arguments that had been offered by Simplicio for the Ptolomaic theory were demolished skillfully one by one by the clever Salviati and Sagredo. Unfortunately Urban VIII got furious, because some of his own arguments ended up in the mouth of Simplicio. He felt that Galileo had made a fool of him, and so he ordered the Inquisition to summon Galileo and he was tried and convicted of Heresy. Galileo protested that he followed the injunction he had been given, and only taught the Theory as a Hypothesis, but the Inquisition's powerful judges did not accept his argument and convicted him. He was placed under house arrest at his own home, and was forced under the threat of being burned alive, to renounce his theories, which he did. His book was banned, but it was too late. It had already become a best seller, and it soon would be published in translation in foreign lands where the Pope had no power. Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems thus changed History. It has also great relevance to today's World. The religious fanatics of today behave much the same way as the Inquisition had in Galileo's time. They bring forth Theological arguments where science is called for. An example of this is the debate about Darwin's theory of Evolution and natural Selection, the basis for most of modern Biology. In spite of absolutely overwhelming scientific evidence in favor of Darwin, ignorant people today still try to discredit Darwin's Theory on essentially Theological not scientific grounds. Evidently, just like the people opposing Galileo who did not succedd, similarly the ignorant Inquisitors of today will not succed. Another example in the modern World are the attempts of the Islamic fascists, who like the Inquisitors in Galileo's time try to force their despicable religious agenda on others by imposition and violence. They will not succeed either, for in the end Reason and Science always prevail.
Feels like it should required reading for everyone..........2005-05-02
During the [in]famous controversy of Galileo and the Church, the actual point of contention was this very work which Galileo published. In the Dialogue, he was supposed to set forth arguments for and agains the Ptolemaic worldview (the unmoving earth in the centre of the universe) and the Copernican (the earth and other planets going around the sun). This book does that, and brilliantly, showing Galileo's resourcefulness as a scientist, philosopher (at least to an extent!) and writer. The charge against him was that rather than being even-handed, the book was clear support of Copernicanism. This is a non-obvious topic but what is obvious is the importance and magnificence of the work in terms of both the subject matter (the importance of the structure of the universe) and method (a colourful dialogue containing heated debate which spans literally dozens of arguments for and against each system).
The work has 3 characters: Salviati who is a Copernican, Simplicio who is an Aristotelian and follower of the Ptolemaic system, and Sagredo, a non-affiliated but intelligent person. They meet and debate over 4 days. The first deals with the question of whether the substance of the heavens is fundamentally different to the earth as well as some other fundamental assertions of Aristotelianism. The second deals with the earth's daily rotation. The third is about the alleged yearly orbit of the earth around the sun. The fourth (considered by Galileo to be the crown of his argument - which is all the more endearing as it is wrong) is about the cause of the tides.
Reading this is especially interesting because [almost!] all of us believe that the earth goes around the sun, so it's easy to just approach this simplistically. But the reality is, it was an actual matter of debate, as the book shows. And no, Galileo does not *prove* the earth moves (contrary to the blurb at the back of the book), rather he proposes some very good arguments. Reading them critically was great at making me question things I consider fundamental.
As per the edition, it contains a very good, readable translation along with Galileo's margin notes and good footnotes which unfortunately aren't matched to the body text so you have to flip forward and back. The only other disappointment was Einstein's simplistic yay-Galileo-boo-obviously-stupid-Church-and-Aristotelianism introduction. Other than that, it's great great great! An absolute milestone in human thought.
A must read for all educated people.......2004-10-13
A scientist who can write! Galileo writes with the intent that his readers understand, he meets you more than half way. There is a wonderful forward by Albert Einstein that is worth the price of the book by itself. And the fascinating introduction places Galileo's writing in its historical context.
If you have any interest in the history of science, this is an essential book to read.
The Dialogues of Galileo - with Modern Solutions.......2000-03-06
This edition of the Dialogues of Galileo Galilei includes mathematical solutions to the problems Galileo treats in plain language and an introduction describing a new cannon-ball experiment of the type used by Galileo that may be used to distinguish between the predictions of General Relativity and the editor's unified field theory. The Dialogues are then more interesting to the modern physics student, as it begins to resemble a review of contemporary mechanics in addition to being a grand old piece of history. Additional forwarding material by Albert Einstein and historical background by translator Stillman Drake make this edition a supurb introduction to the history of physics in which now the correct solutions may be read from the margins in modern physical notation. In addition, a number of illustrations have been added to illustrate old terminology for describing heavenly bodies and to provide portraits of Copernicus, Galileo, and his contemporaries Tycho and Kepler.
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Einstein (World in the Time Of...)
Fiona MacDonald
Manufacturer: Belitha Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 185561717X |
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Leap into the Unknown: Albert Einstein (Cover-to-Cover Novels: Biographical Fiction)
Margo Sorenson
Manufacturer: Perfection Learning
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0780767772 |
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The World in the Time of Albert Einstein (The World in the Time of)
Fiona MacDonald
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
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Binding: Library Binding
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Einstein, Albert
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ASIN: 0791060314 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from New York Times Upfront, published by Thomson Gale on April 18, 2005. The length of the article is 1604 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: 1905: Einstein's 'Miracle Year': how an unknown scientist rewrote the rules of physics, and in the process, changed the world forever.(TIMES PAST)(Biography)
Author: John Schwartz
Publication:
New York Times Upfront (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 18, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 137
Issue: 13
Page: 14(6)
Article Type: Biography
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Colour: For Professional Communicators (Graphic Design in the Computer Age)
Andre Jute
Manufacturer: Trafalgar Square Publishing
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ASIN: 0713470887 |
Amazon.com
This coffee-table book focuses on those inanimate objects placed in the garden to surround and accent its animate life. Divided into four clear sections, "Garden Antiques and Collectibles," "Hanging Baskets and Planters," "Garden Gates and Arches," and "Fountains and Cascades," Garden Accessories is an idea book--a resource for gardeners who've finished the difficult work of planting and now want to add flashes of originality. The photographs here are striking and clear: fountains lit up at sunset, secret gates leading to hidden meadows, wheelbarrows planted with wildflowers. Landscapes vary from high desert to soggy Britain. The point is not to admire any one garden in its entirety, but instead to study the placement of an object within a certain tableau. Garden Accessories will appeal to a wide variety of tastes, from lovers of Grecian urns to fans of elaborate birdhouses. The authors hope to help you figure out the mood you are after--before you head for the garden store and cart something home. --Emily White
Book Description
"Living in a cottage"...does the very thought inspire you? Turn the pages and picture yourself in today's cottage living. Head for the seacoast: a Cape Cod perched on an ocean bluff, or a quaint Gothic-Revival basking in island breezes. Then sample lakeside living, in a board-and-batten cabin or a contemporary rustic lodge. Experience the spacious skies of a country meadow, in an American farmhouse on a country road, a French stone chaumiere, or an English thatched-roof cottage. Then try an Adirondack mountain log home, or Swiss Alpine chalet. Alongside the entrancing photos, you'll see how to choose a setting and a style, then design, build, and furnish it. Helpful tips show how to decorate for comfort and personal expression. Don't miss the outdoor living ideas for screened rooms, porches, and decks. Even if you live in a city, you can bring the romance of cottage spirit to your life.
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Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Medicine in Bible and Talmud, Jerusalem, December 7-9, 1987
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 9004091122 |
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Lucky Box: A Guide to Modern Living
Harvey Benge
Manufacturer: Dewi Lewis Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1899235930 |
Book Description
Harvey Benge scavenges the urban landscape in his quest for the bizarre and the absurd. He thrives on the everyday moments of ordinary life as he searches for the ambiguities and tensions that lie beneath modern urban living. Taken in Tokyo, New York, Sydney, Paris and London Benge's photographs remind you just how weird the world is when you really start paying attention. This is Harvey Benge's fifth book on the subject of urban landscape.
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Chicano Writers: Third Series (Dictionary of Literary Biography)
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0787631035 |
Books:
- Angiospserm Pollen And Ovules
- Antennas Photosyn Bacteria (Springer Series in Chemical Physics)
- Aphids As Virus Vectors
- Arizona Cacti and Succulents Book 1 (Life on the desert painted by Erni Cabat)
- Aspects of Tropical Mycology (British Mycological Society Symposia)
- Bacterial and Bacteriophage Genetics: An Introduction (Springer Series in Microbiology)
- Bacterial Chemotaxis Model (Distinguished lecture series of the Society of General Physiologists ; v. 2)
- Bacterial genetics and temperate phage (Selected papers in biochemistry)
- Bacterial Outer Membranes
- Beginner's guide to seaweeds
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