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Nature and Science August 2020
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Hubble Legacy : 30 Years of Discoveries and Images
by
Jim Bell
Looking deep into space, by definition, means looking back in time--and the Hubble Space Telescope can look very far back, including at stars, nebulae, and galaxies that are millions, even billions, of years old.
If there is a single legacy of Hubble as it turns 30 years old and nears the end of its useful life, it is this: It has done more to chronicle the origin and evolution of the known universe than any other instrument ever created.
Hubble has also captured an astounding collection of ultraviolet images that include geysers of solar light, Mars' famous dust storms, exploding stars, solar flares, globular clusters, and actual galaxies colliding.
As for scientific milestones, Hubble has helped us learn that the universe is 13.8 billion years old, that just about every large galaxy features a black hole at its center, and that it's possible to create 3-D maps of dark matter.
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The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World by Sarah Stewart Johnson What it's about: Planetary scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson interweaves the history of Mars exploration with an account of her life and career, both in the lab and out in the field.
For fans of: the intimate blend of science writing and memoir found in Hope Jahren's Lab Girl, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz's The Dance of Life, or Sara Seager's forthcoming The Smallest Lights in the Universe. | |
Charles Darwin's Barnacle and David Bowie's Spider : How Scientific Names Celebrate Adventurers, Heroes, and Even a Few Scoundrels
by
Stephen B. Heard
Ever since Carl Linnaeus's binomial system of scientific names was adopted in the eighteenth century, scientists have been eponymously naming organisms in ways that both honor and vilify their namesakes.
This charming, informative, and accessible history examines the fascinating stories behind taxonomic nomenclature, from Linnaeus himself naming a small and unpleasant weed after a rival botanist to the recent influx of scientific names based on pop-culture icons--including David Bowie's spider, Frank Zappa's jellyfish, and Beyoncé's fly.
Stephen B. Heard's fresh approach shows how scientific names function as a window into both the passions and foibles of the scientific community and as a more general indicator of the ways in which humans relate to, and impose order on, the natural world.
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In the Hearts of the Beasts : How American Behavioral Scientists Rediscovered the Emotions of Animals
by
Anne C. Rose
Animals cannot use words to explain whether they feel emotions, and scientific opinion on the subject has been divided. Charles Darwin believed animals and humans share a common core of fear, anger, and affection.
Today most researchers agree that animals experience comfort or pain. Around 1900 in the United States, however, where intelligence was the dominant interest in the lab and field, animal emotion began as an accidental question.
The history of the American science of animal emotions reveals the ability of animals to teach and scientists to learn.
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The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives... by Wendy Williams What it's about: the past, present, and future of butterflies, and the role of human obsession in discovering their secrets.
Don't miss: the profile of pioneering 17th-century naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian, whose detailed illustrated studies of lepidopteran life cycles shaped the emerging field of entomology.
About the author: Wendy Williams' previous book was the bestselling The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion. | |
How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics
by
Eugenia Cheng
If you dread math, this book might just change your mind. Armed with a seemingly infinite supply of logic, enthusiasm, and baking tips, math professor Eugenia Cheng explains how mathematicians think by focusing on category theory, which she dubs "the mathematics of mathematics."
Employing a blend of accessible lessons, personal anecdotes, and tasty recipes to introduce concepts such as abstraction and axiomatization, Cheng also emphasizes the underlying mathematical mindset that uses logic to discover truth.
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Weird Math: A Teenage Genius & His Teacher Reveal the Strange Connections Between... by David Darling and Agnijo Banerjee What it's about: a science writer and his protégé, a teen prodigy, discuss their favorite mathematical concepts in a style that's accessible without being over-simplistic.
Topics include: the fourth dimension, topology, prime numbers, Turing machines, and infinity.
For fans of: Alex Bellos' Here's Looking at Euclid, Ian Stewart's Visions of Infinity, or Steven Strogatz's The Joy of X. | | Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe by Steven Strogatz What it is: an applied mathematician's surprisingly accessible guide to calculus, which outlines its basic concepts while recounting its history.
Food for thought: "If anything deserves to be called the secret of the universe, calculus is it."
You might also like: mathematician Amir Alexander's similarly engaging Infinitesimal, which also explores a world-changing concept. | |
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Carrollton Public Library 1700 Keller Springs Road, Carrollton Texas 75006 4220 North Josey Lane, Carrollton Texas 75010
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