Students in an introductory physics class learn a variety of different, and seemingly unconnected, concepts. Gravity, the laws of motion, forces and fields, the mathematical nature of the science - all of these are ideas that play a central role in understanding physics. And one thing that connects all of these physical concepts is the impetus the great scientists of the past had to develop them - the desire to understand the motion of the planets of the solar system. This desire led to the revolutionary work of Copernicus and Galileo, Kepler and Newton. And their work forever altered how science is practiced and understood.
Everyone knows that the universe is extremely old and extremely large. But how did scientists determine just how old and how large? How do astronomers know that there are upwards of 100 billion galaxies in the universe if the nearest one is over 40,000 light-years away? How do we know what the stars are made of? The answer is that our current knowledge of the universe has arisen from the work and ideas of scientists and philosophers over hundreds of years. While it's only been during the last several decades that scientists have had the technology and theories to really understand how the universe works, humans have thought about such issues for millennia. And the scientists who today are attempting to understand the most complex issues of the universe build upon the work and thought of the thinkers of the last hundreds of years.
This comprehensive text provides an introduction to basic nuclear
physics, including nuclear decays and reactions and nuclear structure,
while covering the essential areas of basic research and practical
applications. Its emphasis on phenomonology and the results of real
experiments distinguish this from all other texts available.
Discussions of theory are reinforced with examples which illustrate and
apply the theoretical formulism, thus aiding students in their reading
and analysis of current literature. The text is designed to provide a
core of material for students with minimal background in mathematics or
quantum theory and offers more sophisticated material in separate
sections.
Added by: Fruchtzwerg | Karma: 7915.45 | Non-Fiction, Science literature | 28 June 2008
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In this book the author
discusses the political story of the first decade of the reign of George III,
one of the most controversial figures in modern British history. George III has
often been blamed for the loss of Britain’s American colonies in an attempt to
restore royal power.
Peter D. G. Thomas confirms earlier findings that George III was not seeking to
advance royal power and throws light on the extent to which a system of party
politics existed at the time. Although the structure of British politics
provides the setting for this study, America, India, and Ireland are also
considered here as important issues of the time.