Galaxies and How to Observe Them (Astronomers' Observing Guides)

Book Description

Galaxies are perhaps the most popular of all visual targets that are sought after by visual observers. At present the only way to get up-to-date information, is to query various (often highly technical) speciality books or digging deeply into the Internet. This can be a time consuming and often frustrating task, as the data aren’t often compatible. This book satisfies the need for a modern, comprehensive review in combining the three major aspects: the physical background on the nature and data of galaxies, the relevant instrumentation and viewing techniques, and finally the targets and their individual appearance in telescopes of various apertures. To illustrate the latter, a comprehensive sample of galaxies, including quasars, groups and clusters of galaxies is presented. This combination of theoretical knowledge and practical information guarantees successful observing sessions. The book could become a standard source on galaxy observing for all kinds of amateur observers, from the beginner to the experienced.

Customer Reviews:

A very good book.......2007-10-04

It is excellent writting, comprehensive, analytical and all subjects well presented and in the appropriate order.

most up-to-date, clearly structured reference book on galaxy observing.......2007-08-13

Wolfgang Steinicke was the leading author of the german "Praxishandbuch Deep Sky"(Kosmos 2004), which I like very much. So I started reading his new book on Galaxies with high expectations...and I was not disappointed :
I believe this is the most up-to-date, clearly structured reference book on galaxy observing - satisfying a very broad range of interests.
In three major sections, the authors not only address the needs of the most ambitious observers, but frequently add encouraging hints for beginners as well.
I recommend it A) as a reading book to gain a broader knowledge
and B) as an excellent planning guide when you want to observe MUCH MORE than the most commonly known galaxies.
SECTION I (70 pages) provides a basic understanding of the different types of galaxies and clusters, plus all those data that are important for visually observing them.
Chapter 1 explains different galaxy classification schemes, special cases and pecularities - then chapter 2 introduces pairs, groups and clusters of galaxies and shows their place within the hierarchy of the universe.
Chapter 3 presents a well structured overview for many different types of galaxy catalogs, containing galaxy data and nomenclatures. Advantages/disadvantages of these catalogs are discussed and their data quality is critically judged.
I strongly recommend to study this chapter 3 on catalogs first, because the same presentation structure is followed in the later SECTION III on observing programs.
SECTION II (33 pages) covers the Technical Aspects on observing galaxies.
Key technical instrumentation aspects are only summarized briefly (chap.4), but the Theory of Visual Observation (chap.5), together with practical recommendations on observing, star hopping and observing logs (chap.6) demonstrate the authors very broad experience in finding, identifying faint galaxies and documenting them.
SECTION III (110 pages) on "What to Observe? - The Objects" contains the largest, most valuable part of the book.
An instructive combination of "photo/textual" descriptions presents a large number of objects in the most "objective" way :
Not counting individual galaxies inside groups or clusters (though mentioned in the tables), a total of 500 objects are listed in data tables - following that same structure introduced in SECTION I. Each data table is immediately followed by a separate table with textual descriptions. Around 600 such descriptions are given, based on the visual appearance of each object with different instruments: 1. binocular (if possible),
2. medium aperture telescope(6-10"), 3. large telescope(13-20", sometimes larger).
All these observation descriptions in chapters 7 to 10 stem from renowned observers; e.g. Steve Gottlieb, Steve Coe, beside the authors.
Chapter 7 suggests a variety of Observing Programs, based on
a) M-, NGC/IC- or UGC- CATALOGS
b) Sky Areas and constellations
Chapter 8 suggests selection criteria which are dependent on the characteristics of the individual galaxy; i.e. by sorting them by their distance or by their appearance.
Chapter 9 concentrates on Groups and Clusters; i.e. by listing a) pairs and trios, b) small groups and chains, then c) clusters.
Chapter 10 finally suggests interesting targets "off the beaten path" or in the category of "ultimate challenge".
My reason for mentioning all these details is to demonstrate that this book is quite well organized - especially for all those readers with a minimal amount of patience and learning will.

There is only one unfortunate omission : Springer printed the 1.edition of this unique reference book without a page index !!!
However, after I emailed the author, he swiftly produced an INDEX OF ALL OBJECTS (xls), which can easily be downloaded
from the (Homepage Wolfgang Steinicke).

A Wealth of Information, Poorly Organized.......2007-04-17

This book is filled with a lot of really interesting information on galaxies. However, it is extremely disorganized. My copy of this book is now full of bookmarks to help me find information later. Why? This book has no index. Let me repeat that--this book has NO INDEX. This is an unforgivable sin for any reference book! Furthermore, the subtitle is "and how to observe them." There is not a clue about how to observe galaxies. Instead, the pictures of galaxies are taken through large professional telescopes that for the most part are not even identified. There are observer's descriptions for some galaxies, but most of these are through 20" and larger telescopes. Only a few descriptions are for telescope sizes you might be likely to own.

On the plus side, there are a number of pointers to more information sources, but often these are given in large, undifferentiated lists, instead of the authors making specific recommendations.

Some of the descriptions of galactic structure and evolution are extremely sparse. You won't find a clear definition of Seyfert galaxies, for example.

If you're looking for a definitive work on galaxies, this isn't it. But if you want to learn some interesting facts, you might find this book a fun read. You'll probably come away with some observing ideas as well, but stock up on bookmarks!

In Search of Dark Matter (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)

Average customer rating:

In Search of Dark Matter
An EXCELLENT book on Dark Matter
Excellent Book

In Search of Dark Matter (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)
Ken Freeman , and Geoff McNamara
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Astrophysics & Space Science | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Universe | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Infinite Cosmos: Questions from the Frontiers of Cosmology
Dark Cosmos: In Search of Our Universe's Missing Mass and Energy
The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
The State of the Universe: A Primer in Modern Cosmology
The New Physics for the Twenty-First Century

Accessories:

Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society: An Interdisciplinary Approach
A Companion to Astronomy and Astrophysics: Chronology and Glossary with Data Tables

ASIN: 0387276165

Book Description

The dark matter problem is one of the most fundamental and profoundly difficult problems in the history of science. Not knowing what makes up most of the mass in the Universe goes to the heart of our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. In Search of Dark Matter is the story of the emergence of the dark matter problem, from the initial 'discovery' of dark matter by Jan Oort to contemporary explanations for the nature of dark matter and its role in the origin and evolution of the Universe.

Written for the intelligent non-scientist and scientist alike, it spans a variety of scientific disciplines, from observational astronomy to particle physics. Concepts that the reader will encounter along the way are at the cutting edge of scientific research. However the themes are explained in such a way that no prior understanding of science beyond a high school education is necessary.

Customer Reviews:

In Search of Dark Matter.......2007-08-04

I found this book to be very informative, up to date, and could be understood by the layman

An EXCELLENT book on Dark Matter.......2007-05-10

This book sets out the evidence for missing matter in the universe in an entertaining yet thorough way. There is virtually no math in the entire book, and yet each subject area is treated fully. I had thought the first evidence for dark matter was star rotation rates in galaxies as set out by Vera Rubin and others. However this book traces the roots of the "something is wrong with our picture of the universe" back to the 1930s and Fritz Zwicky and Jan Oort--two astronomers who could not be more different from each other. And that is another strength of this book--we learn something about Zwicky and Oort without being seriously sidetracked.

"In Search of Dark Matter" strikes a perfect balance between moving the story along (and it does read like a story) and stopping here and there for brief asides about the personalities and milieu involved at the various stages of dark matter research. Finally, alternatives such as MOND theory are discussed. This book is not a deep tome--it is only roughly 150 pages. But it certainly piqued my interest and made me want to find out more. The authors succeed in bringing up most topics assuming little or no background in astronomy, yet don't get mired explaining the basics. A great read!

Excellent Book.......2007-02-22

The book is very well organized and enjoyable to read. Well done!

Average customer rating:

MASTERPIECE OF BEAUTY AND TRUTH
Dated, but a Masterpiece
A Classic of Relativity Theory
God is the geometer (maybe)
Please create an audio adaptation ...

Space, Time, Matter
Hermann Weyl
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astrophysics & Space Science | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Relativity | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Symmetry
The Theory of Groups and Quantum Mechanics
The Continuum: A Critical Examination of the Foundation of Analysis
The Classical Groups: Their Invariants and Representations
Lectures on Quantum Mechanics

ASIN: 0486602672

Book Description

"A classic of physics ... the first systematic presentation of Einstein's theory of relativity."—British Journal for Philosophy and Science. Long one of the standard texts in the field, this excellent introduction probes deeply into Euclidean space, Riemann's space, Einstein's general relativity, gravitational waves and energy, and laws of conservation.

Customer Reviews:

MASTERPIECE OF BEAUTY AND TRUTH.......2006-06-26

Weyl's book is most famous for introducing gauge theory, which was later reborn in the form of phase transformations in quantum theory. Weyl did not live guite long enough to hear of the latter being applied by Yang and Mills, though he socially interacted with Yang in his last year at Princeton.

Einstein and Pauli both criticized Weyl's original unified theory based on general relativity using a length gauge, both as implying false empirical consequences (Einstein), since it implied tiny changes of length dependent on path and as untestable (Pauli). (Obviously it could not both be empirically false and non-empirical.) Yet Eddington and later Einstein himself revived similar theories. Eddington claimed that the length differences were to tiny as to be undetectable, but also that his own gauge theory could be thought of not as literal space/time structure but as a geometrization of an abstract background theory for specific space/time structures.

Thomas Ryckman's "The Reign of Relativity" (Oxford, 1995)has an excellent eighty page discussion of these ideas of Weyl in relativity, as well as chapters on those of Eddington in the 1920s.

Another novelty is Weyl's suggestion that General Relativity could be tied to observation via the conformal structure as representing light cones and the projective structure as particles in free fall. This alternative to the rods and clocks approach, on the basis of which Weyl was criticized, has been developed by Ehlers (who edited the new German edition of this work) Pirani and Schild.

Weyl also introduces what he calls "tensor densities" which Shouten called "Weyl tensors" and Synge and Schild call oriented tensors, often called twisted tensors. These are analogous to and include "axial vectors."

Weyl's introduction of the "affine connection" after criticism of Levi-Civita's notion of parallelism led the way to further notions of connections and generalization of the notion of connection as such by Elie Cartan and others.

These are but a few of the intellectual gems in this work.

The philosophical parts are, unfortunately, almost uniformly mistranslated. The phenomenological introduction is re-translated in Kockelmans and Kisiel, eds. "Phenomenology and the Natural Sciences." (Courant suggested Weyl as successor to Husserl in the philosophy chair at Goettingen!) This together with the misprints in formulas, makes it desirable that the whole book be retranslated.

Dated, but a Masterpiece.......2004-12-30

In 1918, Hermann Weyl developed a theory of the combined gravitational-electromagnetic field that was based on an early form of today's gauge formalism. This book neatly summarizes Weyl's motivations for what can be considered the first serious attempt at unified field theory. This attempt failed, but the gauge idea did not, and in 1929 Weyl transformed it into the gauge-invariant concept of quantum mechanics. Today, gauge invariance is arguably the most profound concept in modern quantum theory, and our understanding of the strong and weak nuclear interactions would not have been possible without it.

Weyl was first and foremost a mathematician, but he also proved to be a visionary theoretical physicist who was greatly admired by the likes of Einstein, Pauli, Dirac and Heisenberg. He was also a great human being who was involved with humanity. In spite of its great age, Space-Time-Matter has earned a place of distinction in the physics literature, if only because of Weyl's gauge idea. The Dover edition costs next to nothing; get it and enlighten yourself.

A Classic of Relativity Theory.......2001-07-30

Not long after Einstein published his general theory of relativity one of the greatest mathematician of his time trumped it. Space-Time-Matter has been published by Dover press for a very long time. My copy was put out in the 5o's. I bought it used in the late 60's. I have never regretted buying it. It is difficult reading even when you know what he is talking about: when I got it , it read like Greek. It isn't an easy read, but he predicts a tenth planet in it that was never found! And lays the foundation of what later became gauge theory. He introduces group theory at a time when quantum groups were just beginning. His tensor discussion is very basic and he doesn't even introduce the Weyl tensor! But he taught me the basic metrical equations and the applications of non Euclidean geometry to relativity. Together with Weinberg's flawed Cosmology this book has been my teacher. I wish I could say he did a good job, but since it took me years to wade through it without falling asleep, I can't say he did!

God is the geometer (maybe).......2001-05-20

This book is esoteric initiation into spacetime physics. Written with intellectual passion, full of powerful insights & alluring legions of equations- you will enjoy even by immersion in its spirit. Read it slowly and in awe: witness great ideas grow & collapse. Not a textbook, proven wrong in not few points, this is a mutable & profound vision of reality by one of the last universal mathematicians. If you want profit- look elsewhere.

Please create an audio adaptation ..........1999-06-02

To the publisher I would appreciate it if the publisher could produce an audio adaptation of this book. I would love to listen to this while I drive to work and to let my 16 month old son listen to it as a bedtime story. Arnold D Veness

Astrophysical Formulae: Volume I & Volume II: Radiation, Gas Processes and High Energy Astrophysics / Space, Time, Matter and Cosmology (Astronomy and Astrophysics Library)

Average customer rating:

Astrophysical Formulae: Volume I & Volume II: Radiation, Gas Processes and High Energy Astrophysics / Space, Time, Matter and Cosmology (Astronomy and Astrophysics Library)
Kenneth R. Lang
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Astrophysics & Space Science | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Mechanics | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Reference | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Astrophysical Quantities
Astrophysics Of Gaseous Nebulae And Active Galactic Nuclei
Practical Statistics for Astronomers (Cambridge Observing Handbooks for Research Astronomers)
Radiative Processes in Astrophysics
Cosmological Inflation and Large-Scale Structure

Accessories:

In Search of Dark Matter (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)
Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society: An Interdisciplinary Approach
A Companion to Astronomy and Astrophysics: Chronology and Glossary with Data Tables

ASIN: 3540296921

Book Description

Kenneth Lang's classic work Astrophysical Formulae. (Vol. I and II) is now available as soft cover edition in a set. This volume is a reference source of fundamental formulae in physics and astrophysics. In contrast to most of the usual compendia it carefully explains the physical assumptions entering the formulae. All the important results of physical theories are covered: electrodynamics, hydrodynamics, general relativity, atomic and nuclear physics, and so on. Over 2100 formulae are included, and the original papers for the formulae are cited together with papers on modern applications in a bibliography of over 1900 entries. For the third edition (first published in 1999), a chapter on space, time, matter and cosmology had been included and the other chapters carefully revised.

Average customer rating:

Far more than a review

The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole
Fulvio Melia
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Astrophysics & Space Science | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Universe | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Physics And Chemistry of the Interstellar Medium
The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
Cosmic Catastrophes: Exploding Stars, Black Holes, and Mapping the Universe
Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Cosmos
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

ASIN: 0691131295

Book Description

Here, one of the world's leading astrophysicists provides the first comprehensive and logically structured overview of the many ideas and discoveries pertaining to the supermassive black hole at the galactic center known as Sagittarius A*. By far the closest galactic nucleus in the universe, Sagittarius A* alone can provide us with a realistic expectation of learning about the physics of strong gravitational fields, and the impact of such fields on the behavior of matter and radiation under severe physical conditions. Its proximity may even provide the opportunity to directly test one of general relativity's most enigmatic predictions--the existence of closed pockets of space-time hidden behind an event horizon.

The plethora of research on Sagittarius A* since its discovery in 1974 has long seemed an interwoven pattern of loose threads. No one has successfully synthesized this growing body of work into a manageable, coherent book both for professional researchers and for students taking courses focusing on black holes and galactic nuclei--until now. With Fulvio Melia's The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole, readers finally have at their disposal a one-volume crucible of essential ideas, logically streamlined but with thorough references for those wishing to explore the various topics in greater depth.

Customer Reviews:

Far more than a review.......2007-04-26

Melia is well known in the Galactic center community, not only for having
worked in this field for almost two decades, but also for having written
an excellent, highly cited review article for Annual Reviews of Astronomy
and Astrophysics. This book takes takes off from that review, but is far,
far more than that. Though this field of research is now relatively mature
(having started in the early 1970s), no one has yet attempted to write a
scientifically meaningful book about it before. Melia's book is therefore
the first. Fortunately, it is also exceptionally good. Given how well this
black hole is being studied now, there will no doubt be other books to
follow, but it will be difficult to maintain this level of excellence.
Melia weaves together the history of Sagittarius A* with observations
(including breath-taking images), and theory. The book even includes a
self-contained chapter on general relativity---at least the parts that
are relevant to this object. For someone like me, a young graduate
student just getting my feet wet in this field, I couldn't have thought
of anything better to start with. I highly recommend it.

Space, Time, Matter, and Form: Essays on Aristotle's Physics (Oxford Aristotle Studies)

Average customer rating:

Space, Time, Matter, and Form: Essays on Aristotle's Physics (Oxford Aristotle Studies)
David Bostock
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Greek & Roman | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Aristotle: Metaphysics Theta: Translated with an Introduction and Commentary (Clarendon Aristotle Series)
Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics, Books II--IV: Translated with an Introduction and Commentary (Clarendon Aristotle Series)
Time for Aristotle (Oxford Aristotle Studies)
One and Many in Aristotle's Metaphysics: The Central Books
Truth, Etc.

ASIN: 0199286868

Book Description

Space, Time, Matter, and Form collects ten of David Bostock's essays on themes from Aristotle's Physics, four of them published here for the first time. The first five papers look at issues raised in the first two books of the Physics, centred on notions of matter and form, and the idea of substance as what persists through change. They also range over other of Aristotle's scientific works, such as his biology and psychology and the account of change in his De Generatione et Corruptione. The volume's remaining essays examine themes in later books of the Physics, including infinity, place, time, and continuity. Bostock argues that Aristotle's views on these topics are of real interest in their own right, independent of his notions of substance, form, and matter; they also raise some pressing problems of interpretation, which these essays seek to resolve.

Average customer rating:

Unique Among Anthologies

Material Constitution
Michael Rea
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Metaphysics | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Objects and Persons
How Things Might Have Been: Individuals, Kinds, and Essential Properties
Material Beings
The Human Animal: Personal Identity without Psychology (Philosophy of Mind Series)
Person and Object: A Metaphysical Study (Muirhead Library of Philosophy)

ASIN: 0847683842

Book Description

The only anthology available on material constitution, this book collects important recent work on well known puzzles in metaphysics and philosophy of mind. The extensive, clearly written introduction helps to make the essays accessible to a wide audience.

Customer Reviews:

Unique Among Anthologies.......2002-07-31

The problems of material constitution arise from the fact that material objects can be constituted of different parts at different times (or, for the modal versions of the problems, at different possible worlds). They are among the trickiest and most fascinating metaphysical problems, on a par with the problems of free will or time. This book is the only anthology dedicated to this area of metaphysics, and for that reason alone it is invaluable to a contemporary analytical metaphysician.

Work in this area tends to focus around variations on three or four different puzzles. To give you an idea of what this book is about, I will consider one of these puzzles and the various proposed solutions to it: the puzzle of Tibbles the cat.

The original version of this puzzle is attributed by Peter Geach to the medieval philosopher William of Sherwood, but a similar puzzle dates back to the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus (circa 200 B. C.). A simplified version is as follows. Suppose Tibbles the cat's tail is severed from his body and destroyed at time T. Prior to T, Tibbles was divisible into two parts: his tail, and the rest of him, which we can call "Tibbles-Minus". (Tibbles minus his tail, that is.) That he was thus divisible is shown by the fact that at T Tibbles' tail was separated from Tibbles-Minus. Now Tibbles, unfortunate cat though he may be, survived this injury, and so did Tibbles-Minus. But since his tail was destroyed, all that remains of Tibbles is Tibbles-Minus. So after T Tibbles and Tibbles-Minus occupy exactly the same region of space. But two distinct material objects cannot occupy the same place at the same time, so it seems that after T Tibbles is identical to Tibbles-Minus. And yet, Tibbles *cannot* be identical to Tibbles-Minus, because Tibbles has properties that Tibbles-Minus does not--for instance, the property of having once had a tail, and the property of having lost a tail, not to mention the property of being a cat. (Likewise Tibbles-Minus has properties Tibbles does not have, like having been attached to a cat's tail and having occupied a smaller volume than Tibbles.)

I have presented the problem informally, but it can be presented with formal logical rigor so as to yield a contradiction from premises that are individually quite plausible. The different solutions to this puzzle all deny one or another of the premises that generate the contradiction. Here are three of the ones considered in this book:

(1) Co-locationism. This view says that there can be two distinct material objects that are made of the same atoms (or elementary particles) and are in the same place at the same time. Indeed, there can be more than two, perhaps innumerably many. The puzzle is solved by denying the premise that says this kind of co-location is impossible. On one version of this view, what is impossible is not that two material objects should be in the same place at the same time, but that two material objects of the same *kind* should be in the same place at the same time. Thus, it is held, a statue can be co-located with the lump of clay it is made of. (But they are not the same thing; the lump of clay existed before the statue did.) The clay, after all, is just the material of which the statue is made, and there is no reason the material cannot be in the same place as the object made.

(2) Eliminativism. This view says that one of the two material objects in question--either Tibbles or Tibbles-Minus, perhaps both--do not exist. According to one version of this view, Tibbles exists, but his tail and Tibbles-Minus do not. What exist in their place, rather, are elementary particles (or perhaps atoms and molecules, or cells) arranged spatially in a certain way. But these particles do not *compose* any bigger object, just as the molecules in a liter of air do not compose any bigger whole. On another version, there is no Tibbles either, just a lot of tiny particles arranged in a complex pattern.

(3) Temporal parts theory. On this view Tibbles and Tibbles-Minus are not co-located and do not have the same parts even though they occupy a certain common spatial region at a certain time. This is because Tibbles and Tibble-Minus are extended in time as well as in space; just as they have spatial parts extending in various spatial directions, so they have temporal parts extending from past to future. Or better, they have *spatiotemporal* parts extending through a region of spacetime. It so happens that Tibbles and Tibbles-Minus coincide (have common parts) in the part of Tibbles' career that follows the loss of his tail. But prior to this they do not coincide; rather Tibbles-Minus is a part of Tibbles. Thus, there are two different objects, which do not have the same parts or the same spatiotemporal location, so that there is no problem as to how they could be distinct.

Unfortunately I lack space to go through the other solutions in the anthology, or even to adequately explain these three. But then my purpose is tell you something about the book, not to replace it. If you want to know more, you'll have to get ahold of it.

Strange Matters: Undiscovered Ideas at the Frontiers of Space and Time
Average customer rating:

Passionless and paradoxical

Disappointing, misleadingly tame, and cheesy

The strange and the stranger

Great Book

A Great Book!

Strange Matters: Undiscovered Ideas at the Frontiers of Space and Time
Tom Siegfried
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
Universe | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Science | Subjects | Books
Cosmology | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Cosmology | Astronomy | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
General | Physics | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Bit and the Pendulum: From Quantum Computing to M Theory-The New Physics of Information

The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications

A Beautiful Math: John Nash, Game Theory, And the Modern Quest for a Code of Nature

Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information Is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from Our Brains to Black Holes

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality

ASIN: 0425194175
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Book Description

Twentieth-century physics was a long, strange trip indeed. Stranger still is what might lie ahead. In this startling book, science writer Tom Siegfried takes us into a weird world of quark nuggets, selectrons, quintessence, and quantum cosmology and introduces us to some of the most imaginative ideas being batted about by scientists today, from funny energy to mirror matter to two-timing universes. In addition, he reviews theories of the past both proven and unproven-offering us a grounding in our scientific history as well as an informed and intriguing look at the possibilities of tomorrow.

Customer Reviews:

Passionless and paradoxical.......2005-03-05

"Strange Matters: Undiscovered Ideas at the Frontiers of Space and Time" Tom Siegfried

"Strange Matters" is a sweeping survey of some recent developments in theoretical physics. It is divided into three groups of chapters, entitled "Strange Matter," "Strange Frontiers," and "Strange Ideas." Each chapter connects a recent development with an earlier theoriest, for example "From Einstein's Greatest Mistake to the Universe's Accelerating Expansion."

This book is apparently intended for a general reader with no special training in physics. No math is used. That said, a reader who has already read a few books of this type will probably find the text both frustratingly generalized and annoying overinvested in a math that nevertheless does not appear. The truly general reader will likely find the text readable but dull.

That's an odd bunch of assertions, so let's take it from the top.

For starters, the writing style is somewhat funky. The author is by trade a journalist (he writes for the Dallas Morning News), and the writing is permeated with the style of contemporary journalism: lots of sentence fragments and comma splices, and nary a semi-colon in sight. The tone is aloof and unemotional, yet returns perennially to its preoccupations. The effect is like watching a CNN report done as a 300 page newspaper article. Readily graspable, but not very elegant or imaginative (that was a sentence fragment). Maybe I'm just oversensitive because I'm a teacher.

More importantly, however, the author has an annoying overinvestment in math that clouds the presentation with shaky reasoning. For example, one theme of the text is the capacity of math to "prediscover" elements of physical reality. Thus, Murray Gell-Mann "prediscovered" quarks, Pauli "prediscovered" neutrinos, and Einstein "prediscovered" gravitational lensing. But this is a distortion of language in service of a personal ideology, as American journalists are so prone to doing. When I am half-way to work I have not "prearrived"; when a woman is 4 months pregnant the baby has not been "predelivered." You are not "prefinished" reading this review. Neither does math prediscover anything, which is an oxymoron. The author is merely dressing up the plain idea of prediction.

But there's more to it. The author's use of "prediscovery" is made possible by his belief that math forms the most basic level of reality in the universe. On virtually every page we read that nature totters after math like a toddler being led around on a leash by a calculator. If that judgement seems harsh or improbable, consider this quotation:

"So there is no mystery, [cognitive scientists] say. We impose our math on the world in order to describe it. That's why math works. Frankly, I am not impressed by this argument. Although it is surely true [...] that math is a human invention, it does not logically follow that the universe does not live by mathematical laws. The idea of math as a human invention may explain much of its success. But I do not see how it explains the way that math reveals unseen, even unimagined, features of reality. [...] But perhaps exploring the prediscoveries of the past and the potential prediscoveries of today can provide some clues to that mystery." (9-10).

I would call this a circular argument. First the author arbitrarily installs math at the centre of the universe, and then he invents the tool of "prediscovery" with which to authenticate that claim. My suspicion throughout this text was that the author is basically arguing from a Christian-creationist position, and this may not be wrong; we finally get to the bible in Chapter 8. Leaving this speculation aside, if you've read Spinoza or are familiar with Pythagoras, Plato, or de Chardin, there's nothing new here.

Anyway, if you do like math, as I do, you will also be disappointed. There are no equations to stare at and puzzle out. More pertinently, there is also no depth of detail in most of the chapters. When we encounter quantum entanglement or black holes, the author merely waves us by with a few fairly widely-known facts and more talk about the wonder of math. That's the journalistic writing style again.

Actually, I think its lack of wonder is my most serious complaint about this book. It's bad enough that it's a book about math with no math in it, but it's also a book about wonder with no wonder in it. There is little imaginative speculation, and even less marvelling at recent jaw-slackening developments in cosmology and theoretical physics.

If I had to sum up this book in a word, I would call it suburban. It is polite and accomplished, orderly and discrete. It is very organized and comfortable. You will not encounter anything shocking to middle-class sensibilities. You will not be asked to leave your driveway, though you *will* be asked to keep off the mathematical grass (it's just been sprayed!). But a suburb is also a limiting, troubled place, and throughout this book I was frequently reminded of the film "Pleasantville."

If you are looking for a book that's both more scientifically rigorous and less uptight, then I suggest either Brian Greene or Stephen Hawking. For a more personal account, try Janna Levin or George Gamow.

Disappointing, misleadingly tame, and cheesy.......2004-07-16

I'm fascinated by the peripherals of science--dark matter, black holes, string theory--so in theory I should love a book like this. In theory.

The universe is strange (thanks mostly to Quantum Mechanics). The title of this book implies an analysis of how strange the universe can be in the borderlands of science. However, if you want a book about how strange the universe *isn't*, than this book is for you. The title is betrayed by the tame speculations and interpretations of concepts that are better outlined in entry-level astronomy textbooks (like WIMPs and black holes). Siegfried's conclusions emphasize how unified and harmonic the universe is, how in sync the universe is w/ our math. That's fine, that's reasonable, it's also bait and switch. If you want an unprovocative book, get this. I expected a cutting-edge, substantive analysis of the "strange matters" out there, like dark matter, "cosmic fluid", string theory--an analysis that is unafraid to balance what we do know w/ what is possible. What I got was science for Victorian tea-sippers, biographies of the likes of Einstein (that's all fine and good...for books about EINSTEIN, this is a book about STRANGE MATTERS), and groaningly lame cultural references (that are allegedly, jokes). Behold, the first popular science book that has a footnote on Nancy Kerrigan! I really wanted an indepth and comprehensive analysis of dark matter, I didn't get it.

Also, I found Siegfried's writing uninspired and confusing, and I'm someone who has a basic understanding of the material. I don't know how much use it would be to someone who has just heard of the photoelectric effect and gluons. Of course, the bad jokes make you want to skip a couple of paragraphs and you get lost. I'd recommend "Borderlands of Science" by Sheffield instead as the text that fullfills the promise of "Strange Matters" title and subtitle. Also the works of Greene and Gribbin for string theory and black holes. "The Universe Next Door" by Chown, a book I haven't read, also looks promising. Skip this unless you've had a serious deficit of Nancy Kerrigan references in your life.

The strange and the stranger.......2002-12-13

Siegfried not only manages to make some very strange theories (like dark matter, superstrings, etc.) reasonably intelligible but also gives us an understanding of the kind of people who develop them. He also tackles some interesting questions, e.g. how can a set of equations (such as Maxwell's) turn out to yield more information than the writer put into them? How do pre-discoveries occur?

The book can be tough going at times but always interesting.

A personal note: many times when researchers are contending about esoterica, I found myself asking: so what? What difference do any of these issues make to people outside the field? Why should we care whether there are superstrings or not?

Great Book.......2002-11-12

Tom Siegfried really knows how to explain things. Parallel universes, superstrings, anti-matter--what the &$%! are all these things??? I admit at times I've always wondered whether the physicists are making it all up, it all sounds so odd. Siegfried, however, presents all these concepts lucidly, with flair and wit as a bonus. It is, indeed, a strange, strange world that we live in.

A Great Book!.......2002-11-11

This book is a wonderful adventure that takes you to the edge of forefront thinking and beyond, with all the historical background you need to make sense of it all. (I don't know what that negative reviewer was thinking: The New York Times was so inspired by this book it ran an entire essay based on this book in its "Arts and Ideas" section.) Siegfried is the best. Honest, clear, interesting, original. Everything you ever wanted to know about matters that are strange, and probably even true. Quark stars? Mirror matter? A universe shaped like a donut? How about multiple universes? Multiple dimensions? This isn't science fiction, folks. Just science writing at its best. The perfect holiday gift for everyone you know who's curious about the unreasonably fantastic universe we live in.

Espacio, Tiempo, Materia/ Space, Time, Matter

Average customer rating:

Espacio, Tiempo, Materia/ Space, Time, Matter
Xavier Zubiri
Manufacturer: Alianza Editorial Sa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Logic & Language | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Metaphysics | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Religious | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 8420690562

New Light on Dark Stars: Red Dwarfs, Low-Mass Stars, Brown Stars (Springer Praxis Books / Astrophysics and Astronomy)

Average customer rating:

New Light on Dark Stars: Red Dwarfs, Low-Mass Stars, Brown Stars (Springer Praxis Books / Astrophysics and Astronomy)
Neil Reid , and Suzanne L. Hawley
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Red Dwarf | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science Fiction & Fantasy | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 3540251243

Book Description

There has been very considerable progress in research into low-mass stars, brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets during the past few years, particularly since the fist edtion of this book was published in 2000. In this new edtion the authors present a comprehensive review of both the astrophysical nature of individual red dwarf and brown dwarf stars and their collective statistical properties as an important Galactic stellar population. Chapters dealing with the observational properies of low-mass dwarfs, the stellar mass function and extrasolar planets have been completely revised. Other chapters have been significantly revised and updated as appropriate, including important new material on observational techniques, stellar acivity, the Galactic halo and field star surveys. The authors detail the many discoveries of new brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets made since publication of the first edition of the book and provide a state-of-the-art review of our current knowledge of very low-mass stars, brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets, including both the latest observational results and theoretical work.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books