Encyclopedia of 20th Century Science, 7 Volume Set

Description:

Twentieth-Century Science is a seven-volume set that explores, decade by decade, how science developed throughout the 20th century and examines the paths science may take during the 21st century. Designed to complement science curricula, the books are a fascinating narrative of the recent advances in science and technology and their far-reaching influence.

Biology Decade by Decade

Biology chronicles the history of this scientific discipline from 1901, documenting the significant discoveries of the 20th century by notable biologists and others in the sciences.

The volume covers the following:

genetics • chemical bonds and molecular structure • war-driven research • microbiology • evolutionary science • DNA • crystallography • HIV and AIDS • penicillin • stem cell research

Each chapter in Biology features milestones of significant events, sidebars that clarify scientific concepts, a "Scientist of the Decade" essay that focuses on a notable individual or event, and a list of print and Internet resources reflecting the time period. The book includes more than 80 photographs and line illustrations, a conclusion that looks at 21st-century issues, an appendix of Nobel Prize winners in biology, a glossary, a list of general print and Internet resources, and an index.

Contents: 

Introduction • 1901 —1910: Breakthroughs in Genetics Set Century's Scientific Tone • An Age of Potential • Milestones • The Grasshopper and the Cytologist • Beyond Mendel: Some Genes Go Together • Linking Sex to the "X" • Chemistry Counts • The Case of the Black Diaper • The First Chemotherapeutic Agent • Nutrition Becomes a Science • Further Reading • 1911 —1920: Research Perseveres in Time of War • Conflict Mocks Human Enlightenment • Milestones • Glimpsing a Geography of Genes • The Cartography of the Chromosome • Bragg, Bragg, and the Birth of Crystallography • Putting Gene Theory to Work • Safe as Milk • The Bacteria Eaters • A Humbling Plague • Further Reading • 1921 —1930: Biology in the Public Arena • The Push and Pull of "Normalcy" • Milestones • Evolutionary Theory Goes to Court • A Giant Misstep for Genetic Science • Another Test Case • Meanwhile, Back at the Lab • A Transforming Principle • Another Magic Bullet • Further Reading • 1931 —1940: Hard Times and Hard Lessons • Depression and Discovery • Milestones • Peering Deeper into the Cell • Making Penicillin Practical • From Minerals to Complex Molecules • Tracking Disease to the Molecular Level • Population Genetics • Toward a Science of Ecology • A Visitor from the Ancient Past • Further Reading • 1941 —1950: A Transformative Time for Microbiology • On the Research Front • Milestones • Asking How Genes Do What They Do • The Fluctuation Test • The Transformative Role of DNA • Chargaff's Rules • Conjugation • An Antibiotic Effective against Tuberculosis • Further Reading • 1951 —1960: The Double Helix Decade • A Crossroads • Milestones • Confirmation in a Blender • The Secret of Life • Tackling the Code • Semiconservative Replication • DNA Polvmerase • Back to Bacteria • Race to Cure Polio Tops Medical News • Stepping Back • Further Reading • 1961 —1970: Code Breakers and Ecologists • A Tumultuous and Pivotal Decade • Milestones • The Cryptographers • Reverse Transcriptase • Terrible Claw • A Bigger Picture • The Silence That Echoed • Further Reading • 1971 —1980: You Say You Want a Revolution? • A New World • Milestones • Genetic Research Crosses a Frontier • Oncogenes • Gene Sequencing • The Cell as Factory • The Biotech Industry • A Dynamic Genome • Evolving Ideas about Evolution • Birds and Beasts • Upright Apes • Further Reading • 1981 —1990: Biotech Booms; AIDS Looms • Broader Horizons, Greater Challenges • Milestones • Polymerase Chain Reaction • Speed Sequencing • The Big Idea • Bio Business, Biotech Breakthroughs • An Unlikely Infectious Agent • AIDS Rears Its Ugly Head • Reevaluating RNA • Even Dinosaurs Had Mothers • Programmed Cell Death • Further Reading • 1991 —2000: Sheep and Stem Cells • A New World • Milestones • The Clone Age • Pharmaceuticals from the Farm • Stem Cells • Shotgun Sequencing • Archaea, Living Fossils • Further Reading • 2001 —2100: What Is to Be Done? • Medicine and Public Health in a Global Village • Genetic Modification and Cloning • The Biosphere • In Search of Consensus • Further Reading • Nobel Prize Winners • Glossary • Further Resources • Index

About the Author: 

Peter Haugen is the author of World History for Dummies and a coauthor of Mental Floss Presents Condensed Knowledge and Mental Floss Presents Forbidden Knowledge. A veteran newspaper journalist, critic, and editor, he has also contributed to Psychology Today and History Magazine, among many other publications. He has taught journalism at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and California State University, Fresno.

Chemistry Decade by Decade

Chemistry is an impressive chronicle of notable achievements in this discipline over the course of the 20th century. This volume is a balanced history of the study of matter and its transformations, the evolution of mystical and spiritual philosophies into unifying theories, and the laws and theorems that illuminate chemistry today.

The volume covers the following:

atoms • inorganic and organic chemistry • biochemistry • the Periodic Table of Elements • quantum theory • materials science • nuclear physics • powerful instrumentation • the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb • nanotechnology

Each chapter in Chemistry features milestones of significant events, sidebars that clarify scientific concepts, a "Scientist of the Decade" essay that focuses on a notable individual or event, and a list of print and Internet resources reflecting the time period. The book includes about 200 photographs and line illustrations, the Periodic Table of Elements, a list of Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, a glossary, a list of general print and Internet resources, and an index.

Contents: 

Introduction • 1901 —1910: Atoms Are Real but Not the Smallest Bits of Matter • Physics Begins to Dramatically Impact Chemistry • The Periodic Table on the Eve and Early Dawn of the Twentieth Century • Milestones • Analysis of Elements by Their Emission Spectra: Enter Quantum Theory • Atoms Are Real: So Say Einstein and Perrin • Hints of Subatomic Structure: Mass and Charge of the Electron • Development of the pH Concept • Transformations of Natural Radioelements: "Nature's Alchemy" • The Earliest Perceptions of Isotopes • Thermodynamics, Kinetics, and the Dream of "Fixing" Atmospheric Nitrogen • Octahedral Coordination Compounds? Stereochemistry to the Rescue! • Column Chromatography: The Beginnings of Modern Separation Science • Advances in Organic Synthesis • A Surprise and a Hint of a New Century of Adventure in Mechanism • Beginnings of Biochemistry as "Super-Organic Chemistry": Sugars and Proteins • "Ferments" and Enzymes • Nucleic Acids • Macromolecules and Colloids: Insights and Confusions • Hormones and Synthetic Drugs • Industrial Processes: Sulfur and Sulfuric Acid • Industrial Processes: Artificial Rubber • Bakelite: The Age of Plastics Begins • Conclusion • Further Reading • 1911 —1920: Discovering the Atomic Nucleus and Understanding the Octet Rule • Insights into the Periodic Table • The Atomic Nucleus: "The Fly in the Cathedral" • Milestones • Measuring Accurate Distances between Atoms or Ions • The Bohr Atom: The Quantum Makes Its Chemical Debut • The "Roll Call" of Elements: The Atomic Number • Valence Electrons: The Octet Rule and Lewis Structures • Hydrogen Bonds between Polar Molecules • Family Relationships between Radioactive Isotopes • Isotopes of Light, Nonradioactive Elements: The Mass Spectrometer • Manipulating Volatile Compounds That React Violently with Air or Water • Rates of Reaction and the Basis for Reaction Mechanisms • Chemical Kinetics of Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions • Thin Films, Monolayers, and a Foretaste of Modern Nanotechnology • Organic Chemistry Spawns Biochemistry • The Vitamin Concept • World War I and Aftermath: Explosives, Chemical Warfare, and the Flu Pandemic • Rubber Is a Macromolecule: Understanding Plastics, Proteins, and DNA • Conclusion • Further Reading • 1921 —1930: The New Quantum Theory and the Rise of Polymer Chemistry • New Theories of Chemical Bonding and Early Mechanistic Chemistry • Discovery of the Final Two Natural Chemical Elements • Milestones • Why Do Electrons Behave As Particles on Mondays but As Waves on Tuesdays? • Atoms and Molecules in the Roaring Twenties: Transition to Quantum Mechanics • Newer Views on Chemical Bonding • Radioactive "Tags": Following Trace Amounts of Metals in Their Travels • Understanding the Explosive Reaction: H₂ + ‘ O₂ ‘ H₂O • Releasing and Recapturing Short-Lived Free Radicals in a Glass Tube • Carbocation Intermediates: Their Formation and Rearrangements • The Ultracentrifuge: Separating and Measuring Masses of Colloidal Particles • Other New Instrumental Techniques: Raman Spectroscopy and Polarography • Synthesizing Nature's Favorite Ring System • Highly Colored Natural Products: Conjugated Polyenes • The Cyclic Structure of Glucose: The Most Abundant Organic Unit in Nature • Six-Membered Rings • Intermediary Metabolism: Fermentation and Respiration • All Enzymes Are Proteins • Understanding and Exploiting Giant Molecules • Making the Most of Coal . • Conclusion • Further Reading 1931 —1940: Nuclear Physics, Natural Products, and the Nature of the Chemical Bond • Artificial Isotopes and the Structures of Important Biological Molecules • Discovery of the Neutron • Milestones • Artificial Radioisotopes: A New World of Tracers • Discovery and Separation of Deuterium • New Elements • Applications of Quantum Theory to Common Chemical Problems • Electronegativity • Approaching Absolute Zero • Step-by-Step Transfonriations of Molecules: Mechanism and Theory • Mechanisms Applied to Organic Chemistry • Let a Thousand Natural Products Bloom: Terpenes, Steroids, and Vitamins • Early Hints about the Structures of Proteins • Intermediary Metabolism of Carbohydrates • The Beckman pH Meter and DU Spectrometer • Sulfa Drugs: Antibacterials Discovered in the Nick of Time • The Discovery of Nylon • Discovery of Nuclear Fission • Conclusion • Further Reading • 1941 —1950: Triumph and Tragedy: Antibiotics and Atom Bombs • Nuclear Chemistry Provides New Elements and a Clock for Archaeologists • New Elements and a New Series in the Periodic Table • Milestones • A Philosopher-Scientist Applies Thermodynamics to Life Processes • Short-Lived Free Radicals in the Laboratory and in Interstellar Space • The First Modern Spectrometers: Accurate Analysis in a "Box" • A New Day in Chromatography and the Dawn of Protein Sequencing • Linus Pauling, the Alpha-Helix, "Complementarity," and Sickle-Cell Anemia • A Revolution in Pharmaceuticals: Making the Old Doctor's Bag Truly Potent • Intermediary Metabolism: Connecting Glycolysis to the Krebs Cycle • The Genetic Material Is DNA? . . . Not Proteins? • Making Benzenes: From Acetylenes and via Zeolites • Chemistry and World War II • Chemistry and the Manhattan Project • Carbon 14: Probing Photosynthesis and Measuring Archaeological Time • Conclusion • Further Reading • 1951 —1960: Unveiling the Structures of Fabulous Biological Molecules • Discoveries of Biosynthetic Pathways and the Structures of DNA and Proteins • A Man-Made Supernova on the Surface of Our Planet • Milestones • Serendipity and "The Renaissance of Inorganic Chemistry" • Novel Structures and New Theories of Bonding • Three New Spectroscopies for Chemical Elements • New Theories of Reactivity in Organic Chemistry • Predicting Reactivities of Organic Molecules • The Absolute Positions in Space of Atoms in Molecules • Measuring Rates of Reactions That Last Microseconds • Exchanging Electrons between Fe2+ and Fe3+: What Could Be Simpler • NAIR Takes the Field • "Nonclassical" Carbocations: Real or Are Our "Chemical Clocks" Too Slow • Clarifying the Biosynthesis of Steroids • Development of the Birth Control Pill • Vitamin B12: "The "Sound Barrier" Was Broken" • Chromatography and Crystallography Converge: Protein Structures Emerge • Stereochemical Subtleties of Enzymes: Surprises and New Insights • The Beginnings of Exobiology • Controlling the Stereochemistry of Polymers • The DNA Double Helix: Function Follows Form and Form Follows Function • Conclusion • Further Reading • 1961 —1970: Chemicals in the Environment: Hidden Messages • Instrumentation Coupled with Computers Enables Exploration of New Frontiers • Three New Chemical Elements Uncertamues When Yields Are but a Few Atoms • Milestones • Not MI Rare Gases Are "Noble" • Quadruple Bonds be Transition Metal Atoms • The Roles of Simple Numbers and Symmetry in Chemical Reactivity • Computational Chemistry • Computers "Hook Up" with Instrumentation • What Happens When Individual Atoms and Molecules Collide? • Transition Metals: New Compounds, New Reactions, and New Insights • Simple Carbocations Are Stable in Magic Acid • Stretching, Bending, and Twisting the Rules of Bonding • Computer-Aided Design of Organic Syntheses • Synthesizing Proteins in Solid Beads • Three-Dimensional Views of Enzymes and How They Work • The Structures and Functions of Antibodies • The Road to the Genetic Code and Chemical Synthesis of a Working Gene • Cisplatin: Luck Leads to a Simple and Powerful Anticancer Drug • Pheromones: Chemical Communication between Individuals of the Same Species • The Environmental Movement Is Born • More and Higher Octane Gasoline from Petroleum: New Zeolites • The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Is Born • Conclusion • Further Reading • 1971 —1980: Chemical Breakthroughs in Medicine, Biotechnology, and Materials Science • The Age of a New Materials Science and Biotechnology Begins • Seaborgium (Element 106) and Bohrium (Element 107) • Milestones • Two-Dimensional NMR: Structures of Large Molecules in Solution • Applications of NMR to Solids and to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) • A Bridge between Organic and Inorganic Chemistries "Organic Metals" • Olefin Metathesis: Custom Design of Industrial Chemical Feedstocks • Surprising Reactivities in the Gas Phase • High-Energy Organic Molecules: Caught in Frozen Matrices and Some Surprises • Supramolecular Chemistry: Molecular Hosts and Their Guests • Conquering Vitamin B12 • New Synthetic Routes to Pure Enantiomers • How Does Aspirin Work? • Designing New Drugs: Structure-Activity Relationships and Molecular Modeling • Atoms and Molecules in Space • Crash-Landing of the Murchison Meteorite: The Miller Experiment Revisited • NASA's Viking Mission: Two Laboratories on the Surface of Mars • The Molecular Machine That Stores Energy as ATP • The Beginnings of Genetic Engineering • Cleaning Up Automobile Emissions • An Unimagined but Very Real Threat to the Earth's Stratospheric Ozone • Conclusion • Further Reading • 1981 —1990: Powerful Instruments Advance Materials Science and Biochemistry ?Nanotechrnology, High-Temperature Superconductors, and Analyses of Huge Molecules • Hassium (Element 108) and Meitnerium (Element 109) • Milestones • The Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM): Images of Individual Atoms on Surfaces • Confirming the Marcus "Inversion Region" for Electron Transfer • "High-Temperature" Superconductors • "Seeing" Activated Complexes on the Femntosecond (fs) Timescale • Carbons Genius: C60Buckyballs, and Buckytubes • Activating Unactivated Carbon-Hydrogen Bonds • Triumphs in the Synthesis of Unnatural and Natural Products • Dendrimers: From Exotic Curiosities to More Than 100 Patents a Year • Nitric Oxide (NO): A Simple but Powerful Physiological Regulator • Combinatorial Chemistry: Thousands of Candidate Drugs in a Few Easy Steps • "Wings for Molecular Elephants" and the Beginnings of Proteomics • How Regulatory Proteins Are "Marked for Destruction" • Total Structure and Function of a Complete Photosynthesis Reaction Center • Catalytic RNA ("Ribozvmes") and Conjectures about a Prebiotic "RNA World" • PCR: A "Printing Press" for Genes • Site-Directed Mutagenesis: Substituting Individual Amino Acids in Proteins • AIDS: A Worldwide Crisis and a Race to Find Effective Treatment • Conclusion • Further Reading • 1991 —2000: Understanding and Designing Supermolecular Systems • Syntheses, Analysis, and Computational Studies of Large Molecules and Supermolecular Complexes • Testing the Periodic Table Near the "Island of Stability" • Milestones • Quantum Chemical Studies of Very Large Molecules • The First Stable Argon Compound • New Nitrogen Chemistry • "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom": Nanotechnology • Organic Synthesis: Challenging Natural Products and New Frontiers • Is the Universe Biased (Toward L-Amino Acids and D-Sugars)? • Membrane Transport Proteins • Protein Folding: Chaperoned and Unchaperoned • The Atomic-Scale Structure of a Ribosome • If There Was an RNA World," What Preceded It? • A Chemical Taxonomy of Life: Genomics and Proteomics "Green Chemistry" • Conclusion • Further Reading • The Early Twenty-first Century: A Chemistry Odyssey • Introduction • New Superheavy Elements and Their Chemistries • Chemical Bonding and Theory • Materials and Nanotechnology • Medicinal Chemistry • Space Exploration and the Origins of Life • Future of Fuel and Energy • Conclusion • Further • Reading • The Periodic Table • A Quick Orientation to the Modern Periodic Table • A Closer Look at the Atomic Weights of Natural and Artificial Elements • Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry • Index

About the author: 

Arthur Greenberg, Ph.D., holds a doctorate in chemistry from Princeton University. He is a professor of chemistry and a former dean of engineering and physical sciences at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of the recently published From Alchemy to Chemistry in Picture and Story and of two previous books, the coauthor of another book, and coeditor of 17 volumes on structural chemistry

Earth Science Decade by Decade

Description: Earth Science chronicles the history of this scientific discipline from 1901, documenting the significant discoveries of the 20th century by notable Earth and other scientists.

The volume covers the following:

geologic history, advances in • space exploration • crustal dynamics • oceanography and marine science, advances in • evolution and opposition • volcanic activities, their worldwide impact • exploring the Earth's inner layers • greenhouse gases • the atomic age • medical geology

Each chapter in Earth Science features milestones of significant events, sidebars that clarify scientific concepts, a "Scientist of the Decade" essay that focuses on a notable individual or event, and a list of print and Internet resources reflecting the time period. The book includes more than 70 photographs and line illustrations, a conclusion that looks at 21st-century issues, the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, an appendix of awards of merit in Earth science, a glossary, a list of general print and Internet resources, and an index.

Contents: 

Introduction • 1901 —1910: Earth Inside Out • Introduction • Introducing Tyrannosaurus rex • Milestones • Naming Geologic History • Dating a Radioactive Planet • The 20th Century's Deadliest Eruption • Seismic Solutions Reveal Earth's Core • The 1906 California Earthquake • Further Reading • 1911 —1920: Crustal Dynamics • Introduction • The World Under Pressure • Milestones • Putting the Time into the Geologic Timescale • Continental Drift • Further Reading • 1921 —1930: Evolution and Opposition • Introduction • Milestones • Taung Child • The Scopes Monkey Trial • Evolution of Rocks • Further Reading • 1931 —1 940: Exploring Inner Earth • Introduction • A Fluid Core • Milestones • Earthquake Intensities • Determining Earthquake Magnitude: The Richter Scale • Earth's (Solid) Inner Core • Further Reading • 1941 —1950: The Atomic Age • Introduction • Milankovitch Cycles • Milestones • Finding the Source of the Magnetic Field • Radiocarbon Dating • Further Reading • 1951 —1960: Earth and Space • Introduction • Man-made Moons • Milestones • Radiation Belts • Crossing Antarctica and the Treaty of 1959 • Precambrian Fossils • Further Reading • 1961 —1970: A New Planetary Perspective • Introduction • Earth's Magnetic Reversals • Milestones • Seafloor Spreading • Plate Tectonics • Further Reading • 1971 —1980: Fire and Water ?Introduction • Milestones • Keeping Track of a Changing Planet • Fighting a Volcano • Soufri??re Eruption Crisis in Guadeloupe • Cascade Concerns • Mount St. Helens • Further Reading • 1981 —1990: A Watchful Planet ?Introduction • Milestones • The Deadly Snow of Ruiz • Finding the Faults of New Madrid • Further Reading • 1991 —2000: The Information Age • Introduction • Milestones • Mount Pinatubo: A Volcano Hiding in Plain Sight • Moment Magnitude • Snowball Earth • Greenhouse Gases • Further Reading • Conclusion: Into the Twenty-First Century • Volcanoes • The Twenty-First Century's Largest and Deadliest Earthquakes • Earth's Freshwater and Deserts • Medical Geology • Earth's Interior • Paleoclimate from Caves and Lightning Bolts • Summary • Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale • Awards of Merit in Earth Science • Glossary • Further Resources • Index

About the Author: 

Christina Reed is a freelance science journalist whose clients include Scientific American, New Scientist, and the Discovery Science Channel. She holds dual master's degrees from Columbia University in Earth science and journalism and a bachelor's degree in oceanography from the University of Washington in Seattle. Reed worked as the science coordinator for the 3D IMAX movie Aliens of the Deep, venturing more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in a Russian Mir submersible. She is also the author of Marine Science, another volume in this set.

Marine Science Decade by Decade

Description: Marine Science chronicles the history of this scientific discipline from 1901, documenting the significant discoveries of the 20th century by notable marine and other scientists.

The volume covers the following:

polar ocean exploration • deeper ocean investigations • ocean challenges • exploration vessels • food webs in a marine system • deep-sea deserts • dynamic oceanography • oil in the sea • the First and Second World Wars • ocean and climate

Each chapter in Marine Science features milestones of significant events, sidebars that clarify scientific concepts, a "Scientist of the Decade" essay that focuses on a notable individual or event, and a list of print and Internet resources reflecting the time period. The book includes more than 90 photographs and line illustrations, a conclusion that looks at 21st-century issues, an appendix of awards of merit in marine science, a glossary, a list of general print and Internet resources, and an index.

Contents: 

Introduction • 1901 —1910: Surveying the Seas • Introduction • Milestones • Exploring the Polar Oceans • International Council for the Exploration of the Sea • Setting Standards • Scripps Institution of Oceanography • Further Reading • 1911 —1920: Ocean Challenges • Introduction • Milestones • The Sinking of the Titanic and the Rise of Sonar • Panama Canal • Further Reading • 1921 —1930: Food Webs ?Introduction • Milestones • Defining Oceanography and the Birth of WHOI • Meteor Expedition • Further Reading • 1931 —1940: Unexpected Surprises • Introduction • Milestones • Voyage of the Nautilus • Scuba and Deep-Sea Diving • Coelacanth Swims out of Extinction • Further Reading • 1941 —1950: Oceanographers Go to War • Introduction • Milestones • Early Investigations into El Nino • Women at Sea • Further Reading • 1951 —1960: Mapping the Deep • Introduction • The Deepest Dive • Milestones • A Rift Valley through the Seafloor's Mountain Range • The Keeling Curve • Further Reading • 1961-1970: The Golden Years of Oceanography • Introduction • Exploration Vessels • Milestones • Project Mohole • The Origin of Oceanic Crust • Shark Lady: Eugenie Clark • Further Reading • 1971 —1980: International Decade of Ocean Exploration • Introduction • The Practical Salinity Scale of 1978 • Milestones • Red Sea Anomalies • An Oasis of Life in the Deep-Sea Desert • Further Reading • 1981 —1990: Oil in the Seas • Introduction • Oil Spills and the Lingering Effects of the Exxon Valdez • Milestones • Iron Fertilization • Further Reading • 1991 —2000: Ocean and Climate • Introduction • Milestones • Antarctica's Melting Ice • Law of the Sea • Further Reading • Conclusion: Into the Twenty-first Century • Awards of Merit in Marine Science • Index

About the Author: 

Christina Reed is a freelance science journalist whose clients include Scientific American, New Scientist, and the Discovery Science Channel. She holds dual master's degrees from Columbia University in Earth science and journalism and a bachelor's degree in oceanography from the University of Washington in Seattle. Reed worked as the science coordinator for the 3D IMAX movie Aliens of the Deep, venturing more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in a Russian Mir submersible. She is also the author of Earth Science, another volume in this set.

Physics Decade by Decade

Alfred B. Bortz, Ph.D.Physics traces the remarkable evolution of the scientific discipline that considers, among other topics, matter and energy, atomic theory, space and time, and waves and particles. Readers will see separate threads of physics developing and coming together in surprising ways and discover the physicist's unique approach to thinking about the universe.

The volume covers the following:

the dawn of modern physics • the rise of new technologies • matter • explorations • the quantum revolution • a new synthesis • particles • the broadening of public discourse • war-driven research • cosmology

Each chapter in Physics features milestones of significant events, sidebars that clarify scientific concepts, a "Scientist of the Decade" feature that focuses on a notable individual or event, and a list of print and Internet resources reflecting the time period. The book includes more than 80 photographs and line illustrations, the Periodic Table of Elements, an appendix of Nobel Prize winners in physics, a glossary, a list of general print and Internet resources, and an index.

Contents: 

Introduction • The Nineteenth-Century Clockwork Universe • 1901 —1910: The Dawn of Modem Physics • Curious Findings • Milestones • New Century, New Perspectives • Quanta and the Photoelectric Effect • Brownian Motion and the Reality of Atoms • The Special Theory of Relativity • The Divisible Atom • New Techniques, Technologies, and Observations • Further Reading • 1911 —1920: New Views of Matter • The Discovery of the Nucleus • Milestones • The Bohr Model of the Atom • Inside the Nucleus • Atoms in Solids • Astronomy and Cosmology • New Theories, Techniques, and Technologies • Further Reading • 1921 —1930: The Quantum Revolution • Milestones • From the Bohr Atom to Quantum Mechanics • Understanding the Quantum Universe • Relativity, Spin, Beta Decay, and Predicted Particles • Subatomic Physics • Stars, Galaxies, and Rockets • Further Reading • 1931 —1940: Particles and Politics • Inside the Nucleus • Milestones • New Subatomic Particles • Particle Accelerators • Artificial Radioactivity and Nuclear Fission • Other Developments in 1930s Physics • Further Reading • 1941 —1950: Physics in a Time of War • Milestones • QED: Quantum Electrodynamics • Nuclear Fission, "Big Science," and the Bomb • Cosmic Rays and Subatomic Particles • Other Fields in Physics in the 1940s • Further Reading • 6. 195 1 —1960: Physics and the Rise of New Technologies • Milestones • Solid-State Physics and Technology • Electrical Conductors, Insulators, and Semiconductors • Superconductivity • Nuclear Physics and Technology • The Subatomic Particle "Zoo" • Other Developments in 1950s Physics and Technology • Further Reading • 1961 —1970: Explorations • Milestones • Fundamental Particles and Forces • The Flavorful Quark and the Strong "Color" Force • Charm and the Electroweak Force • Gauge Bosons, the Higgs Field, and the Origin of Mass • New Particle Detectors • Cosmological Evidence for the Big Bang • Other Developments in 1960s Physics and Technology • Further Reading • 1971 —1980: A New S Begins • Quarks from Bottom to Top • Milestones • Grand Unified Theories • Quantum Entanglement • Applications of Physics and Connections to Other Sciences in the 1970s • Further Reading • 1981 —1990: Broadening Public Discourse • Particle Physics and Quantum Effects • Milestones • GUTs, Superstrings, and Cosmic Inflation • A Brief History of Physics Books and Scientific Celebrity in the 1980s • Breakthroughs in Condensed Matter Physics • Further Reading • 1991 —2000: Cosmic Connections • Subatomic Physics: Completing the Standard Model • Milestones • Surprises in Cosmology • Other Physics-Related Developments in the 1990s • Further Reading • Conclusion: Cosmic and Terrestrial Challenges for the Twenty-first Century ?The Nature of Matter Revisited • What Is "Everything" • Further Reading • The Periodic Table of the Elements • Nobel Prize Winners • Index

About the author: 

Alfred B. Bortz, Ph.D., studied theoretical and computational condensed matter physics at Carnegie Mellon University, earning his doctorate in 1971. He has worked on a broad range of industrial and academic projects related to nuclear reactors, automotive engine control, microcomputer applications, magnetic data storage, and pre-college/undergraduate science education. A full-time science writer, he is the author of 15 books for young readers, including Techno-Matter: The Materials Behind the Marvels, which won the 2002 American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award.

Space and Astronomy Decade by Decade

Space and Astronomy is a captivating account of astronomer's unraveling of the mysteries surrounding the impact and power of the Sun, how stars "collapse" into black holes, and the surprising scope of the universe. The 20th century was a period of remarkable discovery and exploration in space and astronomy, but the practical and spiritual connections of humankind with the stars have motivated and inspired improvements in observations and technology that have led to a deeper interest in exploring what lies beyond our galaxy.

The volume covers the following:

the development of a "new" astronomy • the dawn of space technology • stars and relativity • space exploration • an expanding universe • human achievements in space • modern rockets • laboratories in space • wartime astronomy • asteroids, comets, and extrasolar planets

Each chapter in Space and Astronomy features milestones of significant events, sidebars that clarify scientific concepts, a "Scientist of the Decade" essay of a notable individual or event, and a list of print and Internet resources reflecting the time period. The book includes more than 80 photographs and line illustrations, an appendix of awards of merit in space and astronomy, a glossary, a list of general print and Internet resources, and an index.

Contents: 

Introduction • 1901 —1910: Development of a New Astronomy • Milestones • The Canals of Mars • The Equation for Space • A New Astronomy • Impacts and Omens • Further Reading • 1911 —1920: Giant Stars and General Relativity • Milestones • The Size of Stars • The Structure of Stars • Changing View of the Universe • Cosmology • Further Reading • 1921 —1930: The Expanding Universe • Milestones • Nebulae Become Galaxies • The Hydrogen Question • The Matter of Stars • Planet X • Rockets around the World • Further Reading • 1931 —1940: Understanding What Makes Stars Shine and Rockets Fly • Milestones • New "Eyes" on the Universe • From Giants to Black Holes • How Stars Shine • The Development of Modern Rockets • Further Reading • 1941 —1950: From War to Space • Milestones • The Pathway to Space Begins with Weapons • Postwar Rocket Development • Postwar Russian Rocket Development • The First Science Rockets • Wartime Astronomy • Synthesis of the Elements • Radio and Solar System Discoveries • Further Reading • 1951 —1960: The Dawn of the Space Age • Milestones • The Mystery of Radio Stars • The Elements of Life • Origin of the Solar System • Preparation for Manned Space Programs • New Improved Rockets • Satellites for Politics and Science • Flying to the Moon • Project Mercury • Further Reading • 1961 —1970: Putting Humans on the Moon • Milestones • The First People in Space • A Rendezvous with the Moon • Voskhod and Gemini • Probes and Satellites • Tragedy in 1967 • Resumption of the Race • The Race Is Won • The Waning Moon • X-ray and Neutrino Astronomy • Quasars and Pulsars • Abundant Support for the Big Bang Theory • Further Reading ?1971 —1980: From the Moon to Jupiter • Milestones • Roving around the Moon • The First Space Stations • From Apollo-Soyuz to Shuttles • Long -Duration Spaceflight • Deserted Mars • Picturing Venus • Exploring the Giants • Observing Space • Further Reading • 1981 —1990: Laboratories in Space • Space Transportation System • Milestones • Challenger's Last Flight • Return to Flight • Russian Space —From Salyut to Mir • The Moon, Venus, Mars, and Comets • Voyage to Uranus and Neptune • State of the Universe • Further Reading • 1991 —2000: Space Telescopes and Stations • Milestones • Research and Records • New Life in Moon/Mars Research • No Little Green Men • Asteroids, Comets, and Extrasolar Planets • Space Observatories • International Space • Further Reading • Conclusion • New Worlds • Bruce Medalists • Index

About the author: 

Marianne J. Dyson is a former NASA flight controller with a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She is a technical editor and science consultant for several reference book series publishers and a popular speaker on topics in space and astronomy. Dyson won the Golden Kite Award for Space Station Science and the AIP Science Writing Award for Home on the Moon.

Weather and Climate Decade by Decade

Weather and Climate traces the evolution of the scientific disciplines of meteorology and climatology from the study of weather phenomena and climatic conditions. Meteorology became increasingly sophisticated throughout the 20th century as a result of the needs of military forces during wartime, the improvement of research tools, the creation of research and educational institutes, and the rise of the aviation industry. Climatologists sought answers about current and future climate conditions by peering into the past to uncover information about Earth's atmosphere tens of thousands of years ago.