A Century of Nature

Twenty-one Discoveries That Changed Science and the World

Laura Garwin, Tim Lincoln

360 pages, parution le 02/02/2004

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Résumé

From the description of the first fossil link between humans and apes in 1925 to the identification of the first planet outside our solar system in 1995 and the announcement of the birth of Dolly, the cloned sheep, in 1997, many of the most important scientific discoveries of the twentieth century were first reported in the journal Nature. A Century of Nature brings together in one volume Nature's greatest hits--reproductions of twenty-one seminal contributions that changed science and the world. Some of these articles, such as James Chadwick's report on the discovery of the neutron, opened up entirely new fields of study. Others, like Watson and Crick's article describing the double-helix shape of DNA, provided a crucial foundation for future research. But all of them--whether on the discovery of nuclear fission, the startling observation of the hole in the ozone layer, or the first complete genome sequence of an organism--pioneered new ways of thinking and profoundly influenced society at large. Even more exciting than these groundbreaking articles are the specially written essays that accompany them. Authored by leading scientists--including four Nobel laureates--with intimate intellectual connections to the discoveries, they provide crucial historical context for each article, explain its insights in graceful, accessible prose, and celebrate the serendipity of discovery and the rewards of searching for needles in haystacks.

Offering a fascinating firsthand chronicle of some of the most decisive moments in twentieth-century science, A Century of Nature will interest anyone who wants to relive the thrill (and sometimes frustration) of scientific discovery.

L'auteur - Laura Garwin

Editor

L'auteur - Tim Lincoln

Editor

Sommaire

Chronology of twentieth-century science
Raymond Dart and our African origins
Electrons make waves
The atom completed
Superfluidity: a new state of matter
From nuclear physics to nuclear weapons
The double helix
Dawn of structural biology
The first laser
The quasar enigma
Seafloor magnetism and drifting continents
Stellar timekeepers
Viruses reverse the information flow
Images of body and brain
Journey to the T cell
Molecular switches for "animal electricity"
DNA sequencing: the silent revolution
The blueprint of animals revealed
A hole in Earth's shield
Carbon cages and carbon tubes
Seeking other solar systems
Dolly!
Contributors
Index

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Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	The University of Chicago Press
Auteur(s)	Laura Garwin, Tim Lincoln
Parution	02/02/2004
Nb. de pages	360
Format	15 x 23
Couverture	Broché
Poids	510g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780226284156
ISBN13	978-0-226-28415-6