| Zapped: From Infrared to X-Rays, The Curious History of Invisible Light by Bob BermanAlthough light is all around us, most of it can't be seen. Confused? Don't worry: science writer Bob Berman will explain. After giving an overview of the physics of light (including historical attempts to explain the phenomenon), Berman delves into the different types of invisible light -- including infrared and ultraviolet, microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays, and radio waves -- and describes how 19th-century scientists discovered and developed applications for them. For more illuminating books on electromagnetic radiation in all its forms, try Bruce Watson's Light: A Radiant History from Creation to the Quantum Age. |
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| What It's Like to be a Dog: And Other Adventures in Animal Neuroscience by Gregory BernsIf your pup struggles with simple commands like "sit," you may wonder how neuroscientist Gregory Berns managed to get a bunch of dogs to climb into MRI machines. Indeed, his training regimen is almost as fascinating as what he learned from scanning the dogs' brains. As Berns discovers, human and canine brains show striking structural similarities, which suggests intriguing possibilities about the emotional lives of our four-legged friends. Dog lovers won't want to miss this book, which should appeal to fans of John Bradshaw's Dog Sense or Alexandra Horowitz's Inside of a Dog. |
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| Darwin's Backyard: How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory by James T. CostaWe tend to think of Charles Darwin as a theorist, yet this book reveals that he was also a keen observer of the natural world (who frequently enlisted friends and acquaintances to collect specimens) and an experimenter who collaborated with his children (on projects ranging from serenading worms to raising carnivorous plants). Interweaving biographical information and descriptions of Darwin's home-based research, this engaging book also includes instructions for 18 DIY experiments aimed at readers who may find themselves inspired to follow in Darwin's footsteps. |
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| Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame by Michael KodasAnyone who follows the news can't help but be aware of the wildfires that periodically ravage the western United States, claiming lives and causing widespread destruction. In this sobering book, journalist and firefighter Michael Kodas draws on interviews and on-site reporting to investigate why such "megafires" occur -- and how our response to them may be doing more harm than good. |
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| Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution by Jonathan B. LososIs evolution predictable? Can it be studied in real-time? Herpetologist and Harvard museum curator Jonathan Losos believes that the answer to both questions is yes. In this accessible introduction to evolutionary biology, Losos discusses topics such as convergence (which occurs when different species independently evolve to be physically similar due to common environmental pressures), while describing the experimental research that's changing our understanding of the development of life on Earth. |
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| Quakeland: On the Road to America's Next Devastating Earthquake by Kathryn Miles"Earthquakes are everywhere," explains science journalist Kathryn Miles, who knows her natural disasters (she's also the author of Superstorm: Nine Days Inside Hurricane Sandy). Although geological maps of the United States reveal some 2,100 known faults, the nation is ill-prepared should any of them slip. Poor infrastructure and a lack of early warning systems are causes for concern, as is the increasing number of earthquakes in unexpected places such as Oklahoma and North Dakota, where hydraulic fracturing has transformed the landscape. Given that 75 million Americans currently live in "areas of significant seismic risk," this eye-opening book is essential reading. |
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| Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max TegmarkAre you ready for the AI revolution? If not, you're hardly alone. Although the issues surrounding artificial intelligence comprise "the most important conversation of our time," according to MIT professor Max Tegmark, we as a society have not devoted much attention to the political, economic, and social consequences of AI. Whether you're worried about automation eliminating your job (it probably will) or robot overlords destroying all humans (they probably won't), you'll want to read this book. |
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Endurance : A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott KellyAn illustrated memoir by the astronaut who spent a record-breaking year aboard the International Space Station shares candid reminiscences of his voyage, his colorful formative years and the off-planet journeys that shaped his early career.
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| Life in Code: A Personal History of Technology by Ellen UllmanWhen Ellen Ullman once objected to her software engineer colleagues' suggestions of genocide as a means of eradicating a genetic disorder, one replied, "This is how I know you're not a real techie." In this essay collection, the award-winning author of the memoir Close to the Machine and the novel The Bug describes her experiences in the tech industry, beginning in the 1970s and spanning decades. From living in what she calls "mind-time" to dealing with gender-based discrimination, Ullman offers countless insights from a life lived in close proximity to machines. |
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Simply Electrifying : the Technology that Transformed the World, from Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk
by Craig Roach
SUPERANNO Simply Electrifying: The Technology That Transformed the World, From Benjamin Franklin to Elon Musk brings to life the 250-year history of electricity through the stories of the men and women who used it to transform our world: Benjamin Franklin, James Watt, Michael Faraday, Samuel F. B. Morse, Thomas Edison, Samuel Insull, Albert Einstein, Rachel Carson, Elon Musk and more. In the process, it reveals for the first time the complete, thrilling and often-dangerous story of electricity’s historic discovery, development and worldwide application.
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Man of the Hour : James B. Conant, Warrior Scientist
by Jennet Conant
A portrait of the wartime scientist, Harvard University president and presidential advisor, written by his granddaughter, places his life against a backdrop of key historical events to offer particular insights into his oversight of the Manhattan Project and subsequent campaigns in support of atomic weapon control at the international level.
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We have No Idea : A Guide to the Unknown Universe
by Jorge Cham
The creator of PHD Comics and a University of California particle physicist blend infographics, cartoons and lighthearted scientific explanations to fill in gaps in layperson cosmological knowledge, offering coverage of topics ranging from quarks and neutrinos to gravitational wave and exploding black holes.
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Ripples in spacetime : Einstein, gravitational waves, and the future of astronomy
by Govert Schilling
It has already been called the scientific breakthrough of the century: the detection of gravitational waves. Einstein predicted these tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime nearly a hundred years ago, but they were never perceived directly until now. Decades in the making, this momentous discovery has given scientists a new understanding of the cataclysmic events that shape the universe and a new confirmation of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Ripples in Spacetime is an engaging account of the international effort to complete Einstein's project, capture his elusive ripples, and launch an era of gravitational-wave astronomy that promises to explain, more vividly than ever before, our universe's structure and origin. The quest for gravitational waves involved years of risky research and many personal and professional struggles that threatened to derail one of the world's largest scientific endeavors. Govert Schilling takes readers to sites where these stories unfolded--including Japan's KAGRA detector, Chile's Atacama Cosmology Telescope, the South Pole's BICEP detectors, and the United States' LIGO labs. He explains the seeming impossibility of developing technologies sensitive enough to detect waves from two colliding black holes in the very distant universe, and describes the astounding precision of the LIGO detectors. Along the way Schilling clarifies concepts such as general relativity, neutron stars, and the big bang using language that readers with little scientific background can grasp.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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