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A History of Physical Theories of Comets, From Aristotle to Whipple
The book describes the major physical theories of comets in the past two millennia. It demonstrates the evolution of ideas about the nature, position, motion and physical constitution of comets from Aristotle to Whipple. Unlike the available works on the history of comets, which either illustrate relatively short periods in the history of physical cometology or portray a landscape view without adequate details, the present study focuses on details of each theory. It also investigates the interaction between observational and mathematical astronomy, and the physical sciences in defining the properties of comets.
Arthropod Diversity and Conservation
Despite their enormous bulk and complexity of architecture, plants make up only around a quarter of a million of the 8 million or so species on Earth. The major components of biodiversity, instead, are the smaller, largely unseen, silent majority of invertebrates – most of which are arthropods. Vertebrates, a mere blip on the biotic horizon, are elevated in importance in the bigger scheme of things only by the human psyche. This collection of more than 30 peer-reviewed papers focuses on the diversity and conservation of arthropods, whose species inhabit virtually every recess and plane – and feature somewhere in virtually every food web – on the planet. Highlighting issues ranging from large-scale disturbance to local management, and from spatial heterogeneity to temporal patterns, these papers reflect some of the most exciting new research taking place today – and in some of the most biodiverse corners of the planet.
Beginning PHP and MySQL : From novice to professional
Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional, Third Edition offers a comprehensive introduction to two of the most prominent open-source technologies on the planet: the PHP scripting language and the MySQL database server. Updated to introduce the features found in MySQL's most significant release to date, readers will learn how to take advantage of the features of both technologies to build powerful, manageable, and stable web applications. Essentially three books in one, readers will not only profit from extensive introductions to the core features of each technology, but also learn how to effectively integrate the two in order to build robust data-driven applications.
A Short Course in Geology for Civil Engineers
Explains the process of ground formation - what it is made of and how it behaves as an engineering material. This enables the civil engineer to work from a few first principles to determine if the ground is an asset or a hazard. It focuses on the tectonic plate mechanisms that give rise to the geology of our planet and describes the way these create hazards such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. The authors state that groundwater can be both a resource and a hazard and through this book they provide an overview of the origins of geomaterials.
China's Energy Revolution in the Context of the Global Energy Transition
This book is an encyclopaedic analysis of the current and future energy system of the world’s most populous country and second biggest economy. What happens in China impacts the planet. In the past 40 years China has achieved one of the most remarkable economic growth rates in history. Its GDP has risen by a factor of 65, enabling 850,000 people to rise out of poverty.
Marswalk One : First Steps on a New Planet
MARSWALK ONE: First Steps on a New Planet addresses the question of why we should embark on a journey to Mars, documenting what the first human crew will do when they place their feet in the red dust of the planet. The book also addresses why we need to carry out these tasks and, more importantly, what a human crew could achieve that an automated mission could not. Understanding the clear benefits of sending a human crew to the surface of Mars, and how these benefits can be seen back on Earth, is the key to sustained long-term public and political support for the programme in terms of cash and commitment. The book accepts that the journey will be made, but does not specify precisely when. Flight time, and how to get to and from the planet are discussed briefly, to understand why the suggested duration spent at Mars is reasonable. The main objective of the work is to look at what science will be done on the surface – supported by orbital operations – and what hardware and technology will be employed to achieve the mission objectives. This analysis is drawn from previous experiences in manned and unmanned space programmes, including Apollo, Skylab, Salyut/Mir, Shuttle and ISS, Viking, Luna/Lunokhod, and recent Mars missions such as Pathfinder and Global Surveyor.
Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone : Uncovering Humanity’s Cosmic Context
The questions of our origin and cosmic abundance of life are among the compelling facing humanity. For all of the difficulties facing us however, the planet Mars may act as a cosmic stepping stone in uncovering the answers. This book examines these issues in one of the comprehensive treatments about Mars and our legacy of engagement with it.
Marine Biotechnology I
Oceans, which occupy up to two thirds of the surface of our planet, were not really approached from scientific point of view until the second half of the 19th century and even the 20th with regard to microbial and unicellular life. Today, the importance of marine biodiversity has been fully recognized. It is, indeed, one of the aspects which, over the two past decades, have made a major contribution to our knowledge and vision of the living planetThis volume of Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology illustrates several topics in line with the following broad objectives: thinking ofmarine biotechnology as the controlled production and use of marine organisms and molecules for useful purposes, firstly by exploring aspects of marine biodiversity and exploitation of biomass, then considering the identification, production and processing of marine products.
Management of Transboundary Rivers and Lakes
As it circulates in the atmosphere, in the rivers, lakes, soil, rock, and in the oceans, it is the major conveyer of va- ous chemical substances and of energy, and it can also be called as the blood of the ecosystems of this planet. But at the same time water is interwoven in the va- ous functions of the nature and the human society in countless ways which makes water one of the most complicated challenges of the mankind today.Human beings are exploiting and enjoying, but at the same time polluting and deteriorating, the waters in various ways and water is equally important to the - man socio-economic system as it is to the nature. It may sound a bit anecdotal to say that water obeys no borders, but that is true; the hydrologic cycle with its r- ers, river basins, lakes, aquifers, rainfalls, oceans, etc., cross administrational b- ders without any passport control. River and lake basins are in most cases very different from the administrational borders that the human beings have set up.
Lunar and Planetary Webcam Users Guide
In the Lunar and Planetary Webcam User’s Guide Martin Mobberley de-mystifies the jargon of webcams and computer processing, and provides detailed hints and tips for imaging the Sun, Moon and planets with a webcam. He looks at each observing target separately, describing and explaining all specialised techniques in context.
Lunar and planetary rovers : The wheels of apollo and the Quest for Mars
Provides extensive quotes from the astronauts who drove the LRV on the Moon from interviews conducted especially for the book. It also details new material from interviews of engineers and managers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory covering the robotic rovers, Sojourner, Sprit and Opportunity. The Foreword is written by David R. Scott, Commander of Apollo 15. Chapter 1: From Concept to Reality; Chapter 2: Lunar Roving Vehicle Subsystems; Chapter 3: Training for the Moon; Chapter 4: To the Hadley Plains; Chapter 4: Mysterious and Unknown Descartes; Chapter 5: Destiny at Taurus-Littrow; Chapter Six: The Quest for Mars-Chapter Seven: The New Vision of Exploration.
Lectures in Astrobiology ; Vol. II
Based on material delivered at several summer schools, this book is the first comprehensive textbook at the graduate level encompassing all aspects associated with the emerging field of astrobiology. Volume II gathers another set of extensive lectures covering topics so diverse as the formation and the distribution of elements in the Universe, the concept of habitability from both the planetologists' and the biologists' point of view and artificial life. The contributions are held together by the common goal to understand better the origin of life, its evolution and possible existence outside the Earth's realm.
Lasers, Clocks and Drag-Free Control : Exploration of Relativistic Gravity in Space
Over the next decade the gravitational physics community will benefit from dramatic improvements in many technologies critical to testing gravity. Highly accurate deep space navigation, interplanetary laser communication, interferometry and metrology, high precision frequency standards, precise pointing and attitude control, together with drag-free technologies, will revolutionize the field of experimental gravitational physics. The centennial of the general theory of relativity in 2015 will motivate a significant number of experiments designed to test this theory with unprecedented accuracy.
Landscapes of Mars : A Visual Tour
Landscapes of Mars is essentially a picture book that provides a visual tour of Mars. All the major regions and topographical features will be shown and supplemented with chapter introductions and extended captions. In a way, think of it as a visual tourist guide. Other topics covered are Martian uplands on the order of the elevation of Mt. Everest, Giant volcanoes and a rift system, the Grand Canyon of Mars, craters and the absence of craters over large regions (erosion), and wind shadows around craters, sand dunes, and dust devils.
Jupiter : and How to Observe It
Jupiter is one of the most spectacular observing targets for amateur astronomers. There are various books about observing the planets, and several about Jupiter itself, but this is the only book to deal with the giant planet - its formation, structure, and incredible physics - as well as with the practical aspects of observation of the planet and its moons.
Communicating, Networking : Interacting : The International Year of Global Understanding - IYGU
illustrates the benefits to be gained from digitally networked communication for health, education and transitioning economies in developing nations (Sierra Leone and Papua New Guinea) and developed nations. Growing powers of e-citizenship can help build sustainable futures. This small volume provides a collection of examples and ideas from which the authors hope will help build a wider resource. Understanding how to link everyday lives with global networks in the digital world in ways that add benefit for the world’s people, and the health of the planet, is an ongoing project. IYGU recognises the integral roles of networking and communication systems, as well as interactions between people, near and far, as fundamental for building better futures. The global penetration of digital devices means everyday life, present and future, is inextricably linked with information technologies
Chemistry from First Principles
This book examines the appearance of matter in its most primitive form, from the vacuum and the diversity that results from the fusion of elementary units in the genesis of atomic matter; considers the empirical rules of chemical affinity that regulate the synthesis and properties of molecular matter; analyzes the compatibility of the theories of chemistry with the quantum and relativity theories of physics; formulates a consistent theory, based on clear physical pictures and manageable mathematics, to account for chemical concepts such as the structure and stability of atoms and molecules, the periodicity of nuclides and elements, valence states, activation and chemical reactivity, electronegativity and general covalency, the exclusion principle, electronic energy, orbital angular momentum and spin in relation to molecular shape, torsional rigidity, chirality and molecular modeling; explains the self-similarity between space-time, nuclear structure, covalent assembly, biological growth, planetary systems and galactic conformation.
Chaotic Worlds : from Order to Disorder in Gravitational N-Body Dynamical Systems
Based on the recent NATO Advanced Study Institute "Chaotic Worlds: From Order to Disorder in Gravitational N-Body Dynamical Systems", this state of the art textbook, written by internationally renowned experts, provides an invaluable reference volume for all students and researchers in gravitational n-body systems. The contributions are especially designed to give a systematic development from the fundamental mathematics which underpin modern studies of ordered and chaotic behaviour in n-body dynamics to their application to real motion in planetary systems. This volume presents an up-to-date synoptic view of the subject.
Chaos and Stability in Planetary Systems
This book is intended as an introduction to the field of planetary systems at the postgraduate level. It consists of four extensive lectures on Hamiltonian dynamics, celestial mechanics, the structure of extrasolar planetary systems and the formation of planets. As such, this volume is particularly suitable for those who need to understand the substantial connections between these different topics.
Celestial Mechanics : The Waltz of the Planets
Contents are divided into major topics where the three "souls" of modern celestial mechanics (dynamical systems, Solar System and stellar systems, spaceflight dynamics) play a major role.
