1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910451893703321

Autore

Chaisson Eric

Titolo

Epic of evolution [[electronic resource] ] : seven ages of the cosmos / / Eric Chaisson ; illustrated by Lola Judith Chaisson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Columbia University Press, c2005

ISBN

1-281-74762-9

9786613790149

0-231-50960-X

Descrizione fisica

xviii, 478 p. : ill

Altri autori (Persone)

ChaissonLola Judith

Disciplina

523.1

Soggetti

Cosmology

Life - Origin

Matter

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [443]-444) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Prologue: COSMOLOGICAL OVERVIEW -- 1. PARTICLE EPOCH: Simplicity Fleeting -- 2. GALACTIC EPOCH: Hierarchy of Structures -- 3. STELLAR EPOCH: Forges for Elements -- 4. PLANETARY EPOCH: Habitats for Life -- 5. CHEMICAL EPOCH: Matter Plus Energy -- 6. BIOLOGICAL EPOCH: Complexity Sustained -- 7. CULTURAL EPOCH: Intelligence to Technology -- Epilogue: A WHOLE NEW ERA -- Further Reading -- Glossary -- Index -- About the Author

Sommario/riassunto

How did everything around us-the air, the land, the sea, and the stars-originate? What is the source of order, form, and structure characterizing all material things? These are just some of the grand scientific questions Eric J. Chaisson, author of the classic work Cosmic Dawn, explores in his enthralling and illuminating history of the universe. Explaining new discoveries and a range of cutting-edge ideas and theories, Chaisson provides a creative and coherent synthesis of current scientific thinking on the universe's beginnings. He takes us on a tour of the seven ages of the cosmos, from the formless era of radiation through the origins of human culture. Along the way he



examines the development of the most microscopic and the most immense aspects of our universe and the complex ways in which they interact. Drawing on recent breakthroughs in astrophysics and biochemistry, Chaisson discusses the contemporary scientific view that all objects-from quarks and quasars to microbes and the human mind-are interrelated. Researchers in all the natural sciences are beginning to identify an underlying pattern penetrating the fabric of existence-a sweepingly encompassing view of the formation, structure, and function of all objects in our multitudinous universe. Moreover, as Chaisson demonstrates, by deciphering the scenario of cosmic evolution, scientists can also determine how living organisms managed to inhabit the land, generate language, and create culture.Epic of Evolution offers a stunning view of how various changes, operating across almost incomprehensible domains of space and nearly inconceivable stretches of time and through the evolutionary combination of necessity and chance, have given rise to our galaxy, our star, our planet, and ourselves.

2.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910693942003321

Titolo

Current and projected national security threats to the United States : hearing before the Select Committee on Intelligence, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, February 16, 2005

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (iii, 95 p.)

Soggetti

National security - United States

Terrorism - United States - Prevention

Intelligence service - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia