1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910780432203321

Autore

Fontenelle, M. de (Bernard Le Bovier), <1657-1757.>

Titolo

Conversations on the plurality of worlds [[electronic resource] /] / Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle ; translation by H.A. Hargreaves ; introduction by Nina Rattner Gelbart

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, c1990

ISBN

1-282-35575-9

9786612355752

0-520-91058-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (134 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

HargreavesH. A

Disciplina

574.999

Soggetti

Plurality of worlds - Early works to 1800

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Translation of: Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-82).

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- Translator's Preface -- Preface -- Dedication -- The First Evening -- The Second Evening -- The Third Evening -- The Fourth Evening -- The Fifth Evening -- Notes

Sommario/riassunto

Surveying the night sky, a charming philosopher and his hostess, the Marquise, are considering thep ossibility of travelers from the moon. "What if they were skillful enough to navigate on the outer surface of our air, and from there, through their curiosity to see us, they angled for us like fish? Would that please you?" asks the philosopher. "Why not?" the Marquise replies. "As for me, I'd put myself into their nets of my own volition just to have the pleasure of seeing those who caught me."In this imaginary conversation of three hundred years ago, readers can share the excitement of a new, extremely daring view of the uinverse. Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds (Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes), first published in 1686, is one of the best loved classics of the early French enlightenment. Through a series of informal dialogues that take place on successive evenings in the marquise's moonlit gardens, Fontenelle describes the new cosmology of the Copernican world view with matchles clarity, imagination, and wit. Moreover, he boldly makes his interlocutor a woman, inviting female participation in the almost exclusively male province of scientific



discourse. The popular Fontenelle lived through an entire century, from 1657 to 1757, and wrote prolifically. H. A. Hargreaves's fresh, appealing translation brings the author's masterpiece to new generations of readers, while the introduction by Nina Rattner Gelbart clearly demonstrates the importance of the Conversations for the history of science, of women, of literature, and of French civilization, and for the popularization of culture.

2.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910557344803321

Autore

Kjelstrup Signe

Titolo

Nanoscale Thermodynamics

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Basel, Switzerland, : MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2021

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (168 p.)

Soggetti

Technology: general issues

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Sommario/riassunto

This Special Issue concerns the development of a theory for energy conversion on the nanoscale, namely, nanothermodynamics. The theory has been applied to porous media, small surfaces, clusters or fluids under confinement. The number of unsolved issues in these contexts is numerous and the present efforts are only painting part of the broader picture. We attempt to answer the following: How far down in scale does the Gibbs equation apply? Which theory can replace it beyond the thermodynamic limit? It is well known that confinement changes the equation of state of a fluid, but how does confinement change the equilibrium conditions themselves? This Special Issue explores some of the roads that were opened up for us by Hill with the idea of nanothermodynamics. The experimental progress in nanotechnology is advancing rapidly. It is our ambition with this book to inspire an increased effort in the development of suitable theoretical tools and



methods to help further progress in nanoscience. All ten contributions to this Special Issue can be seen as efforts to support, enhance and validate the theoretical foundation of Hill.