A century of nature [[electronic resource] ] : twenty-one discoveries that changed science and the world / / edited by Laura Garwin & Tim Lincoln ; with a foreword by Steven Weinberg

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910792325603321
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, 2003
• ISBN: 1-282-53802-0; 9786612538025; 0-226-28416-6
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (381 p.)
• Classificazione: TB 2385
• Altri autori (Persone): GarwinLaura; LincolnTim
• Disciplina: 500
• Soggetti: Science - History; Science - Social aspects - History; Discoveries in science; Science and civilization
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: A Century of Nature -- Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Chronology of twentieth-century science -- 1925 -- ONE. Raymond Dart and our African origins -- 1925. Australopithecus africanus: the man-ape of South Africa -- 1927 -- TWO. Electrons make waves -- 1927. The scattering of electrons by a single crystal of nickel -- 1932 -- THREE. The atom completed -- 1932. Possible existence of a neutron -- 1938 -- FOUR. Superfluidity: a new state of matter -- 1938. Viscosity of liquid helium below the λ-point -- 1939 -- FIVE. From nuclear physics to nuclear weapons -- 1939. Disintegration of uranium by neutrons: a new type of nuclear reaction -- 1953 -- SIX. The double helix -- 1953. A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid -- 1958 -- SEVEN. Dawn of structural biology -- 1958. A three-dimensional model of the myoglobin molecule obtained by X-ray analysis -- 1960 -- EIGHT. The first laser -- 1960. Stimulated optical radiation in ruby -- 1963 -- NINE. The quasar enigma -- 1963. 3C 273: a star-like object with large red-shift -- 1963 -- TEN. Seafloor magnetism and drifting ; continents -- 1963. Magnetic anomalies over oceanic ridges -- 1968 -- ELEVEN. Stellar timekeepers -- 1968. Observation of a rapidly pulsating radio source -- 1970 -- TWELVE. Viruses reverse the genetic flow -- 1970. RNA-dependent DNA polymerase in virions of RNA tumour viruses -- 1973 -- THIRTEEN. Images of body and brain -- 1973. Image formation by induced local interactions: examples employing nuclear magnetic resonance -- 1974 -- FOURTEEN. Journey to the T cell -- 1974. Restriction of in vitro T cell-mediated cytotoxicity in lymphocytic choriomeningitis within a syngeneic or semiallogeneic system -- 1976 -- FIFTEEN. Molecular switches for "animal electricity" -- 1976. Single-channel currents recorded from membrane of denervated frog muscle fibres -- 1977 -- SIXTEEN DNA. sequencing: the silent revolution -- 1977. Nucleotide sequence of bacteriophage ΦX174 DNA -- 1980 -- SEVENTEEN. The blueprint of animals revealed -- 1980. Mutations affecting segment number and polarity in Drosophila -- 1985 -- EIGHTEEN. A hole in Earth's shield -- 1985. Large losses of total ozone in Antarctica reveal seasonal ClOx/NOx interaction -- 1985 -- NINETEEN. Carbon cages and carbon tubes -- 1985. C60: buckminsterfullerene -- 1995 -- TWENTY. Seeking other solar systems -- 1995. A Jupiter-mass companion to a solar-type star -- 1997 -- TWENTY-ONE. Dolly! -- 1997. Viable offspring derived from fetal and adult mammalian cells -- Contributors -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: Many of the scientific breakthroughs 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 seminal contributions that changed science and the world, accompanied by essays written by leading scientists (including four Nobel laureates) that provide 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.