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Author:   Nigel Calder
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.80cm , Height: 4.20cm , Length: 23.30cm
Weight:   1.145kg
ISBN:  

9780192806697

ISBN 10:   0192806696
Pages:   768
Publication Date:   01 January 2006
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: Welcome to the spider's web Over 130 articles, from... ALCOHOL: Genetic revelations of when yeast invented booze ALTRUISM AND AGGRESSION: Looking for the origins of those human alternatives ANTIMATTER: Does the coat that Sakharov made really explain its absence? ARABIDOPSIS: The modest weed that gave plant scientists the big picture ASTRONAUTICS: Will interstellar pioneers be overtaken by their grandchildren? BERNAL'S LADDER: Pointers BIG BANG: The inflationary Universe's sleight-of-hand BIODIVERSITY: The mathematics of co-existence BIOLOGICAL CLOCKS: Molecular machinery that governs life's routines BIOSPHERE FROM SPACE: 'I want to do the whole world' BITS AND QUBITS: The digital world and its looming quantum shadow BLACK HOLES: The awesome engines of quasars and active galaxies BRAIN IMAGES: What do all the vivid movies really mean? BRAIN RHYTHMS: The mathematics of the beat we think to BRAIN WIRING: How do all those nerve connections know where to go? BUCKYBALLS AND NANOTUBES: Doing very much more with very much less ...to... SMALLPOX: The dairymaid's blessing and the general's curse SOLAR WIND: How it creates the heliosphere in which we live SPACE WEATHER: Why it is now more troublesome than in the old days SPARTICLES: A wished-for superworld of exotic matter and forces SPEECH: A gene that makes us more eloquent than chimpanzees STARBURSTS: Galactic traffic accidents and stellar baby booms STARS: Hearing them sing and sizing them up STEM CELLS: Tissue engineering, natural and medical SUN'S INTERIOR: How sound waves made our mother star transparent SUPERATOMS, SUPERFLUIDS AND SUPERCONDUCTORS: The march of the boson armies SUPERSTRINGS: Retuning the cosmic imagination TIME MACHINES: The biggest issue in contemporary physics? TRANSGENIC CROPS: For better or worse, a planetary experiment has begun TREE OF LIFE: Promiscuous bacteria and the course of evolution UNIVERSE: 'It must have known we were coming' VOLCANIC EXPLOSIONS: Where will the next big one be?

Reviews

'probably the broadest sweep of current science in one book... Each essayis excellently written in a style which is both entertaining and informative. Magic Universe takes us on an amazing tour through the length and breadth of science. The reader can open the book anywhere and find some fascinating facts, historical insights or just a good story. Once picked up, this book is difficult tp put down, and readers will find themselves returning to it time after time for well-written science at its interdisciplinary best. David Chamberlain, Chemistry World It's this truly immense feat of multi-disciplinary conciliation, as much as the essays themselves, which explains the sublime nature of existence. Calder's own trick is that in a mere instant he can apparently transform the general reader into a superbrain. His dispatches from some of the farthest outreaches of contemporary science are concise and precise, as opposed to simple, but he has a gift for making the conceptually baffling seem approachable. 'Magic Universe' may be a little unwieldly to hold, it is exceedingly difficult to put down. Laurence Phelan, Independent on Sunday

`so joyfully demanding was this book in its insistence that every section should be carefully read and reread, that for the first time in my life I missed a review deadline....Calder's brief introduction is a subtle delight and should fire even a lazy brain into action.... Calder is the ideal companion for any non-scientist keen to know something about how science works adn what it can do -- immensely knowledgeable, lively, articulate, sympathetic, intelligible and always interesting.' Martyn Berry, Chemistry & Industry `Review from previous edition He is really exceptional in his energy, his range of comprehension, and his quality as a writer. . . . Nigel Calder remains supreme in his range and depth . . . he goes to immense trouble to get things right, and also takes pains with the clarity and elegance of his writing.' Sir Martin Rees, FRS, Astronomer Royal `A must for every sixth-form and student of science, it is also the ideal compendium for non-scientists of any age who are trying to keep abreast.' John Cornwell, Sunday Times `Magic Universe is a marvellous read...it can be enjoyed like a high-quality magazine' Mark Ridley, Times Literary Supplement `Here's evidence of a steady hand, a cool nerve and a clear sense of what matters...Nigel Calder is a science writer with a superb record and immense experience...Dip and dart.' Malcolm Smith, Guardian `A must for every student of science, and the ideal compendium for non-scientists of any age trying to keep abreast.' John Cornwell, Sunday Times `In this compendium he deals seriously yet entertainingly with just about every sicientific subject you can imagine, and many that you cannot...a solid reference source for many years to come.' Independent Review

Author Information

Nigel Calder is a long-established and widely known science writer, and a former Editor of lNew Scientist.

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