The Nature of Science: An A-Z Guide to the Laws and Principles Governing our Universe
Today science literacy - knowing how the world works, from the microscopic level to the farthest reaches of space - is more important than ever, but finding all the essential information in one place can be a daunting task. Enter The Nature of Science, the ultimate science handbook for the home, explaining in everyday terms the two hundred overarching laws, principles, and mechanisms that make sense of the physical world.\ Cloning; black holes; Fermat's last theorem; genetic drift; the...
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The more than 200 entries are freestanding, so certain explanations and information are presented in more then one entry. The entries include small chronological scales when appropriate to put the topic into historical context, illustrations, biographical sketches, cross-references, and other features. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Library Journal A physics professor (George Mason Univ.) and science popularizer (The Edge of the Unknown: 101 Things You Don't Know About Science and No One Else Does Either), Trefil has compiled a concise A-to-Z encyclopedia of the laws of nature, broadly defined, and how they have developed in relation to one another. His introduction itself is a gem, explaining how science progresses through observation, experimentation, and hypothesis testing. Each two- to four-page article explains a scientific concept (variously called a principle, theory, effect, or law) or a defining experiment in physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, biology, or mathematics. Entries start with a one-sentence statement of the concept, followed by an explanatory essay that sets forth its importance and provides context. Many of the entries include biographical sketches of scientists as sidebars, and they all give a time line of cross references that essentially serves as a mini-course on the concept's development. Additionally, a chronology listing all of the entries is included as an appendix, allowing the reader to trace discoveries across disciplines through time, and a section called "Rear View Mirror" considers the discarded theories and missteps of science. Approximately half of the 200-plus entries are classified as physics, which could be attributed either to the author's background or to the centrality of this science and its suitability to being defined by equations. Trefil's personal interjections convey a sense of his enthusiasm and of the dynamic nature of science into the present day. Unfortunately, whether from sloppy editing or the author's need to simplify for lay readers, there are noticeable, niggling errors throughout (for example, there are 20, not 21, amino acids). However, this work can still be usefully employed in high school, public, and undergraduate libraries.[This was previously published in the U.K. as Cassell's Laws of Nature: A-Z of Laws and Principles Governing the Workings of Our Universe.-Ed.]-Wade M. Lee, Univ. of Toledo Lib., OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
AcknowledgementsviIntroductionviiPrefacexxixThe Laws1Accelerated Motion, equations of2Acid Rain6Acids and Bases, theories of8Allen's Rule11Ampere's Law12Angular Momentum, conservation of14Animal Territoriality15Anthropic Principle16Antibiotics, resistance to18Antiparticles20Archimedes' Principle22Argon, discovery of23Atomic Theory24Aufbau Principle26Avogadro's Law28Balance of Nature30Band Theory of Solids31BCS Theory of Superconductivity32Beauty Criterion35Bell's Theorem36Bernoulli Effect39Big Bang41Biot-Savart Law43Black Holes45Black-Body Radiation48Bohr Atom50Bohr Explanation52Boltzmann Constant54Boyle's Law55Bragg's Law56Brewster's Law58Brownian Motion59Carbon Cycle61Carnot's Principle63Catalysts and Enzymes65Cell Theory66Centrifugal Force67Chandrasekhar Limit69Changes of State71Charles's Law73Chemical Bonds74Cherenkov Radiation77Chronology Protection Conjecture78Circadian Rhythms79Clausius-Clapeyron Equation80Cloning81Coevolution83Cohesion-Tension Theory84Competitive Exclusion, principle of85Complementarity Principle86Complex Adaptive Systems88Compound Motion89Compton Effect92Copernican Principle93Cope's Law95Coriolis Effect96Correspondence Principle98Cosmic Triangle99Cosmological Constant102Coulomb's Law104Curie Point106Curie's Law108Dalton's Law109Dark Matter110Davisson-Germer Experiment113De Broglie Relation114Determinism116Deterministic Chaos118Differential Resource Utilization121Diffraction122Dispersion, atomic theory of123DNA125Doppler Effect128Drake Equation131Early Universe133Ecological Succession135Electrical Charge, conservation of137Electrical Properties of Matter138Electromagnetic Spectrum140Electron, discovery of144Elementary Particles146Equilibrium148Equivalence Principle150Evolution, theory of151Exponential Growth158Faraday's Laws of Electrolysis160Faraday's Laws of Induction161Fermat's Last Theorem164Fermat's Principle166Fermi Paradox167Fibonacci Numbers169Flame Test170Fourier Analysis171Free Electron Theory of Conduction172Gaia Hypothesis173Gauss's Law174Genetic Code176Genetic Drift177Germ Theory of Disease178Giant Impact Hypothesis180Glycolysis and Respiration181Godel's Incompleteness Theorems184Goldbach Conjecture186Graham's Law187Green Revolution188Greenhouse Effect189Hall Effect191Hardy-Weinberg Law192Heat, atomic theory of193Heat Transfer194Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle197Helium, discovery of202Henry's Law204Hershey-Chase Experiment205Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram207Hooke's Law209Hubble's Law211Human Genome Project215Huygens' Principle217Ideal Gas Law218Immune System219Inflationary Universe221Interference223Josephson Effect225Kepler's Laws226Kinetic Theory230Kinship Selection232Kirchhoff-Bunsen Discovery233Kirchhoff's Laws235Lamarckianism237Lawson Criterion238Le Chatelier's Principle240Lenz's Law241"Like Dissolves Like"242Linear Momentum, conservation of243Linnaean System of Classification244MacArthur-Wilson Equilibrium Theory246Magnetic Monopoles248Magnetism249Marginal Value Theorem251Mass Extinctions253Maximum Sustainable Yield255Maxwell's Demon256Maxwell's Equations258Mendel's Laws260Michelson-Morley Experiment262Milankovic Cycles264Miller-Urey Experiment267Millikan Oil-Drop Experiment269Mimicry271Molecular Biology, central dogma of273Molecular Clock276Molecular Orbital Theory278Molecules of Life279Moore's Law282Murphy's Law283Mutuality, principle of285Nebular Hypothesis286Nerve Signals, propagation of289Newton's Law of Gravitation291Newton's Laws of Motion294Nitrogen Cycle298Nuclear Fusion and Fission301Null Hypothesis303Occam's Razor304Octet Rule305Oersted Discovery306Ohm's Law307Olbers' Paradox308"Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny"309Optimal Foraging Theory310Ozone Hole311Pauli Exclusion Principle312Penicillin, discovery of314Periodic Table315Period-Luminosity Relation317Perpetual Motion318Phlogiston319Photoelectric Effect320Photosynthesis321Planck Constant324Plate Tectonics325Predator-Prey Relationships329Proteins330Quantum Chromodynamics332Quantum Mechanics334Quantum Tunneling336Quarks and the Eightfold Way338Radioactive Decay340Radiometric Dating343Rayleigh Criterion345Reflection, law of347Relativity348Reproductive Strategies352Reynolds Number353Robotics, the three laws of355Rock Cycle356Rutherford Experiment358Rydberg Constant360Schrodinger's Equation361Shock Waves364Snell's Law365Social Darwinism368Species-Area Law369Spectroscopy370Spontaneous Generation371Standard Model372States of Matter375Steady-State Theory376Stefan-Boltzmann Law377Stellar Evolution379Stem Cells382Stern-Gerlach Experiment383String Theories384Superposition, law of386Surface Tension388Symbiosis390Terminal Velocity392Theories of Everything393Thermal Expansion, law of395Thermodynamics, first law of396Thermodynamics, second law of399Thermodynamics, third law of402Titius-Bode Law404Triune brain407Turing Test409Tyndall Effect410Uniformitarianism411Urea, synthesis of413Van Helmont Experiment414Vital Force415Water Cycle416Zeeman Effect417Zeno's Paradox418Chronology420Glossary424Index426
\ Library JournalA physics professor (George Mason Univ.) and science popularizer (The Edge of the Unknown: 101 Things You Don't Know About Science and No One Else Does Either), Trefil has compiled a concise A-to-Z encyclopedia of the laws of nature, broadly defined, and how they have developed in relation to one another. His introduction itself is a gem, explaining how science progresses through observation, experimentation, and hypothesis testing. Each two- to four-page article explains a scientific concept (variously called a principle, theory, effect, or law) or a defining experiment in physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, biology, or mathematics. Entries start with a one-sentence statement of the concept, followed by an explanatory essay that sets forth its importance and provides context. Many of the entries include biographical sketches of scientists as sidebars, and they all give a time line of cross references that essentially serves as a mini-course on the concept's development. Additionally, a chronology listing all of the entries is included as an appendix, allowing the reader to trace discoveries across disciplines through time, and a section called "Rear View Mirror" considers the discarded theories and missteps of science. Approximately half of the 200-plus entries are classified as physics, which could be attributed either to the author's background or to the centrality of this science and its suitability to being defined by equations. Trefil's personal interjections convey a sense of his enthusiasm and of the dynamic nature of science into the present day. Unfortunately, whether from sloppy editing or the author's need to simplify for lay readers, there are noticeable, niggling errors throughout (for example, there are 20, not 21, amino acids). However, this work can still be usefully employed in high school, public, and undergraduate libraries.[This was previously published in the U.K. as Cassell's Laws of Nature: A-Z of Laws and Principles Governing the Workings of Our Universe.-Ed.]-Wade M. Lee, Univ. of Toledo Lib., OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.\ \
