Ten Billion Tomorrows PDF Download

Author: Brian Clegg
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1466861924
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Science fiction is a vital part of popular culture, influencing the way we all look at the world. TV shows like Star Trek and movies from Forbidden Planet to Inception have influenced scientists to enter the profession and have shaped our futures. Science fiction doesn't set out to predict what will happen - it's far more about how human beings react to "What if?..." - but it is fascinating to see how science fiction and reality sometimes converge, sometimes take extraordinarily different paths. Ten Billion Tomorrows brings to life a whole host of science fiction topics, from the virtual environment of The Matrix and the intelligent computer HAL in 2001, to force fields, ray guns and cyborgs. We discover how science fiction has excited us with possibilities, whether it is Star Trek's holodeck inspiring makers of iconic video games Doom and Quake to create the virtual interactive worlds that transformed gaming, or the strange physics that has made real cloaking devices possible. Mixing remarkable science with the imagination of our greatest science fiction writers, Ten Billion Tomorrows will delight science fiction lovers and popular science devotees alike.

Author: Brian Clegg
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 125005785X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
An exciting new book about real-life technology derived from science fiction and its impact on the world.

Author: Brian Clegg
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1785787489
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
The breakthroughs that have had the most transformative practical impacts, from thermodynamics to the Internet. Physics informs our understanding of how the world works – but more than that, key breakthroughs in physics have transformed everyday life. We journey back to ten separate days in history to understand how particular breakthroughs were achieved, meet the individuals responsible and see how each breakthrough has influenced our lives. It is a unique selection. Focusing on practical impact means there is no room for Stephen Hawking's work on black holes, or the discovery of the Higgs boson. Instead we have the relatively little-known Rudolf Clausius (thermodynamics) and Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (superconductivity), while Albert Einstein is included not for his theories of relativity but for the short paper that gave us E=mc2 (nuclear fission). Later chapters feature transistors, LEDs and the Internet.

Author: Brian Clegg
Publisher: Icon Books
ISBN: 1785783211
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
On 14 September 2015, after 50 years of searching, gravitational waves were detected for the first time and astronomy changed for ever. Until then, investigation of the universe had depended on electromagnetic radiation: visible light, radio, X-rays and the rest. But gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of space and time – are unrelenting, passing through barriers that stop light dead. At the two 4-kilometre long LIGO observatories in the US, scientists developed incredibly sensitive detectors, capable of spotting a movement 100 times smaller than the nucleus of an atom. In 2015 they spotted the ripples produced by two black holes spiralling into each other, setting spacetime quivering. This was the first time black holes had ever been directly detected – and it promises far more for the future of astronomy. Brian Clegg presents a compelling story of human technical endeavour and a new, powerful path to understand the workings of the universe.

Author: Andrew May
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319898302
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
The Cold War saw scientists in East and West racing to create amazing new technologies, the like of which the world had never seen. Yet not everyone was taken by surprise. From super-powerful atomic weapons to rockets and space travel, readers of science fiction (SF) had seen it all before. Sometimes reality lived up to the SF vision, at other times it didn’t. The hydrogen bomb was as terrifyingly destructive as anything in fiction, while real-world lasers didn't come close to the promise of the classic SF ray gun. Nevertheless, when the scientific Cold War culminated in the Strategic Defence Initiative of the 1980s, it was so science-fictional in its aspirations that the media dubbed it “Star Wars”. This entertaining account, offering a plethora of little known facts and insights from previously classified military projects, shows how the real-world science of the Cold War followed in the footsteps of SF – and how the two together changed our perception of both science and scientists, and paved the way to the world we live in today.

Author: Andrew May
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030133141
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description
People are used to seeing “fake physics” in science fiction – concepts like faster-than-light travel, antigravity and time travel to name a few. The fiction label ought to be a giveaway, but some SF writers – especially those with a background in professional science – are so adept at “technobabble” that it can be difficult to work out what is fake and what is real. To confuse matters further, Isaac Asimov’s 1948 piece about the fictitious time-travelling substance thiotimoline was written, not as a short story, but in the form of a spoof research paper. The boundaries between fact and fiction can also be blurred by physicists themselves - sometimes unintentionally, sometimes with tongue-in-cheek, sometimes to satirize perceived weaknesses in research practices. Examples range from hoaxes aimed at exposing poor editorial standards in academic publications, through “thought experiments” that sound like the plot of a sci-fi movie to April Fools’ jokes. Even the latter may carry a serious message, whether about the sociology of science or poking fun at legitimate but far-out scientific hypotheses. This entertaining book is a joyous romp exploring the whole spectrum of fake physics – from science to fiction and back again.

Author: Brian Clegg
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1429987421
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
According to a recent survey, the most popular question about science from the general public was: what came before the Big Bang? We all know on some level what the Big Bang is, but we don't know how it became the accepted theory, or how we might know what came before. In Before the Big Bang, Brian Clegg (the critically acclaimed author of Upgrade Me and The God Effect) explores the history of this remarkable concept. From the earliest creation myths, through Hershel's realization that the Milky Way was one of many galaxies, to on-going debates about Black Holes, this is an incredible look at the origins of the universe and the many theories that led to the acceptance of the Big Bang. But in classic scientist fashion Clegg challenges the notion of the "Big Bang" itself, and raises the deep philosophical question of why we might want to rethink the origin of the universe. This is popular science at its best, exploratory, controversial, and utterly engrossing.

Author: Michael Morwood
Publisher: Twenty-Third Publications
ISBN: 9780896227248
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Tomorrow's Catholic offers a fascinating outline of contemporary cosmology that connects the message of Jesus and the spirituality of Pentecost to the world we live in today. A special focus is on expressing ancient truths in contemporary language.

Author: Raj Aseervatham
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000284913
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 166

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Book Description
Maintaining good business leadership in a world of rapidly changing expectations levied by customers, investors, society, governments and employees is a challenge. These stakeholders are increasingly making choices about if or how they support businesses – through the purchase of their products and services, shareholdings and financing, regulatory approvals, and even experiences working for them – based on not just what a business does, but how it does it. We are seeing shifts in stakeholder sentiments that manifest in a greater expectation that businesses work with society in addressing society’s contemporary concerns. This greater good that businesses bring is rewarded by a greater brand awareness, connection and loyalty, which in turn provides businesses with an underlying strategic advantage over the competition with its customers, investors and other stakeholders. But this greater good cannot be faked with PR and bought media; in an increasingly connected world populated by an increasingly savvy millennial stakeholder base, authentic leadership and its ability to effect cultural shifts in the DNA of businesses is essential. Failure to do so will likely result in shorter and less successful tenures of Board members and C-suite leaders as this business trend spreads. This book looks at how the emerging generation of leaders must change paradigms and transform their employees to do more than just operate a business. It examines how to effect culture shifts that are necessary to innovate businesses so that they simultaneously meet market needs while meeting stakeholder expectations on concerns as varied as ethical business conduct, labor practices, climate change, responsible use of diminishing natural resources and contribution to socio-economic challenges in their market catchments. These are perspectives and skills that are still glossed over, by academic and professional institutions, as they develop the leaders of the future. Essentially, this book: • Articulates the strategic business case for doing good in a good business; the why, and where this trajectory is leading • Provides strategies to lead authentically on the array of issues that provide key stakeholders – customers, investors, governments and employees – with a greater reason to engage with and build loyalty to the business • Provides strategies to energize and spark innovation among his/her employees in an organization on these issues so that transformative power is harnessed.

Author: Donald Wilson
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1410796280
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 533

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Book Description
A TEENAGERS LIFE CAN BE DIFFICULT, HOLDING UNTOLD OBSTACLES Teenagers you can make it! Always seek God first and acknowledge him in all your ways, He shall direct your path. This triumphing story tells how a teenage girl struggles to overcome family stress, peer pressure, molestation, fornication, teen pregnancy, and abortion. She was taken in by the struggles of being a teenager, yet she miraculously survives and lives to share her story in hope that it will emphasize to other teenagers, the importance of keeping or developing a close bonded relationship with GOD. Experience her journey, witness how the Lord helped her to overcome and remarkably turns her life around in spite of the obstacles set by Satan to destroy her youth. Don't forget the Press to Pray to Praise!