ENGLISH

The Life of Stars: The Controversial Inception and Emergence of the Theory of Stellar Structure

By Giora Shaviv (auth.)

Book information

Publisher
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year
2009
ISBN
3642020879, 9783642020872
DOI
10.1007/978-3-642-02088-9
Google Books ID
tb5WFYlNbeAC
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
17 MB (17513615 bytes)
Edition
1
Pages
504\514
Topic
Physics Astronomy
Orientation
no
Scanned
no
Time added
2011-08-31 04:54:40
AstronomyAstrophysics and Cosmology;History and PhilosophicHadronsHeavy Ions

Description

This beautifully illustrated book describes the birth and evolution of the theory of stellar structure through the vehement controversy between biology (as presented by Darwin) and physics (as presented by Kelvin) about the age of the Earth, which culminated with Rutherford suggesting radioactive dating. Shaviv analyzes critically many proclaimed scientific results, showing how and why they were wrong, and explains why it took decades to find the now accepted scientific answers - where there are such - and why there remains much more to be done before we can say we fully understand what happens up there in the heavens. The Life of the Stars provides fascinating reading for all those interested in the stars, in the history of astronomy and in what their story tells us about how science progresses. Moreover, it will bring readers up-to-date on current problems in astrophysics.

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