Science & Nature - Books

Juodoji gulbė

Science & Nature

„Tai, ko jūs nežinote, yra kur kas svarbiau negu tai, ką žinote“ Šių laikų informacinė visuomenė įpratusi žinoti viską – dideli informacijos srautai nuolat atnaujinami ir prieinami kiekvienam. Juodoji gulbė jai meta iššūkį – norint įminti šio reiškinio mįslę, „tai, ko jūs nežinote, yra kur kas svarbiau negu tai, ką žinote". Ar tai reiškia, kad mūsų žinios gali būti panaudotos prieš mus pačius? 1987 m. akcijų rinkų griūtis, 2004 m. cunamis Indijos vandenyne – tai tik keletas pasaulinės svarbos sukrėtimų, kurie buvo ypač netikėti. Paradoksalu: jeigu kas būtų viską numatęs – dabar nereikėtų to aptarinėti. Tokia ir yra Juodosios gulbės esmė – tai išskirtinis neprognozuojamas įvykis, pakreipiantis gyvenimą viena ar kita linkme, todėl suvokiamas tik jam įvykus. Knygoje „Juodoji gulbė" nesistengiama nuspėti, kas būtų, jeigu būtų – autorius pateikia garsiausius Juodosios gulbės pavyzdžius, siūlydamas taip aklai nepasitikėti prognozėmis, įvertinti teigiamą nežinojimo pusę ir pasinaudoti juo siekiant sėkmės. Per penkerius metus Amerikoje parduota 4 milijonai egzempliorių. 36 savaites skelbiama New York Times perkamiausių knygų sąraše. Išversta į 37 pasaulio kalbas. Pripažinta viena įtakingiausių verslo knygų per pastarąjį dešimtmetį.

How Long Is Now?

Science & Nature

How long is 'now'? The short answer is 'somewhere between 2 and 3 seconds'. The long answer involves an incredible journey through neuroscience, our subconscious and the time-bending power of meditation. Living in the present may never feel the same. Ready for some more? Okay. Why isn't Pluto a planet? Why are dogs' noses wet? Why do hens cluck more loudly after laying an egg? What happens when one black hole swallows another? Do our fingerprints change as we get older? How young can you die of old age? And what is at the very edge of the Universe? Life is full of mind-bending questions. And, as books like What If? and Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? have shown, the route to find each answer can take us on the weirdest and most wonderful journeys. How Long is Now? is a fascinating new collection of questions you never thought to ask, along with answers that will change the way you see everything.

Le Temps

Science & Nature

À la fois évident et impalpable, substantiel et fuyant, le temps s'impose dans toutes les disciplines sans être l'apanage d'aucune. Avec le talent de vulgarisateur qu'on lui connaît, Étienne Klein nous entraîne du temps de la physique à la philosophie du temps.

Microbial Biotechnology

Science & Nature

A holistic approach covering a wide range of environmental microbial applications along with current and future trends In Microbial Biotechnology: Role in Ecological Sustainability and Research, a team of distinguished researchers delivers an authoritative overview of the role of microbial biotechnology in the pursuit of environmental and ecological sustainability. The book provides readers with compelling presentations of microbial technology, including its applications in the removal of environmental pollutants, and sustainable agriculture using microbial biocontrol agents or bio-fertilizers. Readers will also be able to explore the microbial reduction of greenhouse gases and a wide range of other cutting-edge applications, including the removal of various toxic environmental contaminants, such as antibiotics, pesticides, dyes, and heavy metals. Microbial Biotechnology provides: A thorough introduction to microorganisms, their metabolic engineering, the human microbiome, and other foundational topics An in-depth exploration of environmental management, including bioremediation through a nexus approach A fulsome treatment of current trends in microbial biotechnology and its role in sustainable productionPerfect for professionals in applied microbiology, biotechnology, environmental engineering, green chemistry, and soil science, Microbial Biotechnology: Role in Ecological Sustainability and Research will also earn a place in the libraries of research scholars, scientists, and academicians with an interest in environmental microbiology and ecology.

Le facteur temps ne sonne jamais deux fois

Science & Nature

Chose déroutante, décidément, que le temps. Nous en parlons comme d’une notion familière et évidente, voire domestique, « gérable ». Les physiciens, eux, l’ont couplé à l’espace, en ont fait une variable mathématique, qu’ils intègrent dans des théories si complexes qu’elles sont difficiles à traduire en langage courant. Quant aux philosophes, ils ne cessent depuis plus de deux millénaires de s’interroger : est-il une sorte d’entité primitive, originaire, qui ne dériverait que d’elle-même ? Procède-t-il au contraire d’une ou plusieurs autres entités plus fondamentales ? Le temps s’écoule-t-il de lui-même ou a-t-il besoin des événements qui s’y déroulent pour passer ? Et au fait, le temps a-t-il eu un commencement ? Aucune discipline ne parvient à épuiser, à elle seule, la question du temps. C’est pourquoi nous avons croisé les regards des philosophes avec ceux des physiciens. Et que se passe-t-il ? Sans aucun doute de belles et troublantes choses…

Cum sa evitam un dezastru climatic

Science & Nature

ÎN ACEASTĂ CARTE SURPRINZĂTOR DE TRANȘANTĂ ȘI DE CONCENTRATĂ, BILL GATES PREZINTĂ UN PLAN AMPLU, PRACTIC – ȘI ACCESIBIL – PENTRU CUM PUTEM AJUNGE ÎN TIMP UTIL LA ZERO EMISII DE CARBON, CA SĂ EVITĂM O CATASTROFĂ CLIMATICĂ. Bill Gates a petrecut un deceniu investigând cauzele și efectele schimbărilor climatice. Cu ajutorul experților în fizică, chimie, biologie, inginerie, științe politice și finanțe, el s-a concentrat asupra măsurilor necesare pentru a opri cursul planetei noastre către un dezastru ecologic. În paginile acestui volum, nu numai că explică de ce trebuie să facem eforturi pentru a ajunge la emisii nete zero de gaze cu efect de seră, dar vine și cu informații despre ce ar trebui să facem pentru a atinge acest obiectiv extrem de important. Bill Gates ne oferă o descriere clară a provocărilor cu care ne confruntăm. Bazându-se pe înțelegerea sa despre inovație și măsurile necesare pentru a introduce idei noi pe piață, autorul prezintă domeniile în care tehnologia contribuie deja la reducerea emisiilor, unde și cum putem face tehnologiile actuale să funcționeze mai eficient, unde sunt necesare tehnologii inovatoare și cine lucrează la aceste inovații esențiale. În cele din urmă, stabilește un plan concret și practic pentru atingerea obiectivului zero emisii – sugerând nu numai politici pe care guvernele ar trebui să le adopte, dar și ceea ce putem face noi ca indivizi pentru a menține guvernul, angajatorii și pe noi înșine angrenați în această întreprindere crucială. Așa cum arată Bill Gates, reducerea la zero a emisiilor poluante nu va fi simplă sau ușor de realizat, dar, dacă urmăm planul pe care îl stabilește aici, acesta este un obiectiv ferm la îndemâna noastră. „Pentru a opri încălzirea globală și a evita efectele negative ale schimbărilor climatice, oamenii ar trebui să nu mai elibereze gaze cu efect de seră în atmosferă. Pare dificil, și așa va fi. Omenirea nu a mai contribuit niciodată la ceva de o asemenea amploare. Toate țările vor trebui să-și schimbe obiceiurile, deoarece practic toate activitățile ce țin de viața modernă – cum creștem culturile, cum fabricăm diverse lucruri, cum ne deplasăm dintr-un loc într-altul – presupun eliberarea de gaze cu efect de seră. Dacă nu se modifică nimic și lumea va produce în continuare gaze cu efect de seră, schimbările climatice vor fi din ce în ce mai severe, iar impactul asupra oamenilor va fi, cel mai probabil, catastrofal. Dar lucrurile se pot schimba. Avem deja câteva dintre instrumentele necesare – iar în privința celor pe care nu le avem încă, tot ce am învățat despre climă și tehnologie mă face să fiu optimist că le putem inventa, implementa și, dacă acționăm suficient de repede, putem evita o catastrofă climatică. Această carte este despre ce va fi nevoie pentru a face asta și de ce cred eu că putem reuși.“ BILL GATES BILL GATES este tehnolog, important om de afaceri și filantrop. În 1975, a cofondat Microsoft cu prietenul său din copilărie, Paul Allen; astăzi, el și Melinda Gates sunt copreședinți ai Fundației Bill & Melinda Gates. De asemenea, a înființat organizația Breakthrough Energy, în efortul său de a ajuta piața să comercializeze energie curată și alte tehnologii legate de climă. El și Melinda au împreună trei copii.

Ascensão e queda dos dinossauros

Science & Nature

Se hoje usamos a coroa que um dia pertenceu aos dinossauros, pode acontecer conosco o que aconteceu com eles? Há 66 milhões de anos, os dinossauros, as criaturas mais temidas da Terra, pereceram. Hoje, seguem como um dos maiores mistérios do nosso planeta. Este livro revela, como nunca antes, uma extraordinária saga de 200 milhões de anos. Baseando-se nas mais recentes descobertas científicas, Steve Brusatte, um jovem paleontólogo norte-americano que desponta como destaque na área, reconstitui esse mundo perdido e esclarece as origens enigmáticas, a evolução espetacular, a diversidade impressionante, a extinção cataclísmica e o legado duradouro dessas criaturas.

Euclid's Window

Science & Nature

Through Euclid's Window Leonard Mlodinow brilliantly and delightfully leads us on a journey through five revolutions in geometry, from the Greek concept of parallel lines to the latest notions of hyperspace. Here is an altogether new, refreshing, alternative history of math revealing how simple questions anyone might ask about space -- in the living room or in some other galaxy -- have been the hidden engine of the highest achievements in science and technology.Based on Mlodinow's extensive historical research; his studies alongside colleagues such as Richard Feynman and Kip Thorne; and interviews with leading physicists and mathematicians such as Murray Gell-Mann, Edward Witten, and Brian Greene, Euclid's Window is an extraordinary blend of rigorous, authoritative investigation and accessible, good-humored storytelling that makes a stunningly original argument asserting the primacy of geometry. For those who have looked through Euclid's Window, no space, no thing, and no time will ever be quite the same.

Algae Based Bioelectrochemical Systems for Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Storage, Bioremediation and Bioproduct Generation

Science & Nature

Algae Based Bioelectrochemical Systems for Carbon Sequestration, Carbon Storage, Bioremediation and Bioproduct Generation explores the integration of carbon capture, storage and sequestration technologies with bioelectrochemical fuels cells (BEFC), showing how conventional technologies can be renovated to aid in the reduction in GHG emissions and simultaneously optimize BEFC performance. The book focuses on the integration of algal biogas upgradation with electrochemical systems, providing a guide to the renovation of conventional technologies to combine energy production and carbon sequestration. Chapters discuss the latest advancements in carbon sequestration biocatalyst and microbial platforms and integrations for rapid carbon biotransformations. In addition, the book highlights the potential of algae and chemolithotrophs as candidates for carbon delivery, biocatalyst orientation and architecture for optimal BEFC performance. - Addresses the modification of carbon materials in the strengthening and application of bioelectrochemical fuel cells - Highlights the application of bioelectrochemical systems in carbon sequestration and utilization - Discusses the frontiers of carbon storage biocatalysts such as algae and chemlithotrophs - Includes content supported by analytical tools and detailed schematics and process diagrams that outline the integration of carbon sequestration with bioelectrochemical systems

Visions

Science & Nature

Visions, physicist Michio Kaku looks to the future and guides the reader through the science of the next century. Based on many years of research into the pioneering efforts by theoreticians, and groundbreaking research that is taking place in laboratories around the world, Kaku leads us into the next century, predicting an even more far-reaching scientific revolution than the one we have at present.

Poor Cecco - Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

Science & Nature

Margery Williams Bianco (1881 - 1944) was an English-American author, primarily of popular children's books. A professional writer since the age of nineteen. Poor Cecco is the wonderful story of a wooden dog who was the jolliest toy in the house until he went out to explore the world. Beautifully illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), Rackham was one of the premier illustrators of the early 20th Century. He illustrated many books, the first of which was published in 1893.

Fisica dell’Impossibile

Science & Nature

Riusciremo un giorno ad attraversare i muri, costruire astronavi in grado di superare la velocità della luce, leggere nella mente delle altre persone, muovere gli oggetti con la forza del pensiero e spostarci nello spazio e nel tempo? La risposta sembrerebbe scontata, e verrebbe naturale aggiungere che un conto è la scienza e un conto è la fantascienza. Eppure Michio Kaku, abile divulgatore e uomo di scienza, avverte: attenzione a trarre conclusioni affrettate, perché l'impossibile è un concetto relativo. D'altronde un secolo fa nessuno avrebbe scommesso sull'utilizzo dei raggi laser, sulla televisione o sulla capacità dell'uomo di scindere l'atomo e ricavarne energia. Teletrasporto e viaggi nel tempo, telecinesi ed esistenza di civiltà extraterrestri, fino alla possibilità di piegare la luce per nascondere oggetti e persone: Kaku prende spunto dal ricco e affascinante immaginario della fantascienza - Philip Dick e Asimov, letteratura e cinema, Tolkien e "L'uomo invisibile" - per esplorare i concetti fondamentali (e i limiti) delle leggi della fisica come le conosciamo oggi, e dimostrare che magari tra cento anni quelle di Lost potrebbero rivelarsi idee molto meno strampalate di quanto pensiamo ora.

Advanced Materials for Wastewater Treatment

Science & Nature

This comprehensive book deals with the use of novel materials such as plant-derived agents and advanced nanocomposites for the removal of heavy metals, nitrates, and synthetic dyes.Water is an essential component for living organisms on planet earth and its pollution is one of the critical global environmental issues today. The influx of significant quantities of organic and inorganic waste, sediments, surfactants, synthetic dyes, sewage, and heavy metals into all types of water bodies has been increasing substantially over the past century due to rapid industrialization, population growth, agricultural activities, and other geological and environmental changes. These pollutants are very dangerous and are posing serious threat to us all.Advanced Materials for Wastewater Treatment brings together innovative methodologies and research strategies to remove toxic effluents from wastewaters. With contributions from leading scientists from all around the world, the book provides a comprehensive coverage of the current literature, up-to-date overviews of all aspects of toxic chemical remediation including the role of nanomaterials. Together they showcase in a very lucid manner an array of technologies that complement the traditional as well as advanced treatment practices of textile effluents. In particular, the book provides: Up-to-date overviews of all aspects of toxic chemical remediation The role of plants and abundantly available agro-wastes in the remediation of wastewater The removal of nitrates from wastewater using nanocomposites

Metazoos

Science & Nature

Tras el éxito internacional de Otras mentes, el filósofo Peter Godfrey Smith vuelve con un nuevo y apasionante ensayo en el que le sigue la pista a la evolución de las formas de vida para formular una teoría de la conciencia.** Book of the Year según el Times y el Sunday Times ** Book of the Month según la BBC Science Focus **En Metazoos, el filósofo Peter Godfrey-Smith profundiza en la investigación que ya iniciara en su anterior libro, el exitoso Otras mentes. Si en aquella ocasión era la sorprendente inteligencia de los pulpos lo que servía como punto de partida para reflexionar sobre la consciencia, ahora el horizonte se amplía para incluir a todo el reino animal. Tomando como hilo conductor el progreso de la capacidad de experimentar a largo de la evolución, Godfrey-Smith muestra cómo la aparición del primer cuerpo animal, hace unos 500 millones de años, fue una innovación revolucionaria que abrió nuevos caminos al desarrollo de la vida.Siguiendo el rastro evolutivo de las esponjas marinas, el coral, los calamares estriados, pulpos y los peces, y de allí a la tierra firme hogar de insectos, pájaros y primates como nosotros, Metazoos reúne todas esas historias para intentar cerrar la aparentemente insalvable distancia que separa a la materia de la mente, y dar respuesta a una pregunta filosófica esencial: ¿cuál es el origen de la consciencia?Con una narración fascinante en la que se alternan los animales más curiosos con reflexiones filosóficas y los más recientes descubrimientos en biología, Metazoos demuestra que incluso en nuestro mundo ultra-tecnologizado no es posible entender la conciencia sin entender el funcionamiento de los nervios, músculos y cuerpos materiales que la albergan. El resultado de esa mezcla es una historia tan sorprendente como la vida misma.Book of the Year 2020 según el Times y el Sunday Times.Book of the Month según la BBC Science Focus.Best Book of 2020 según Waterstones.

The Nutmeg's Curse

Science & Nature

The author of The Great Derangement finds the origins of our climate crisis in Western colonialism’s violent exploitation of human life and the environment. A powerful work of history, essay, testimony, and polemic, Amitav Ghosh’s new book traces our contemporary planetary crisis back to the discovery of the New World and the sea route to the Indian Ocean. The Nutmeg’s Curse argues that the dynamics of climate change today are rooted in a centuries-old geopolitical order constructed by Western colonialism. At the center of Ghosh’s narrative is the now-ubiquitous spice nutmeg. The history of the nutmeg is one of conquest and exploitation—of both human life and the natural environment. In Ghosh’s hands, the story of the nutmeg becomes a parable for our environmental crisis, revealing the ways human history has always been entangled with earthly materials such as spices, tea, sugarcane, opium, and fossil fuels. Our crisis, he shows, is ultimately the result of a mechanistic view of the earth, where nature exists only as a resource for humans to use for our own ends, rather than a force of its own, full of agency and meaning. Writing against the backdrop of the global pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, Ghosh frames these historical stories in a way that connects our shared colonial histories with the deep inequality we see around us today. By interweaving discussions on everything from the global history of the oil trade to the migrant crisis and the animist spirituality of Indigenous communities around the world, The Nutmeg’s Curse offers a sharp critique of Western society and speaks to the profoundly remarkable ways in which human history is shaped by non-human forces.

On Being

Science & Nature

In this short book Peter Atkins considers the universal questions to which religions have claimed answers. With economy, wit, and elegance, unswerving before awkward realities, Atkins presents what science has to say. While acknowledging the comfort some find in belief, he declares his own faith in science's capacity to reveal the deepest truths.

Hybrid Materials for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Conversion

Science & Nature

Power small devices more efficiently and practically with these essential materials Piezoelectric energy harvesting is an increasingly widely-deployed technique to generate electricity from mechanical energy. Reliability, ease of use, and cleanliness make piezoelectric energy harvesting in small electronic devices a potentially valuable alternative to the practical challenges and waste production of disposable or even reusable batteries. However, piezoelectric materials have their own challenges, advantages, and limitations, and choosing between them is a difficult engineering problem in itself; hybrid piezoelectric materials, which can be used to compensate the weaknesses of individual piezoelectric materials (like ceramic or polymer), are the emerging solution. Hybrid Materials for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Conversion offers a systematic analysis of these hybrid piezoelectric materials and their applications. Each hybrid piezoelectric material is analyzed for its fundamentals, structural requirements, and applications, and the result is a significant contribution to materials science and electronic engineering. Hybrid Materials for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Conversion readers will also find: Comprehensive coverage of piezoelectric materials to provide the best fit for any set of engineering needs Detailed discussion of inorganic, organic, and hybrid piezoelectric materials Surface modification of piezoelectric filler in composite based piezoelectric materials Importance of semiconductive and conductive materials in enhancing piezoelectric response of hybrid piezoelectric materials In depth analysis of bio-based hybrid piezoelectric materials Hybrid Materials for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Conversion is ideal for researchers in materials sciences, polymers, textiles, green and renewable energy, and all related fields.

Génesis

Science & Nature

À MEDIDA QUE A INTELIGÊNCIA ARTIFICIAL (IA) SE TORNA MAIS DINÂMICA E OMNIPRESENTE, VAI HABILITANDO DRAMATICAMENTE AS PESSOAS EM TODOS OS SETORES DA VIDA, ENQUANTO SUSCITA QUESTÕES URGENTES SOBRE O FUTURO DA HUMANIDADE — UM DESAFIO HISTÓRICO CUJOS CONTORNOS E CONSEQUÊNCIAS SÃO REVELADOS AQUI POR TRÊS EMINENTES PENSADORES. Ao processar dados, ganhar autonomia e intermediar entre os humanos e a realidade, a IA irá ajudar-nos a enfrentar enormes crises – desde as alterações climáticas aos conflitos geopolíticos e à desigualdade de rendimentos.

Le relazioni della vita

Science & Nature

Molti dei materiali qui contenuti non sono mai stati pubblicati in nessuno dei suoi libri precedenti. Sono saggi che combinano e mettono in relazione le due facce della vita professionale di Capra, come scienziato e commentatore scientifico da una parte, e come formatore e attivista ambientalista dall’altra. Riflettono dunque i momenti salienti non solo della sua produzione ma anche della storia dei movimenti sociali: la controcultura degli anni sessanta, il movimento New Age degli anni settanta, la comparsa delle istanze politiche verdi negli anni ottanta, il sorgere della società civile globale tra gli anni novanta e i giorni nostri. La ricerca di Capra sul cambiamento dei paradigmi nella scienza e nella società è culminata con la pubblicazione del saggio Vita e natura: una visione sistemica, scritto insieme a Pier Luigi Luisi. Le relazioni della vita mostra lo sviluppo del pensiero di Fritjof Capra: dalla sua fascinazione per la fisica quantistica e il misticismo orientale, culminato con la stesura del Tao della fisica, al passaggio dalla concezione meccanicistica del mondo di Descartes e Newton a una visione sistemica ed ecologica, alle sue battaglie come attivista ed educatore ambientalista. Capra è, oggi, una delle figure di riferimento essenziali per comprendere il dibattito che accomuna fisica, spiritualità, ambientalismo e teoria dei sistemi, un intellettuale rivoluzionario, uno dei maggiori pensatori del nostro tempo.

La destinée du cerveau humain

Science & Nature

Michio Kaku, auteur de plusieurs best-sellers aux États-Unis, traite du plus fascinant et complexe "objet" de l'univers connu : le cerveau humain.Michio Kaku, dans ce livre, saisit une nouvelle réalité saisissante qui appartenait autrefois au domaine de la science-fiction. Il dévoile les recherches étonnantes menées dans les meilleurs laboratoires du monde - toutes basées sur les dernières avancées en neurosciences et en physique - comprenant des expériences récentes en télépathie, en contrôle mental, avatars, télékinésie et enregistrement de souvenirs et de rêves. Voici une exploration extraordinaire et ahurissante vers les frontières de la neuroscience. Le Dr Kaku imagine le jour où nous pourrons télécharger le cerveau humain sur un ordinateur, projeter des pensées et des émotions à travers le monde sur un réseau de cerveaux reliés entre eux, prendre une «pilule intelligente» pour améliorer la cognition et aller in fine vers les limites de l'immortalité.

Science & Nature Books