Biman B. Nath

The Story of Helium and the Birth of Astrophysics (eBook, PDF)

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

Biman Nath The Story of Helium and the Birth of Astrophysics

Helium was the first element ever discovered by astronomers. Its presence was first indicated in the Sun and not on Earth. Further, its discovery marked the birth of the new science of astrophysics.

However, it turns out that the events leading to the discovery of helium have been rather misrepresented in books, journals, and even encyclopedias. The usual story about its joint discovery during a solar eclipse in 1868 by French astronomer Pierre Janssen and late in England by Norman Lockyer, is far from the truth. Janssen never mentioned any new spectral line in his reports.

The actual story turns out to be as dramatic as in fiction. This book tells the story without jargon, using the words of the scientists themselves (from their letters and reports), and rescues the real story from the backwaters of history.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Springer US
• Seitenzahl: 274
• Erscheinungstermin: 10. November 2012
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781461453635
• Artikelnr.: 37679424

Autorenporträt

Biman Nath studied physics at the University of Delhi, India and received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Maryland, College Park, in the United States. He is currently at the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, India. His research focuses on the interaction of gas with galaxies and its implications for the evolution of galaxies and diffuse gas in the universe. He is also interested in the popularization of science and writing fiction.

Inhaltsangabe

Chapter 1: The Unbearable Lightness of a 'Noble' Element.- Chapter 2: From Alchemy to Chemistry.- Chapter 3: From Chemistry to Stars.- Chapter 4: Father Secchi, the Priest Who Became an Astronomer.- Chapter 5: Jansse, A Traveling Scientist.- Chapter 6: Norman Lockyer, Clerk Turned Astronomer.- Chapter 7: James F. Tennant, Soldier Turned Astronomer.- Chapter 8: Guntur, the Small Town at the Center of Attention.- Chapter 9: The Perpetual Eclipse of 1868.- Chapter 10: Lockyer and His Cosmic Hieroglyphics.- Chapter 11: The Ghost Element That Refused To Be Identified.- Chapter 12: Helium on Earth.- Chapter 13: The Folklore and Reality of the Discovery of Helium.- Index.

Rezensionen

From the reviews: "This book is a labor of love and a rather personal document, shedding light on a portion of physics and chemistry history that previously seems to have received too little careful analysis. ... Astronomer Nath ... has done some key detective work in mid-19th-century physics, starting with helium and expanding into the transformational perspective created by spectroscopy. ... a fine book that makes good reading and fills a gap in the literature. It belongs in all college libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels." (K. L. Schick, Choice, Vol. 50 (11), July, 2013) "Biman Nath clearly loves helium, and you very probably will too after reading this book. ... I think typical ageing astronomers will enjoy the book ... ." (Virginia Trimble, The Observatory, Vol. 133 (1233), April, 2013)