The Synthesis of the Elements [electronic resource] :The Astrophysical Quest for Nucleosynthesis and What It Can Tell Us About the Universe / by Giora Shaviv.
by Shaviv, Giora [author.]; SpringerLink (Online service).
Material type:
BookSeries: Astrophysics and Space Science Library: 387Publisher: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012.Description: XXII, 684p. 255 illus., 117 illus. in color. online resource.ISBN: 9783642283857.Subject(s): Physics | Nuclear chemistry | Astronomy | Physics | Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology | Nuclear Chemistry | History and Philosophical Foundations of PhysicsDDC classification: 520 Online resources: Click here to access online | Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB460-466 (Browse shelf) | Available | ||||
| QB980-991 (Browse shelf) | Available | ||||
| Long Loan | MAIN LIBRARY | QB1-991 (Browse shelf) | Available |
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| TK5105.5-5105.9 Reconfigurable Computing: Architectures, Tools and Applications | QD415-436 Activity-Based Protein Profiling | QB1-991 The Synthesis of the Elements | QB460-466 The Synthesis of the Elements | QB980-991 The Synthesis of the Elements | QC474-496.9 Radiation Protection at Light Water Reactors | R895-920 Radiation Protection at Light Water Reactors |
Order in the Chemical Elements -- Preparing the Ground for Delving into the Stars -- Probing the Stars from afar -- Is Physics the Same Everywhere? -- Towards the Bottom of the Nuclear Binding Energy -- The Composition-Age-Velocity Connection -- Big and Little Bangs -- How Nature Overcomes its Own Barriers -- Beyond Carbon -- Which Star Becomes which Supernova? -- Between two Extreme Nuclear Models -- Synthesis of the Heavier-than-Iron Elements -- A Process in Search of an Environment: The r-Process -- The Elusive First Stars -- Index.
This book describes the origins and evolution of the chemical elements we and the cosmos are made of. The story starts with the discovery of the common elements on Earth and their subsequent discovery in space. How do we learn the composition of the distant stars? How did progress in quantum theory, nuclear physics, spectroscopy, stellar structure and evolution, together with observations of stars, converge to provide an incredibly detailed picture of the universe? How does research in the micro-world explain the macro-world? How does progress in one affect the other, or lack of knowledge in one inhibit progress in the other? In short, Shaviv describes how we discovered the various pieces of the jigsaw that form our present picture of the universe; and how we sometimes put these in the wrong place before finding in the right one. En route we meet some fascinating personalities and learn about heated controversies. Shaviv shows how science lurched from one dogma to the next, time and again shattering much of what had been considered solid knowledge, until eventually a stable understanding arose. Beginning with generally accepted science, the book ends in today’s terra incognita of nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology. A monumental work that will fascinate scientists, philosophers, historians and lay readers alike.
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