The search for extraterrestrial life : essays on science and technology

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

The search for extraterrestrial life : essays on science and technology

edited by P. Day

Oxford University Press, 1998

Available at  / 1 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

Includes bibliographical references

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Are we alone or are there other intelligent forms of life in the Universe? Sir Arnold Wolfendale explores the ways in which Scientists' thinking on this question has evolved, including an hypothesis to estimate how probable intelligent extraterrestrial life might be, and a discussion of the Martian meterorites that were the subject of recent speculation about life on Mars. Meteorites in general, where they come from and what we can learn from them, are discussed by Monica Grady, a researcher in interstellar components in meteorites and micrometeorites. Together with other essays by experts in their fields, this volume of selected Evening Discourses from the Royal Institution offers an authoritative and accessible summary of current thinking in many areas of science and technology. The subjects are wide-ranging, from studies of Venus and what they tell us about the Earth, the history and possible future of television, to the interface between art and science - using spectroscopy to analyse the pigments in Medieval manuscripts. Will we will be able to build machines with molecular-based memories? How do you deal with an historic tower 'founded on jelly and slowly inclining to the point at which it is about to fall over'? The answers to these and other questions are to be found within.

Table of Contents

  • 1. The search for extraterrestrial life and the future of life on earth
  • 2. Magellan looks at Venus
  • 3. Meteorites: Messengers from the past
  • 4. Television beyond the millenium
  • 6. 'There or thereabouts'
  • 7. Pondering on Pisa
  • 8. An arts/science interface: Medieval manuscripts, piments, and spectroscopy
  • The Royal Institution Discourses

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

  • NCID
    BA73255028
  • ISBN
    • 0198504144
  • LCCN
    98008015
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Oxford ; New York
  • Pages/Volumes
    167 p.
  • Size
    24 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
Page Top