Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. ThermoPoetics: Energy in Victorian Literature and Science by Barri J. Gold

    For the literary-minded physics aficionado, this book examines literature’s role in shaping and wrestling with emerging ideas of energy and thermodynamics in the Victorian age. THERMOPOETICS: ENERGY IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE AND SCIENCE BY BARRI J. GOLD MIT, 2010, 343 p., $30.

  2. Present at the Creation: The Story of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider by Amir D. Aczel

    The story of the Large Hadron Collider — the biggest and most powerful machine ever built — is told in part from its control room, where scientists are working to re-create the moments immediately after the Big Bang. PRESENT AT THE CREATION: THE STORY OF CERN AND THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER BY AMIR D. ACZEL […]

  3. Absolutely Small: How Quantum Theory Explains Our Everyday World by Michael D. Fayer

    In clear and mostly math-free language, a chemist describes quantum theory in everyday life, relating such tidbits as why blueberries are blue and how a photon can be in two places at once. ABSOLUTELY SMALL: HOW QUANTUM THEORY EXPLAINS OUR EVERYDAY WORLD BY MICHAEL D. FAYER AMACOM, 2010, 383 p., $24.

  4. Book Review: The Mind’s Eye by Oliver Sacks

    Review by Nathan Seppa.

  5. Book Review: Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World’s Most Mysterious Fish by James Prosek

    Review by Sid Perkins.

  6. The Field Guide to Natural Phenomena by Keith Heidorn and Ian Whitelaw

    An illustrated tour of everyday events and amazing spectacles, from mirages and meteors to ball lightning. THE FIELD GUIDE TO NATURAL PHENOMENA BY KEITH HEIDORN AND IAN WHITELAW Firefly, 2010, 223 p., $24.95.

  7. Super Species by Garry Hamilton

    In this cautionary tale, a journalist profiles 20 of the invasive organisms that may one day dominate the planet. SUPER SPECIES BY GARRY HAMILTON Firefly, 2010, 271 p., $35.

  8. Atlas of Science by Katy Börner

    A large-format book highlights attractive and informative illustrations of a variety of science topics, and creators of the images describe how they were made. ATLAS OF SCIENCE BY KATY BöRNER MIT, 2010, 254 p., $29.95.

  9. Virtual Words by Jonathon Keats

    Twenty-eight essays trace the births and lives (sometimes short) of blog, qubit and other science- and technology-inspired words. VIRTUAL WORDS BY JONATHON KEATS Oxford Univ., 2010, 177 p., $19.95.

  10. The Price of Altruism by Oren Harman

    A biography of George Price follows the eccentric and reclusive scientist in his quest to explain altruism in a Darwinian world. THE PRICE OF ALTRUISM BY OREN HARMAN W.W. Norton & Co., 2010, 451 p., $27.95.

  11. Science Future

    November 6 Tweens can explore science and magic at the Moore Public Library in Tacoma, Wash. http://www.tacomapubliclibrary.org November 6 The Orlando Science Center in Florida hosts a “Neanderthal Ball.” Cocktail dress with caveman couture. http://www.osc.org November 17 Entry deadline for teen whiz kid competition, the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search. http://www.societyforscience.org/sts

  12. Science Past from the issue of November 5, 1960

    “BUMPERS” FOR SPACE SHIPS — Sound-proofed “meteor bumpers” for space ships are needed to provide important psychological and physical protection for astronauts traveling through fast moving concentrations of space dust as they leave the earth, Dr. Fred L. Whipple, director, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and a professor of astronomy at Harvard University, reported. The sound of […]