Bite-Size Science

by Dinwiddie, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780764144226
• ISBN10: 0764144227
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-01
• Publisher: Barrons Educational Series Inc

Summary

This compelling collection of facts, theories, and general scientific information is presented in clear, jargon-free language for all non-scientists who want to keep abreast of the latest developments. Two chapters that open the book explain the very small and the very large, starting with the structure of atoms and then going on to describe the composition of the solar system, stars, galaxies and black holes. Author Robert Dinwiddie next describes modern science’s understanding of the Big Bang, which scientists believe first brought all of physical reality into existence. A chapter on the planet Earth discusses plate tectonics, continental drift, volcanoes, earthquakes, and extreme weather systems. An overview of the Earth’s environment explains the hazards of pollution, the challenges posed by global warming, and the efforts to reverse those patterns by developing renewable energy sources and alternative fuels. Two chapters that follow carry science to a more personal level describing human body functions, the components of good health, disease prevention and control, DNA, the human genome, cloning, and DNA profiling. A concluding chapter translates Einstein’s relativity, quantum mechanics, and science’s general theories of everything into terms understandable to laypersons. The author’s goal in every chapter is to bring his readers up to speed on modern science’s most important issues. His intensely readable text is supplemented with more than 400 color illustrations.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 6
Very Small Stuff, or the Nature of Matter	p. 10
Atoms and Elements	p. 12
What Holds Atoms Together?	p. 14
Radioactivity	p. 16
Crystals and Molecules	p. 20
Particle Physics	p. 22
Dark Matter	p. 24
Energy Stuff	p. 26
Forms of Energy	p. 28
Your Personal Energy Expenditure	p. 30
Electromagnetic Radiation	p. 32
Mass-Energy and Splitting the Atom	p. 34
Very Big Stuff, or the Observable Universe	p. 36
Our Backyard in Space	p. 38
Our Galaxy and Beyond	p. 40
The Visible Stare	p. 42
The Sun and its Cycles	p. 44
When Stars Die	p. 46
Black Holes	p. 48
Orbits and Gravity	p. 50
Space Probes	p. 52
The Expansion of the Universe	p. 54
Extraterrestrial Life	p. 56
Origins Stuff	p. 58
The Big Bang	p. 60
Origins of the Solar System	p. 64
Origin of Earth and the Moon	p. 66
Origin of Life on Earth	p. 68
Earth's History	p. 70
Darwinian Evolution	p. 74
The Fossil Record	p. 76
Tree of Life	p. 78
Earth Stuff	p. 80
Earth's Structure	p. 82
Plate Tectonics	p. 84
Earthquakes and Volcanoes	p. 86
Ocean Currents	p. 88
Tides	p. 90
Sea-Level Rise	p. 92
Earth's Atmosphere	p. 94
Weather	p. 96
Lightning	p. 98
Environment Stuff	p. 100
Air Pollution	p. 102
Ozone Depletion	p. 104
Biomagnification	p. 106
Global Warming	p. 108
Sources of Greenhouse Gases	p. 110
Renewable Energy	p. 112
Nuclear Energy Waste	p. 114
Biofuels	p. 116
Electric Vehicles	p. 118
Recycling	p. 120
Health Stuff	p. 122
Influences on Health	p. 124
Nutrition, Diet, and Obesity	p. 126
Bugs and Superbugs	p. 130
Flu Pandemics	p. 132
Vaccines	p. 134
Relative Health Risks	p. 136
Sun and Skin	p. 138
Drugs and Sport	p. 140
Animal Testing of Medicines	p. 142
Genes Stuff	p. 144
What are Genes?	p. 146
Genes and Inheritance	p. 148
Genetic Clues to Human Past	p. 150
Gene Therapy	p. 152
GM Foods	p. 154
Cloning	p. 156
DNA Fingerprinting	p. 158
Stem-Cell Research	p. 160
Harder Stuff	p. 162
Einstein's Relativity	p. 164
Quantum Theory	p. 168
Theories of Everything	p. 170
Index	p. 172
Credits	p. 176
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