Showing posts with label astrophysics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label astrophysics. Show all posts

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming Review

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
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How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming ReviewThanks to Mike Brown, two of my childhood illusions have been shattered: Pluto is no longer a planet, and Astronomy isn't a riveting, exciting science as I thought it would be.
Mike Brown is a CalTech astronomer who has been looking for objects past Pluto and found over a dozen of them. That's where the problem lies. Most of objects are half the size of Pluto, and Eris is about 25% bigger than Pluto. So it stands to reason that either Eris is our new 10th planet in the solar system, or since it behaves a bit strangely like Pluto, then Pluto isn't a planet (since it moves in an irregular orbit, etc.) The logic makes sense, and Dr. Brown explains it from both sides and fully understands that growing up, all of us learned that Pluto was a planet, and that changing that would result in uproar. He's fair and balanced in his logic and reasoning and explains it very well.
Dr. Brown doesn't romance the life of the astronomer: they work odd hours, have to deal with weather, the moon, long hours poured over maps and plates to determine if objects move or not. They're obsessive creatures with understanding spouses (Dr. Brown mentions his spouse a lot, who sounds like a great person and adds "Astronomy wives" to the long list of suffering spouses who deal with a spouse with a crazy profession.)
There's an interesting background to what it means to actually discover something. I didn't know that there was a proper naming nomenclature behind finding objects. Giving Eris the original name of Xena (after the "Warrior Princess" TV show) lead to vigorous discussion. If it was a Kuiper belt object, then it should be named after a creation deity. This is something that not many people are aware of, and they got bent out of shape when Brown and his group deviated from it, even with nicknames.
The writing is strong. Sometimes with books written by scientists, the narrative tends to get in the way of the science. I hope that this isn't Dr. Brown's last book, because I could see him writing more books on astronomy for wider audiences.
Overall, I'd recommend this book for people with an interest in astronomy and anyone who has an interest in why Pluto isn't a planet any longer. It's a good read for anyone who's ever dreamed beyond the planet.How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming Overview

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A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science Review

A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science
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A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science ReviewThis is a very well written book that relates some basic concepts in geometry to science, architecture and life. Each of the ten chapters is about a geometric shape and Mr. Schneider shows how to construct it using only compass and straight-edge. The author begins every construction from a circle, and every line is shown as the intersection of two or more circles. This is consistent with his assertion in Chapter One that the circle is Unity, but I believe it is also more accurate geometrically.
Mr. Schneider gets into the Platonic Solids, explains the golden section and its use in architecture and nature, shows the regularity in nature and a lot more. This is a very educational book that covers a lot of ground, and does so in an entertaining way.
What I really like about the book is the author's ability to bring geometry to life. There are many diagrams, drawings and pictures which make it easy to follow the text.
The book is written for the layman, not the mathematician. If you are looking for a more rigorous introduction to geometry, try reading H.M.S. Coxeter (if you can!).
This book would be a nice companion to "The Power of Limits" by Doczi, 'The Geometry of Art and Life" by Ghyka, and "The Divine Proportion" by Huntley.
If I had to recommend only one book about geometry for the average reader, this book would be my first choice.A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science Overview

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