Kategoria BISAC: Science >> Physics - Astrophysics

This thesis presents a novel analysis of a photometric observational feature of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia), the most precise distance indicators available for cosmological studies. While SNe Ia are crucial for understanding modern cosmology, there are systematic uncertainties associated with them that prevent use to their full potential. It is therefore vital that sources of systematic error in SN Ia standardization are better understood. In this thesis, the author robustly connects the color-magnitude diagram to SN Ia spectra and their physics for the first time, and shows that for the...

A half century ago, a shocking Washington Post headline claimed that the world began in five cataclysmic minutes rather than having existed for all time; a skeptical scientist dubbed the maverick theory the Big Bang. In this amazingly comprehensible history of the universe, Simon Singh decodes the mystery behind the Big Bang theory, lading us through the development of one of the most extraordinary, important, and awe-inspiring theories in science.

Our neighboring planets may have the answer to this question. Scientists have already identified ice caps on Mars and what appear to be enormous oceans underneath the ice of Jupiter's moons. The atmosphere on Venus appeared harsh and insupportable of life, composed of a toxic atmosphere and oceans of acid -- until scientists concluded that Earth's atmosphere was eerily similar billions of years ago.

An extraterrestrial colony, in some form, may already exist, just awaiting discovery.

But the greatest impediment to such an important scientific discovery may not be technological,...

Though largely inaccessible, the geochemistry of Earth's mantle and core can be examined through a wide variety of approaches. Volume 2 focuses first on "remote" sensing using evidence from cosmochemical, seismic, petrologic and geochemical approaches. Mantle composition is then examined in detail through descriptions of mantle samples brought to Earth's surface through tectonic, volcanic, and volatile-outgassing processes. The volume concludes with examination of processes that modify the composition of the mantle and core including an early magma ocean, partial melting, element...