Powell Four Revolutions in the Earth Sciences

From Heresy to Truth
1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-0-231-53845-9
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 384 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

How does science advance from entrenched orthodoxy to embrace new ideas? How do we come to accept as truths propositions that at first seem like heresies?

Autoren/Hrsg.

Powell, James

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Geologie Geschichte der Geowissenschaften

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction
Part I. Deep Time
The Abyss of Time
A Great Mistake Has Been Made
The Bank of Time
Account Overdrawn
Strange Rays
An Hourglass of Great Precision
Geochronology
Duck Soup
Part II. Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
An Idea to Pursue
A Very Trusting Man
Dead on Arrival
Geologists Unite Against Heresy
Continental Drift: Not Even Wrong
Postwar Surprises
Wandering Poles or Drifting Continents?
The Final Confrontation
Spreading Seafloors
HypotHESSes
The Discovery of the Century
All This Rubbish
Part III. Meteorite Impact
A Trivial Process
To Hunt a Star
The Moon's Face
Rosetta Stone
To a Rocky Moon
Worlds in Collision
Dinosaur Killer
Out with a Bang
Cosmic Pinball
Part IV. Global Warming
Origins of the CO2 Theory
Tedious Calculations of Extraordinary Interest
Destructive Criticism
A Unique Experiment of Planetary Dimensions
Giant Brains
Warming Is Unequivocal
From Heresy to Truth
Acknowledgments
Notes
Recommended Reading
Bibliography
Index

Leseproben

Read an excerpt from the chapter, "Deep Time":

Über Autor(innen)

James Lawrence Powell serves as executive director of the National Physical Science Consortium, a partnership among government agencies and laboratories, industry, and higher education dedicated to increasing the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool that includes women and minorities. He received his Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has taught at Oberlin College and served as its acting president. He has also been president of Franklin and Marshall College, Reed College, the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush both appointed Powell to the National Science Board. He is also the author of The Inquisition of Climate Science.