Between the Earth and the Heavens: Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences (History of Modern Physical Sciences) 1786349841, 9781786349842

Table of contents :
Contents
Preface
About the Author
Part 1: Matters of Physics
1.1. The Many Faces of Thermodynamics
1.1.1. ENERGY CONSERVATION
1.1.2. MATTER AND ENERGY
1.1.3. THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
1.1.4. HEAT DEATH AND ENTROPIC CREATION
1.1.5. CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL IMPACTS
1.2. The Versatile Bohr Atom
1.2.1. A QUANTUM THEORY OF ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
1.2.2. MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND CONCEPTUAL OBJECTIONS
1.2.3. MONSTER ATOMS
1.2.4. THE ISOTOPE EFFECT
1.2.5. MOLECULES AND MANY-ELECTRON ATOMS
1.3. From Positrons to Antimatter
1.3.1. POSITIVE ELECTRONS BEFORE THE ANTIELECTRON
1.3.2. A MIRACULOUS EQUATION
1.3.3. ANTIELECTRON OR POSITRON?
1.3.4. THE NEGATIVE PROTON
1.3.5. COSMIC ANTIMATTER
1.4. Constants of Nature
1.4.1. FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS OF NATURE
1.4.2. MINIMUM LENGTH, MINIMUM TIME
1.4.3. GRAVITY
1.4.4. THE FINE-STRUCTURE CONSTANT
1.4.5. THE VELOCITY OF LIGHT
Part 2: Molecules and Elements
2.1. Inorganic Darwinism and the Unity of Matter
2.1.1. PROUT’S LAW
2.1.2. THE RISE OF ASTROCHEMISTRY
2.1.3. PERIODIC SYSTEMS
2.1.4. CHEMICAL DARWINISM
2.1.5. ELECTRONS AND CHEMICAL EVOLUTION
2.2. Auroral Chemistry
2.2.1. AURORA BOREALIS
2.2.2. THE RIDDLE OF THE GREEN LINE
2.2.3. AURORAL ELEMENTS?
2.2.4. A FAILED RESEARCH PROGRAM
2.2.5. THE GREEN LINE REVEALED AND EXPLAINED
2.3. Triatomic Hydrogen
2.3.1. EARLY THEORIES AND EXPERIMENTS
2.3.2. ACTIVE HYDROGEN
2.3.3. COUNTEREVIDENCE AND DISBELIEF
2.3.4. DISCOVERIES OF H3 AND H3+
2.4. Between Chemistry and Physics
2.4.1. FROM KANT TO NERNST
2.4.2. WHAT IS A CHEMICAL ELEMENT?
2.4.3. STRONG ELECTROLYTES
2.4.4. TOWARDS QUANTUM CHEMISTRY
2.5. Transuranic and Superheavy Elements
2.5.1. AN ERA OF SPECULATIONS
2.5.2. TOWARDS SUPERHEAVY ELEMENTS
2.5.3. NOBELIUM, ELEMENT 102
2.5.4. TRANSFERMIUM WARS
2.5.5. THE HEAVIEST ELEMENT SO FAR
Part 3: Astronomy and Astrophysics
3.1. Curved Space: From Mathematics to Astronomy
3.1.1. NON-EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY
3.1.2. ZÖLLNER’S UNIVERSE
3.1.3. A FOURTH SPACE DIMENSION?
3.1.4. FIN DE SIÈCLE ASTRONOMY
3.1.5. EINSTEIN’S CURVED SPACE
3.2. Early Theories of Stellar Energy
3.2.1. THE ATTRACTION OF GRAVITATION
3.2.2. THE RADIOACTIVE SUN
3.2.3. ANNIHILATION AND FUSION HYPOTHESES
3.2.4. NON-CONSERVATION OF STELLAR ENERGY?
3.2.5. QUANTUM MECHANICS ENTERS THE GAME
3.3. The Rise of Nuclear Astrophysics
3.3.1. NUCLEAR ARCHEOLOGY
3.3.2. BETHE’S BREAKTHROUGH
3.3.3. THE TRIPLE ALPHA PROCESS
3.3.4. STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
3.3.5. SOLAR NEUTRINOS
3.4. An Expanding Universe
3.4.1. RELATIVISTIC COSMOLOGY
3.4.2. FROM SLIPHER TO HUBBLE
3.4.3. FRIEDMAN–LEMAÎTRE EQUATIONS
3.4.4. WHO DISCOVERED THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE?
3.4.5. TIRED-LIGHT AND RELATED THEORIES
Part 4: The Universe at Large
4.1. The Age of the Universe
4.1.1. A WORLD OF FINITE AGE?
4.1.2. THE PRIMEVAL-ATOM THEORY
4.1.3. A COSMOLOGICAL PARADOX
4.1.4. THE STEADY-STATE SOLUTION
4.1.5. FROM 1.2 TO 13.8 BILLION YEARS
4.2. Questions of Infinity
4.2.1. EARLY VIEWS
4.2.2. HILBERT’S HOTEL
4.2.3. FROM EINSTEIN TO HOYLE
4.2.4. INFLATION AND WHAT FOLLOWED
4.3. Oscillating and Bouncing Universes
4.3.1. PRE-MODERN CYCLIC WORLDS
4.3.2. EARLY RELATIVISTIC MODELS
4.3.3. A FASCINATING BUT MARGINAL IDEA
4.3.4. THE MORE RECENT SCENE
4.3.5. BEFORE THE BIG BANG
4.4. Plentiful Nothingness
4.4.1. THE UBIQUITOUS ETHER
4.4.2. NEVER AT REST
4.4.3. THE COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT
4.4.4. VACUUM ENERGY
4.4.5. AN ACCELERATING UNIVERSE
References
Index

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