Clique em uma foto para ir ao Google Livros
Carregando... Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold (1999)de Tom Shachtman
Carregando...
Registre-se no LibraryThing tpara descobrir se gostará deste livro. Ainda não há conversas na Discussão sobre este livro. As a history of the scientific pursuit of ultra low temperatures, "Absolute Zero" is a fairly decent narrative for the general reader. The author stays away from formulas, detailed technical descriptions or diagrams of any sort. The book is really more about the people involved and their relationships with each other; there's a lot of backstabbing in the scientific world! The book however doesn't go fair beyond that. The author does throw in a bit of history of the commercial aspects of cold, like the ice sellers of the nineteenth century and the rise of air conditioning and the flash freezing of food, but these seem to be added as some padding for the book and only whet the appetite. I would recommend this book only for those who wish to gain some insight on the history but aren't looking for much in the way of science. sem resenhas | adicionar uma resenha
Pertence à série publicada
"In a sweeping science adventure story, rich with historical characters, including Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, Tom Shachtman takes us on a journey in which the extraordinary secrets of cold are teased apart and mastered, bringing advances in civilization and comfort. Starting in the 1600s with an alchemist's attempt to air condition Westminster Abbey and the invention of thermometers and scales (where should zero be set?), the story unfolds as nineteenth-century merchants sell Walden Pond ice to tropical countries and competing scientists pursue absolute zero with as much fervor as the races toward the North and South Poles aroused."--Jacket. Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
Current DiscussionsNenhum(a)Capas populares
Google Books — Carregando... GênerosClassificação decimal de Dewey (CDD)536.56Natural sciences and mathematics Physics Heat; Thermodynamics Temperature (See also 551.52 Meteorology; 613.18 Hygene) Low TemperaturesClassificação da Biblioteca do Congresso dos E.U.A. (LCC)AvaliaçãoMédia:
É você?Torne-se um autor do LibraryThing. |
Bonus points for naming an alumni of my alma mater and name dropping RPI, although I found it funny that the author referred to it as "Rensselaer Polytech," which nobody in the universe calls the school.
At times the book dragged, but the last chapter was really interesting. I work with liquid nitrogen and liquid helium all the time so I understand how important liquid gases are. Would have enjoyed hearing more about how scientists are achieving extreme low temperatures, but that was completely missing. ( )