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The Resource Four revolutions in the earth sciences : from heresy to truth, James Lawrence Powell

Four revolutions in the earth sciences : from heresy to truth, James Lawrence Powell

Creator
Summary
Over the course of the twentieth century, scientists came to accept four counterintuitive yet fundamental facts about the Earth: deep time, continental drift, meteorite impact, and global warming. When first suggested, each proposition violated scientific orthodoxy and was quickly denounced as scientific - and sometimes religious - heresy. Nevertheless, after decades of rejection, new data persuaded scientists to change their minds. The stories behind these four discoveries reflect more than the fascinating push and pull of scientific work. They reveal the provocative nature of science and how it raises profound and sometimes uncomfortable truths as it advances. For example, counter to common sense, the Earth and the solar system are older than all of human existence; the interactions among the moving plates and the continents they carry account for nearly all of the Earth's surface features; and nearly every important feature of our solar system results from the chance collision of objects in space. Most surprising of all, we humans have altered the climate of an entire planet and now threaten the future of civilization. This absorbing scientific history is the only book to describe the evolution of these four ideas from heresy to truth, showing how science works in practice and how it inevitably corrects the mistakes of its practitioners. Scientists can be wrong, but they do not stay wrong. In the process, astonishing ideas are born, tested, and over time take root. -- from dust jacket
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xvi, 367 pages
Contents
  • Machine generated contents note: pt. 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 -- pt. 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 -- pt. 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 -- pt. IV GLOBAL WARMING -- Origins of the CO2 Theory -- Tedious Calculations of Extraordinary Interest -- Destructive Criticism -- A Unique Experiment of Planetary Dimensions -- Giant Brains
  • Contents note continued: Warming Is Unequivocal -- From Heresy to Truth
Isbn
9780231164481
Instance
Label
Four revolutions in the earth sciences : from heresy to truth
Title
Four revolutions in the earth sciences
Title remainder
from heresy to truth
Statement of responsibility
James Lawrence Powell
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Over the course of the twentieth century, scientists came to accept four counterintuitive yet fundamental facts about the Earth: deep time, continental drift, meteorite impact, and global warming. When first suggested, each proposition violated scientific orthodoxy and was quickly denounced as scientific - and sometimes religious - heresy. Nevertheless, after decades of rejection, new data persuaded scientists to change their minds. The stories behind these four discoveries reflect more than the fascinating push and pull of scientific work. They reveal the provocative nature of science and how it raises profound and sometimes uncomfortable truths as it advances. For example, counter to common sense, the Earth and the solar system are older than all of human existence; the interactions among the moving plates and the continents they carry account for nearly all of the Earth's surface features; and nearly every important feature of our solar system results from the chance collision of objects in space. Most surprising of all, we humans have altered the climate of an entire planet and now threaten the future of civilization. This absorbing scientific history is the only book to describe the evolution of these four ideas from heresy to truth, showing how science works in practice and how it inevitably corrects the mistakes of its practitioners. Scientists can be wrong, but they do not stay wrong. In the process, astonishing ideas are born, tested, and over time take root. -- from dust jacket
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1936-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Powell, James Lawrence
Dewey number
550
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
QE11
LC item number
.P69 2015
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Geology
  • Geological time
  • Continental drift
  • Meteoritic hypothesis
  • Global warming
  • SCIENCE
  • Continental drift
  • Geological time
  • Geology
  • Global warming
  • Meteoritic hypothesis
  • Geowissenschaften
  • Wissenschaftstheorie
Label
Four revolutions in the earth sciences : from heresy to truth, James Lawrence Powell
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-349) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
  • Machine generated contents note: pt. 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 -- pt. 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 -- pt. 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 -- pt. IV GLOBAL WARMING -- Origins of the CO2 Theory -- Tedious Calculations of Extraordinary Interest -- Destructive Criticism -- A Unique Experiment of Planetary Dimensions -- Giant Brains
  • Contents note continued: Warming Is Unequivocal -- From Heresy to Truth
Control code
ocn878953792
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xvi, 367 pages
Isbn
9780231164481
Lccn
2014016926
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
40024560402
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9780231164481
  • (OCoLC)878953792
Label
Four revolutions in the earth sciences : from heresy to truth, James Lawrence Powell
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-349) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
  • Machine generated contents note: pt. 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 -- pt. 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 -- pt. 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 -- pt. IV GLOBAL WARMING -- Origins of the CO2 Theory -- Tedious Calculations of Extraordinary Interest -- Destructive Criticism -- A Unique Experiment of Planetary Dimensions -- Giant Brains
  • Contents note continued: Warming Is Unequivocal -- From Heresy to Truth
Control code
ocn878953792
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xvi, 367 pages
Isbn
9780231164481
Lccn
2014016926
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
40024560402
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9780231164481
  • (OCoLC)878953792

Subject

Genre

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