Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  NASA Programs in the 1970s: The...

  Editors Charles River

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  Space exploration was always an expensive business, and throughout NASA’s history, the agency has had to justify to Congress its need for every dollar it intended to spend. This problem has helped NASA to be more careful and more creative with the money they did receive, and scientists had to justify the equipment they wanted to include on each space probe. They had to justify the size and the power demand, too. If they wanted too much, the entire mission might be scrubbed, and all their work would have been for naught. This made planning and designs leaner and more efficient, as scientists and engineers were more careful with their recommendations. 
  In fact, the Pioneer program was the most diversified sequence of any of NASA’s programs, and though they’re now remembered for being among the first probes in history to reach the Outer Solar System, the elaborate planning changed goals several times over several years before resulting in historic successes. NASA had wanted to do a Grand Tour of the Solar System toward the end of the 1970s to take advantage of the scheduled alignment of planets, which meant the Pioneer missions were meant to be test runs prior to the main events (Voyager 1 and Voyager 2), and a great many things discovered by Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 were essential to the successful planning of the Voyager probes. 
  Voyager 1 and 2 have done far more than accomplish their original missions. In fact, they are now exploring interstellar space, far beyond the outer planets in the cold wasteland between the stars. Each spacecraft carries a copy of a golden record which contains an introduction to Earth, should some alien civilization happen to encounter either Voyager 1 or Voyager 2. In the first Star Trek movie, writers imagined just that, creating a story of a Voyager spacecraft being captured and adapted for its own uses.

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  Plato's Laches

  Plato

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  Laches, a general in the Athenian army, saw Socrates fight bravely in the battle of Delium. When he and Nicias, another general, are asked to explain the idea of courage, they are at a loss, and words fail them.How does courage differ from thoughtless and reckless audacity? Can a lion be said to be courageous? What about small children who have little idea of the dangers they face? Should we call people courageous who do not know whether their bravery will produce good or bad consequences? What kind of education and training promotes both courage and goodness in people, whether they are young or old?Plato constantly presents courage as an essential quality for all who seek to live a good life, so what does it mean when even the bravest leaders of Athens cannot tell us what courage really is?© Agora Publications

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  A Year of Garden Bees and Bugs -...

  Dominic Couzens, Gail Ashton

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  A fascinating journey into the secret life of insects, with QR codes linked to videos that bring every creature to life.
  Just as birds have yearly rhythms, so do bees, beetles, butterflies and other insects. Wildlife experts Dominic Couzens and Gail Ashton discover 52 minibeasts from around the world.
  They tell the story of what is happening week-by-week in the insect world, in our own backyards, window boxes and in hidden corners of our homes. From the daily grind of the house spider building a new web each morning, to the vast appetites of ladybirds, which can devour hundreds of aphids a day, and the glory of the Stag beetle's maiden flight. We delve into the world of the lethal Sydney funnelweb spider in Australian gardens, the migratory mission of the Monarch butterfly in America and the life of the backdoor scorpions in South Africa. In among the seasonal behaviour, the authors have woven history and folklore.
  These brilliant stories are complemented by wonderful illustrations by Lesley Buckingham that bring out the beauty of the entomological world. A QR code for each entry takes you to a video file to further explore the habits of these intriguing creatures. Revealing the true wonder of our insect neighbours, this book will appeal to all nature lovers.

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  The Adventures of Odysseus and...

  Padraic Colum

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  "The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy is a captivating retelling of the ancient Greek epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Written by Padraic Colum, this book brings to life the heroic adventures of Odysseus, the clever and resourceful Greek hero, as he faces mythical creatures, gods, and treacherous seas.    In this collection, you'll find thrilling tales of Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War, his encounters with the Cyclops, the Sirens, and the enchantress Circe, and his ultimate return to Ithaka. Alongside these adventures, you'll also hear the tragic tale of Troy, the city besieged by the Greeks, and the legendary beauty of Helen that sparked the war."

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  Night Crickets and Flowing Water...

  Greg Cetus

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  This immersive binaural audio recording invites you into the heart of a tranquil nocturnal landscape. A rich, dynamic chorus of night crickets fills the air with a steady, rhythmic hum, varying in intensity like nature’s own lullaby. Beneath it all, a gurgling stream meanders softly through the scene, its gentle flow adding a calming layer to the atmosphere. In the distant background, a low, continuous roar signals the presence of wind moving unseen through the treetops—an ever-present but soothing reminder of the vast wilderness beyond. The combination of these natural elements creates a deeply relaxing environment, ideal for meditation, stress relief, or restful sleep. Designed to replicate the serene sounds of a summer night in the wild, this recording offers a peaceful escape from the noise of modern life, wrapping listeners in a blanket of pure, undisturbed calm.

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  Pseudoscience - A Very Short...

  Michael D. Gordin

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  Everyone has heard of the term "pseudoscience," typically used to describe something that looks like science, but is somehow false, misleading, or unproven. Given the virulence of contemporary disputes over the denial of climate change and anti-vaccination movements—both of which display allegations of "pseudoscience" on all sides—there is a clear need to better understand issues of scientific demarcation. 
   
   
   
  Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction explores the philosophical and historical attempts to address this problem of demarcation. This book argues that by understanding doctrines that are often seen as antithetical to science, we can learn a great deal about how science operated in the past and does today. This exploration raises several questions: How is the status of science shaped by political or cultural contexts? How does pseudoscience differ from scientific fraud? 
   
   
   
  Michael D. Gordin both answers these questions and guides listeners along a bewildering array of marginalized doctrines, looking at parapsychology (ESP), Lysenkoism, scientific racism, and alchemy, among others, to better understand the struggle to define what science is and is not. Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction provides a historical tour through many of these fringe fields in order to provide tools to think deeply about scientific controversies.

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