Physics of the Invisible Sun

Physics of the Invisible Sun
Author: Ashok Ambastha
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2020-03-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1000760871

Physics of the invisible Sun: Instrumentation, Observations, and Inferences provides a new updated perspectives of the dramatic developments in solar physics mainly after the advent of the space era. It focusses on the instrumentation exploiting the invisible windows of the electromagnetic spectrum for observing the outer, fainter layers of the Sun. It emphasizes on the several technical and observational challenges and proceeds to discuss the discoveries related to energetic phenomena occurring in the transition region and corona. The book begins with giving a brief glimpse of the historical developments during the pre-, and post-telescopic periods of visible and spectroscopic techniques, ground-based optical and radio observing sites. Various types of telescopes and back-end instrumentation are presented based on photometry, spectroscopy, and polarimetry using the Zeeman and Hanle effects for measurement of magnetic fields, and Doppler effect for radial velocity measurements. The book discusses theoretical and observational inferences based on detection of solar neutrinos, and helioseismology as the probes of the hidden solar interior, and tests of solar standard models. The characteristic properties and observational signatures of global solar p- and g-oscillations modes, developments in local helioseismology and asteroseismology are discussed. The role of the solar magnetic field and differential rotation in the activity and magnetic cycles, prediction methodologies, and dynamo models are described. Observing the Sun in IR at the longer, and the UV, EUV, XUV, X-rays, and gamma-rays at the shorter wavelengths are covered in detail. Observational challenges at each of these wavelengths are presented followed by the instrumentation for detection and imaging that have resulted in enhancing the understanding of various solar transient phenomena, such as, flares and CMEs. The outer most corona is described as a dynamic, expanding component of the Sun from the theoretical and observational perspectives of the solar wind. It then discusses the topics of the Interplanetary magnetic field, slow and fast solar wind, interaction with magnetised and non-magnetised objects of the solar system, the space weather and the physics of the heliosphere. The chapter on the future directions in solar physics presents a brief overview of the new major facilities in various observing windows, and the future possibilities of observing the Sun from ground and vantage locations in space. Features: Systematic overview of the developments in instrumentation, observational challenges and inferences derived from ground-based and space-borne solar projects. Advances in the understanding about the solar interior from neutrinos and helioseismology. Recent research results and future directions from ground- and space-based observations. This book may serve as a reference book for scientific researchers interested in multi-wavelength instrumentation and observational aspects of solar physics. It may also be used as a textbook for a graduate-level course.

Mapping the Spectrum

Mapping the Spectrum
Author: Klaus Hentschel
Publisher:
Total Pages: 596
Release: 2002
Genre: Research
ISBN: 9780198509530

Ever since the boom of spectrum analysis in the 1860s, spectroscopy has become one of the most fruitful research technologies in analytic chemistry, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. This book is the first in-depth study of the ways in which various types of spectra, especially the sun's Fraunhofer lines, have been recorded, displayed, and interpreted. The book assesses the virtues and pitfalls of various types of depictions, including hand sketches, woodcuts, engravings, lithographs and, from the late 1870s onwards, photomechanical reproductions. The material of a 19th-century engraver or lithographer, the daily research practice of a spectroscopist in the laboratory, or a student's use of spectrum posters in the classroom, all are looked at and documented here. For pioneers of photography such as John Herschel or Hermann Wilhelm Vogel, the spectrum even served as a prime test object for gauging the color sensitivity of their processes. This is a broad, contextual portrayal of the visual culture of spectroscopy in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The illustrations are not confined to spectra--they show instruments, laboratories, people at work, and plates of printing manuals. The result is a multifacetted description, focusing on the period from Fraunhofer up to the beginning of Bohr's quantum theory. A great deal of new and fascinating material from two dozen archives has been included. A must for anyone interested in the history of modern science or in research practice using visual representations.

Einstein's Jury

Einstein's Jury
Author: Jeffrey Crelinsten
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2016-05-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691171076

Einstein's Jury is the dramatic story of how astronomers in Germany, England, and America competed to test Einstein's developing theory of relativity. Weaving a rich narrative based on extensive archival research, Jeffrey Crelinsten shows how these early scientific debates shaped cultural attitudes we hold today. The book examines Einstein's theory of general relativity through the eyes of astronomers, many of whom were not convinced of the legitimacy of Einstein's startling breakthrough. These were individuals with international reputations to uphold and benefactors and shareholders to please, yet few of them understood the new theory coming from the pen of Germany's up-and-coming theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein. Some tried to test his theory early in its development but got no results. Others--through toil and hardship, great expense, and perseverance--concluded that it was wrong. A tale of international competition and intrigue, Einstein's Jury brims with detail gleaned from Crelinsten's far-reaching inquiry into the history and development of relativity. Crelinsten concludes that the well-known British eclipse expedition of 1919 that made Einstein famous had less to do with the scientific acceptance of his theory than with his burgeoning public fame. It was not until the 1920s, when the center of gravity of astronomy and physics shifted from Europe to America, that the work of prestigious American observatories legitimized Einstein's work. As Crelinsten so expertly shows, the glow that now surrounds the famous scientist had its beginnings in these early debates among professional scientists working in the glare of the public spotlight.

Guide to the Sun

Guide to the Sun
Author: Kenneth J. H. Phillips
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 1995-03-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521397889

The Sun has been an object of scientific interest since the time of the ancient Greeks. The vast amounts of observational data acquired in recent years have led to a greatly improved knowledge of the physics of the Sun. With a minimum of technicalities, this book gives an account of what we now know about the Sun's interior, its surface and atmosphere, its relation to the solar system including the earth, and its relation to other stars. The way that solar power is being converted to useful forms of energy is explained. The book is aimed at anyone with a broad science background interested in learning about the latest developments in solar studies, from those at high-school level to the non-specialist professional.