The Earth, the Heavens and the Carnegie Institution of Washington

The Earth, the Heavens and the Carnegie Institution of Washington
Author: Gregory Good
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Total Pages: 284
Release: 1994-01-10
Genre: Science
ISBN:

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the History of Geophysics Series, Volume 5. To reduce errors in geomagnetic measurements, the research vessel Carnegie was specially constructed of non-magnetic materials. While refueling in Apia Harbor, Samoa, November 29, 1929, an explosion occurred, destroying the ship and taking the lives of Captain J. P. Ault and the ship's cabin boy. In her 20 years, Carnegie cruised 342,681 miles of the world's oceans.

The Rejection of Continental Drift

The Rejection of Continental Drift
Author: Naomi Oreskes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 1999-04-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0195353609

In the early twentieth century, American earth scientists were united in their opposition to the new--and highly radical--notion of continental drift, even going so far as to label the theory "unscientific." Some fifty years later, however, continental drift was heralded as a major scientific breakthrough and today it is accepted as scientific fact. Why did American geologists reject so adamantly an idea that is now considered a cornerstone of the discipline? And why were their European colleagues receptive to it so much earlier? This book, based on extensive archival research on three continents, provides important new answers while giving the first detailed account of the American geological community in the first half of the century. Challenging previous historical work on this episode, Naomi Oreskes shows that continental drift was not rejected for the lack of a causal mechanism, but because it seemed to conflict with the basic standards of practice in American geology. This account provides a compelling look at how scientific ideas are made and unmade.

Charles Doolittle Walcott, Paleontologist

Charles Doolittle Walcott, Paleontologist
Author: Ellis Leon Yochelson
Publisher: Kent State University Press
Total Pages: 570
Release: 1998
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780873385992

This biography of geologist Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850-1927) documents his career and life from birth to his retirement from the US Geological Survey in 1907, when he became Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

The History of Cartography, Volume 6

The History of Cartography, Volume 6
Author: Mark Monmonier
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 1941
Release: 2015-05-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 022615212X

For more than thirty years, the History of Cartography Project has charted the course for scholarship on cartography, bringing together research from a variety of disciplines on the creation, dissemination, and use of maps. Volume 6, Cartography in the Twentieth Century, continues this tradition with a groundbreaking survey of the century just ended and a new full-color, encyclopedic format. The twentieth century is a pivotal period in map history. The transition from paper to digital formats led to previously unimaginable dynamic and interactive maps. Geographic information systems radically altered cartographic institutions and reduced the skill required to create maps. Satellite positioning and mobile communications revolutionized wayfinding. Mapping evolved as an important tool for coping with complexity, organizing knowledge, and influencing public opinion in all parts of the globe and at all levels of society. Volume 6 covers these changes comprehensively, while thoroughly demonstrating the far-reaching effects of maps on science, technology, and society—and vice versa. The lavishly produced volume includes more than five hundred articles accompanied by more than a thousand images. Hundreds of expert contributors provide both original research, often based on their own participation in the developments they describe, and interpretations of larger trends in cartography. Designed for use by both scholars and the general public, this definitive volume is a reference work of first resort for all who study and love maps.

Prematurity in Scientific Discovery

Prematurity in Scientific Discovery
Author: Ernest B. Hook
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2002-10-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0520231066

"In preparing this remarkable book, Ernest Hook persuaded an eminent group of scientists, historians, sociologists and philosophers to focus on the problem: why are some discoveries rejected at a particular time but later seen to be valid? The interaction of these experts did not produce agreement on 'prematurity' in science but something more valuable: a collection of fascinating papers, many of them based on new research and analysis, which sometimes forced the author to revise a previously-held opinion. The book should be enthusiastically welcomed by all readers who are interested in how science works."—Stephen G. Brush, co-author of Physics, The Human Adventure: From copernicus to Einstein and Beyond "Prematurity and Scientific Discovery contains interesting and insightful papers by numerous well-known scientists and scholars. It will be of wide interest, not only to science studies scholars but also to working scientists and to science-literate general readers."—Thomas Nickles, editor of Scientific Discovery, Logic, and Rationality

The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 8, Modern Science in National, Transnational, and Global Context

The Cambridge History of Science: Volume 8, Modern Science in National, Transnational, and Global Context
Author: Hugh Richard Slotten
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 1046
Release: 2020-04-09
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1108863353

This volume in the highly respected Cambridge History of Science series is devoted to exploring the history of modern science using national, transnational, and global frames of reference. Organized by topic and culture, its essays by distinguished scholars offer the most comprehensive and up-to-date nondisciplinary history of modern science currently available. Essays are grouped together in separate sections that represent larger regions: Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, and Latin America. Each of these regional groupings ends with a separate essay reflecting on the analysis in the preceding chapters. Intended to provide a balanced and inclusive treatment of the modern world, contributors analyze the history of science not only in local, national, and regional contexts but also with respect to the circulation of knowledge, tools, methods, people, and artifacts across national borders.

Atmospheric Science at NASA

Atmospheric Science at NASA
Author: Erik M. Conway
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2008-12-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1421401630

Honorable Mention, 2008 ASLI Choice Awards. Atmospheric Science Librarians International This book offers an informed and revealing account of NASA’s involvement in the scientific understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere. Since the nineteenth century, scientists have attempted to understand the complex processes of the Earth’s atmosphere and the weather created within it. This effort has evolved with the development of new technologies—from the first instrument-equipped weather balloons to multibillion-dollar meteorological satellite and planetary science programs. Erik M. Conway chronicles the history of atmospheric science at NASA, tracing the story from its beginnings in 1958, the International Geophysical Year, through to the present, focusing on NASA’s programs and research in meteorology, stratospheric ozone depletion, and planetary climates and global warming. But the story is not only a scientific one. NASA’s researchers operated within an often politically contentious environment. Although environmental issues garnered strong public and political support in the 1970s, the following decades saw increased opposition to environmentalism as a threat to free market capitalism. Atmospheric Science at NASA critically examines this politically controversial science, dissecting the often convoluted roles, motives, and relationships of the various institutional actors involved—among them NASA, congressional appropriation committees, government weather and climate bureaus, and the military.

Biographical Memoirs

Biographical Memoirs
Author: National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 437
Release: 1996-06-08
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0309053463

Biographic Memoirs: Volume 69 contains the biographies of deceased members of the National Academy of Sciences and bibliographies of their published works. Each biographical essay was written by a member of the Academy familiar with the professional career of the deceased. For historical and bibliographical purposes, these volumes are worth returning to time and again.

Exploring Greenland

Exploring Greenland
Author: Ronald E. Doel
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2016-07-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1137596880

Using newly declassified documents, this book explores why U.S. military leaders after World War II sought to monitor the far north and understand the physical environment of Greenland, a crucial territory of Denmark. It reveals a fascinating yet little-known realm of Cold War intrigue and a delicate diplomatic duet between a smaller state and a superpower amid a time of intense global pressures. Written by scholars in Denmark and the United States, this book explores many compelling topics. What led to the creation of the U.S. Thule Air Base in Greenland, one of the world’s largest, and why did the U.S. build a nuclear-powered city under Greenland’s ice cap? How did Danish concern about sovereignty shape scientific research programs in Greenland? Also explored here: why did Denmark’s most famous scientist, Inge Lehmann, became involved in research in Greenland, and what international reverberations resulted from the crash of a U.S. B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear weapons near Thule in January 1968?