Schaum's Outline of Fluid Dynamics (Schaum's)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • MHD, turbulence, boundary layers...
Schaum's Outline of Fluid Dynamics (Schaum's)
William F. Hughes , and John A. Brighton
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0070311188

Book Description

The explanation of a broad spectrum of fluid mechanics topics and such specialized material as hypersonic flow and non-Newtonian fluids, makes this book valuable both as a study guide and reference for practitioners, for undergraduate and graduate students, and for those studying solo. Contains new information about solving the equations that are the foundation of fluid mechanics by computer. It provides excellent preparation for such fields as aeronautics, aerospace science, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars MHD, turbulence, boundary layers..........2005-01-01

Fluid mechanics is a vast field. It can be considered a branch of applied physics. Highly mathematical, as can be seen in the problems given in this book by Hughes. He takes you through the field, giving the salient equations used to describe various fluid phenomena.

Foremost amongst these is the Navier-Stokes equation. A nonlinear partial differential equation that describes the balancing or conservation of momentum and energy in a fluid. Most of fluid mechanics builds on Navier-Stokes. So you need to get your understanding of it down pat. The problems given for these should be tackled and hopefully solved by you, before going onto later sections in the book. You need a solid grasp of this. It can make the rest much easier.

Other chapters describe various important special cases. Like incompressible flow. Or one dimensional flow of a fluid that is compressible. Then expanding this discussion into 2 dimensions.

Boundary layer problems are also heavily studied. Important in practice, because these relate to the designing of surfaces of planes or boats or missiles. Which leads naturally into problems of turbulence.

Then what if the fluid is charged? Electromagnetic effects [currents] then come into consideration. So Hughes devotes a chapter to magnetohydrodynamics. Students of nuclear fusion or stellar evolution may find this chapter germane.

Overall, Hughes gives a broad span of the field. Many problems to sharpen your understanding.
Measuring Time: A Novel
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Insight into Cultural Norms
  • Wisdom and survival
Measuring Time: A Novel
Helon Habila
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393052516

Book Description

A thrilling, epic story from a major new international talent.

Mamo and LaMamo are twin brothers living in the small Nigerian village of Keti, where their domineering father controls their lives. With high hopes the twins attempt to flee from home, but only LaMamo escapes successfully and is able to live their dream of becoming a soldier who meets beautiful women. Mamo, the sickly, awkward twin, is doomed to remain in the village with his father. Gradually he comes out of his father's shadow and gains local fame as a historian, and, using Plutarch's Parallel Lives as his model, he embarks on the ambitious project of writing a "true" history of his people. But when the rains fail and famine rages, religious zealots incite the people to violence—and LaMamo returns to fight the enemy at home.

A novel of ardent loyalty, encroaching modernity, political desire, and personal liberation, Measuring Time is a heart-wrenching history of Nigeria, portrayed through the eyes of a single family.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Insight into Cultural Norms.......2007-07-26

A historical book in which the reader gets a good insight into the cultural norms of Keti.It is also in large part an account of how the protagonist of the story, Mamo, sets out to write the history of Keti. In other words it seems to be the author himself writing about writing this very book.
Mamo and LaMamo are twins whose mother died at their birth. Their father Lamang's sister - Aunt Marina - takes care of them. Mamo has sickle-cell anaemia and is constantly sick. LaMamo is the physically stonger of the two and is preferred by their father, although there is a palpable distance between father and sons.
LaMamo becomes a mercenary in the brutal civil war in Liberia and loses an eye. He plans to marry Bintou - a young woman that he had saved from being raped. Mamo stays in Keti and is commisioned through the Waziri to write the biography of the Mai.
Sometimes the book was humorous, sometimes sad and other times philosophical. Many excellent descriptions although sometimes I felt the story needed to pick up some steam. The well scam and Prince were helpful in this regard(302). I liked the discussion of tradition that Mamo had with his uncle Ilya, who states that behind most customs there is a "motive rigged to serve some elite, some self-styled custodian of our culture." He warns Mamo to be wary of exclusion, which is never the answer."It is what gives rise to facism and all sorts of racial and religious fundamentalism. We are pure, you are not; we are superior, you are inferior." Very well put!

5 out of 5 stars Wisdom and survival.......2007-06-21

"Measuring Time" is the story of twin brothers, their family and the people that shaped them. Living in rural Nigeria, village life and the natural environment add atmosphere and context. Habila's story-telling talent are evident in numerous ways. His own narrative of people and events is interwoven with those of his protagonist Mamo, who in later years writes about the people around him and thereby becomes a recorder of the local history. Giving Mamo the dual voice of the growing boy/young adult of the story time line and the retrospective commentary of the future biographer, the author creates an even richer portrayal of the main characters and the times they live in.

Mamo, the first born of the twins, inherited sickle cell anemia from his mother, who died in child birth. From an early age Mamo, fragile and prone to health crises, does not expect to grow into adulthood. This makes him reflective and withdrawn, always waiting for something to happen: first death, later on fame, fortune or something else. Expectations and dreams change over time. The younger twin, LaMamo, on the other hand, is a rambunctious youth who "acts before he thinks". Together they make a complete person, one balancing the other's character.

Among the many things uniting them, hatred for their father stands above all else. They are convinced that he made their mother's life so miserable that she died at a young age. Fortunately, they are taken to their uncle Ilya for the first few years of their lives. Then auntie Marina, their father's sister, comes to live with them, dedicating her life to the well being of the boys. Eventually, the young men plan their escape: there are wars being fought in neighbouring countries and they believe that they can make their fortune. However, Mamo has another fever attack brought on by his anemia and, at the designated time, only LaMamo can leave. Mamo remains behind and withdraws even more from his surroundings. His father ignores him, but fortunately uncle Iliya takes him under his intellectual and emotional wing. He encourages Mamo to continue his studies and, later on, to join his community school as a history teacher. There he crosses paths with his childhood friend, Zara. His life takes a new turn as a result, in more ways than one. Meanwhile, LaMamo's progress or lack thereof in fighting other people's wars is conveyed through long letters to his brother that arrive sporadically. Will they ever meet again?

This is not just the story of one family, although the individuals stand in the centre of events. Uncle Ilija, who fought in several wars, has turned all his energy into maintaining the village school and to bring understanding and wisdom to those around him. The twin's father, a wealthy businessman, attempts a political career with mixed results, allowing the author to expose the many problems of the political system in the recently turned independent state of Nigeria. Habila has not only created vivid characters that stay in the reader's mind, he has skilfully broadened and deepened the narrative to include a rich account of Nigerian tradition and customs as they have evolved in this part of the country. Keeping his story personal and centred on a group of distinct characters, he finds a sensitive balance between the intimate and the historical context. His evocative power of description, whether of landscapes or human beings, is complemented by his skill as a story teller in the rich African tradition. As a human interest story it reaches audiences beyond those interested in Africa. [Friederike Knabe]
Measuring the Universe: Our Historic Quest to Chart the Horizons of Space and Time
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • fascinating and entertaining
  • Great physics detective story
  • Almost a really good book
  • The size of the universe.
  • How do you measure the Universe?
Measuring the Universe: Our Historic Quest to Chart the Horizons of Space and Time
Kitty Ferguson
Manufacturer: Walker & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0802775926

Amazon.com

If you want to measure how big a stick is, you can use a ruler. Want to know how tall a windmill is? Don't waste time climbing to the top with a long measuring tape. Instead, use the old shadow trick--measure the length of a yardstick's shadow, then measure the windmill's shadow and use ratios to figure out the windmill's height. Even though the windmill is big and intimidating, you can find out its size while remaining safely on the ground. This is the first example in science author Kitty Ferguson's fine book Measuring the Universe, and it sets the reader's brain firmly on the right track for understanding.

The topic here is measurement of faraway, distant, difficult things. Starting with Eratosthenes, who found a way of measuring the earth's circumference, and continuing through to modern astrophysicists' quest to measure the universe itself, Ferguson takes us on a full tour of the seemingly immeasurable. Readers are treated to enthusiastic chapters covering all the basic steps astronomers (dating back to Aristarchus of Samos) have taken to understand the arrangement of astronomical objects. How big are stars? Is that black hole moving toward us or away from us? Where is the edge of everything? And how big will the universe get before it stops expanding? You'll meet the men and women who have sought answers to these seemingly impossible questions in this accessible history. Ferguson brilliantly illuminates their personal quests and demonstrates the usefulness of each discovery in driving the next attempt to measure the universe. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

More than 2,000 years ago, Eratosthenes, in Alexandria, used a stick, a hole in the ground, sunllght at summer solstice, and elementary geometry to measure the circumference of the Earth with surprising accuracy, long before anyone was able to circumnavigate it. Today, scientists are attempting to measure the entire universe and to determine its origin. Although the methods have changed, the quest to chart the horizons of space and time continues to be one of the great adventures of science.

Measuring the Universe is an eloquent chronicle of the men and women– from Aristarchus to Cassini, Sir Isaac Newton to Henrietta Leavitt and Stephen Hawking–who have gradually unlocked the mysteries of "how far" and in so doing have changed our ideas about the size and nature of the universe and our place in it. Kitty Ferguson reveals their methods to have been as inventive as their results were–and are–eye-opening. Advances such as Copernicus's revolutionary insights about the arrangement of the solar system, William Herschel's meticulous creation of the first three-dimensional map of the universe, and Edwin Hubble's astonishing discovery that the universe is expanding have by turns revolutionized our concept of the universe. Connecting centuries of breakthroughs with the political and cultural events surrounding them, Ferguson makes astronomy part of the sweep of history.

To measure the seemingly immeasurable, scientists have always pushed the boundaries of the imagination–today, for example, facing the paradox of an ever-expanding universe that doesn't appear to expand into anything. In Kitty Fergeson’s skillfill hands, the unimaginable becomes accessible and the splendid quest something we all can share.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars fascinating and entertaining.......2007-01-30

My first intention was to read the praised book named Parallax, but sadly was out of print. Anyway, this book is also a great choice for those trying to learn how distances are measure to other objects of the vast universe. The author also provide a rich background of history and explore new theories about the structure, age and density of the universe in plain language. This is definitely a book to enrich in knowledge.

5 out of 5 stars Great physics detective story.......2003-09-14

This is a great physics detective story, and it blends history and science together to give a picture of how we have measured what was once considered unmeasurable.

There are some minor annoyances, such as her repeatedly explaining scientific notation (perhaps a brief appendix could be included in a future edition). Also, she could have explained how the parsec came to be, rather than just using it with no explanation.

There are some notes at the end of the book that give the reader suggestions for further reading. To her credit, she includes Halton Arp's concerns about the use of redshift (See Arp's book, Seeing Red).

This book builds up a clear picture of how we built up the cosmic distance ladder, and the missteps along the way.

3 out of 5 stars Almost a really good book.......2002-12-16

This is a very readable book, with many ups and downs. It tells the story of key contributors to our understanding of the universe and their quest to measure it in their time and with the tools available to them. It also does a very good job of explaining some basic concepts. It doesn't do such a good job with more complex concepts. And there are some simple concepts that just don't need to be explained repetitively.

For instance, the explanations and diagrams explaining parallax are very good. Sometime after that the term parsec appears in the text without any explanation at all. Another example: Cepheid stars are fundamental to current attempts to measure the distant objects, and that is made very clear. But why we can and should depend on Cepheids is not explained. A final example: I don't know how many times she explains that 10 with an exponent menas one followed by that number of zeros, or preceded by that number of zeroes for a negative exponent - but it is way, way more times than necessary and occurs throughout the entire book.

A second edition, perhaps with better editing, could easily be much better and be a very good book. Never-the-less, this book is interesting and generally easy to read, and covers a lot of ground about the participants.

5 out of 5 stars The size of the universe........2001-02-05

This is a wonderful book and I could not put it down. Query to the author. Not so long ago I asked a physicist friend of mine how it could be that there are galaxies out there 15 billion light years away and the age of the universe is about 15 billion years old? In my mind this does not compute. He allowed as how that was an interesting question and that he would ask somebody at Brookhaven National Laboratories. A few weeks later he sent me the copy of Kitty Furguson's book " Measuring the Universe" with the idea that I would find the answer. However, if the answer was there, I did not find it. Any comment from the author?

5 out of 5 stars How do you measure the Universe?.......2001-01-15

I have always had a love of astronomy and space exploration, but the distances and measurements used by stargazers always bewildered me. `Measuring the Universe' takes you through, step by step, each astronomical discovery, and the people and methods used, to assist you in better understanding concepts such as `What is a parsec?' or `How do they measure the distance to a star?' (not as accurate as I thought).

There are also interesting stories about the private lives of some astronomers such as Eratsthenes of Cyrene (measured the diameter of the Earth), Galileo and Edwin Hubble.

A clever mix of textbook and novel, something that any budding or professional astronomer should read.
Secret Treasures and Magical Measures : Adventures in Measuring: Time, Temperature, Length, Weight, Volume, Angles, Shapes and Money
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Secret Treasures and Magical Measures : Adventures in Measuring: Time, Temperature, Length, Weight, Volume, Angles, Shapes and Money
    Chris Kensler
    Manufacturer: Kaplan Publishing
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    1. How Big Is a Foot? How Big Is a Foot?

    ASIN: 0743235258

    Book Description

    Get ready for an adventure!


    MEET Tennessee Toledo, a daring explorer who is searching for the remains of the ancient Flung Dynasty -- a royal family that disappeared without a trace in the 14th century.


    UNCOVER the Flung family -- King Lung Flung, Queen Far Flung, and their wrinkly wise man, Punfucius, who were all shrunken to the size of ants by an evil potion and have been living underground ever since!


    DISCOVER the strange recipe Punfucius must use to make a reversal potion that will return the Flungs to their normal size.


    LEARN how to use important measuring tools such as a thermometer, clock, ruler, scale, measuring cup, protractor, and money.


    It's up to you to help Tennessee and the Flungs make the potion and escape the dangers of the underground. Luckily, you and Tennessee can communicate using the state-of-the-art transmitter found right in this book! Along the way you'll learn how to:


    • Read a thermometer using °C and °F and understand general concepts of temperature
    • Tell time, understand elapsed time, and convert units of time
    • Use a ruler and scale to measure everyday objects
    • Calculate perimeters and areas of simple shapes
    • Perform basic computations with money

    And so much more!


    Measuring tools and concepts sometimes seem overwhelming, but after you uncover the secret treasures and magical measures in this book, you'll be ready to tackle them all!
    Measuring Time Teacher's Guide
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Measuring Time Teacher's Guide

      Manufacturer: Carolina Biological Supply Company
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback
      ASIN: 0892787074

      Product Description

      This is a teacher's guide for teaching lessons on measuring time. Has unit overview & teaching information, 16 lessons, assessment information, blackline masters.
      Measuring the Universe, Our Historic Quest to Chart the Horizons of Space and Time
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Measuring the Universe, Our Historic Quest to Chart the Horizons of Space and Time
        Kitty Ferguson
        Manufacturer: Walker and Company
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Hardcover
        ASIN: B000IOLR3C
        Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time (Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls.)
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time (Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls.)
          James VanderKam
          Manufacturer: Routledge
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          ASIN: 0415165148

          Book Description

          Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls explores the evidence about the different uses of time-measurement in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Jewish texts. James C. VanderKam examines the pertinent texts, their sources and the different uses to which people put calendrical information in the Christian world. He argues that the scrolls indicate that a dispute about the correct calendar for dating festivals was one of the principal reasons for the separation of the authors of the scrolls from Jewish society.

          Time Museum Catalogue of the Collection: Time Measuring Instruments, Part 1 : Astrolabes, Astrolabe Related Instruments
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • Premier Astrolabe Reference
          Time Museum Catalogue of the Collection: Time Measuring Instruments, Part 1 : Astrolabes, Astrolabe Related Instruments

          Manufacturer: Time Museum
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

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          1. A Treatise on the Astrolabe (Variorum Edition of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer) A Treatise on the Astrolabe (Variorum Edition of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer)

          ASIN: 0912947020

          Book Description

          This volume presents a detailed history of the astrolable as well as a complete and spectacularly illustrated catalogue of 34 astrolabes and related devices. Full bibliography and index. 365 illustrations (281 b/w and 84 full color).

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars Premier Astrolabe Reference.......2000-04-13

          If you buy only one book on astrolabes, this should be the one. The stated purpose of this book is to record the astrolabes in the collection of the Time Museum but it is far, far more. It is a wonderful book, beautifully presented and has by far the best historical section of any modern reference.
          Measuring Eternity: The Search for the Beginning of Time
          Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
          • Readable history of a religious and scientific inquisition
          • Stunning!
          • Measuring Eternity: The Search for the Beginning of Time
          • Excellent, excellent, excellent
          • From 4,004 To 13.8 Billion
          Measuring Eternity: The Search for the Beginning of Time
          Martin Gorst
          Manufacturer: Broadway
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          1. THE MAP THAT CHANGED WORLD THE MAP THAT CHANGED WORLD

          ASIN: 0767908449
          Release Date: 2002-11-12

          Book Description

          The untold story of the religious figures, philosophers, astronomers, geologists, physicists, and mathematicians who, for more than four hundred years, have pursued the answer to a fundamental question at the intersection of science and religion: When did the universe begin?

          The moment of the universe's conception is one of science's Holy Grails, investigated by some of the most brilliant and inquisitive minds across the ages. Few were more committed than Bishop James Ussher, who lost his sight during the fifty years it took him to compose his Annals of all known history, now famous only for one date: 4004 b.c. Ussher's date for the creation of the world was spectacularly inaccurate, but that didn't stop it from being so widely accepted that it was printed in early twentieth-century Bibles. As writer and documentary filmmaker Martin Gorst vividly illustrates in this captivating, character-driven narrative, theology let Ussher down just as it had thwarted Theophilus of Antioch and many before him. Geology was next to fail the test of time. In the eighteenth century, naturalist Comte de Buffon, working out the rate at which the earth was supposed to have cooled, came up with an age of 74,832 years, even though he suspected this was far too low. Biology then had a go in the hands of fossil hunter Johann Scheuchzer, who alleged to have found a specimen of a man drowned at the time of Noah's flood. Regrettably it was only the imprint of a large salamander.

          And so science inched forward via Darwinism, thermodynamics, radioactivity, and, most recently, the astronomers at the controls of the Hubble space telescope, who put the beginning of time at 13.4 billion years ago (give or take a billion). Taking the reader into the laboratories and salons of scholars and scientists, visionaries and eccentrics, Measuring Eternity is an engagingly written account of an epic, often quixotic quest, of how individuals who dedicated their lives to solving an enduring mystery advanced our knowledge of the universe.


          From the Hardcover edition.

          Customer Reviews:

          4 out of 5 stars Readable history of a religious and scientific inquisition.......2004-12-08

          Martin Gorst's "Measuring Eternity" is a scientific history book describing the attempts in the last 400 years to discover the age of the Earth (and of the universe, when it becomes clear that the two are not necessarily the same). It starts slowly, with a long chapter about the life of the Irish bishop who used the Bible and non-Christian histories to build a timeline back to what he declared was the beginning of creaton, an exact time and date in 4004 B.C. However, it picks up steam as rationality and the new science of geology begin an inexorable assault on the 6000-year age of the world. There are interesting stories about the personalities involved, such as Descartes' panicked response to Galileo's arrest; he completely rewrote his groundbreaking work to make it as palatable as possible to the religious authorities. Nevertheless, from the work of Descartes, other philosophers built on the idea that rocks and fossils are more instructive guides than Scripture to the history of the world. Gorst does a good job of showing how the scientists had to battle not only their peers and the limited technology of the day, but the religious leaders who opposed every challenge to the idea that the earth was created in literally six days.

          By the beginning of the twentieth century, experiments with radioactive dating estimated the earth's age at a few billion years, but at that point the astronomers began to take over and the last quarter of the book examines their exploits in determining the age of the universe. As the telescopes got bigger and more sensitive, a race developed to accurately determine how far away other galaxies are and how fast they are travelling; by extrapolating from this data back to the Big Bang, the age of the known universe could be determined (13.3 billion years by the latest estimate). Gorst was able to interview some of the astronomers involved, and again leavens the narrative with some interesting background about the main players and the climate of scientific competition.

          "Measuring Eternity" is a solid read, very accessible and wide-ranging in scope as it touches on religion, history, geology and astrophysics in its overview of the search for the age of the world.

          5 out of 5 stars Stunning!.......2003-07-16

          What a shame this little gem of a book hasn't received the large promotion it does to get it out into the mainstream! Expecting a dry little book about mans obsession with time, I was extremely surprised to find a compelling and overwhelmingly fascinating book which tells a tale of mankind's efforts to find out how old the Earth is. The story is very character driven, dipping into the fascinating (if opressed) lives of men of science and religion, driven over the last 400 years to work out exactly how old is the Earth. Of course, initially, the results are hopelessly tangled in religious boundaries but gradually, the questing minds of scientists eventually begin to push back the religious boundaries.

          Gorst has written an absolutely magical book here - worth reading whether even if only looking to kill a few hours - because it is so well written, so easy to read and so interesting! Its been a long time since I read such a great work of non-fiction and would recommend this book to anyone with the slightest hint of curiosity or interest in history!

          5 out of 5 stars Measuring Eternity: The Search for the Beginning of Time.......2002-10-15

          Measuring Eternity: The Search for the Beginning of Time written by Martin Gorst is a real jewel as he writes about man's obsession to find out when time or when did the universe began. This is a well written book of character driven narrative, making interesting reading as the cast of characters tell a well-crafted story.

          I'm sure that at least once in your life time you wanted to know when the universe started. Well, that very question lies at the crosshairs of religion and science, nd for four hundred years philosophers, astronomers, geologists, physicists and mathematicians all tried to figure out the answer to this most vexing question.

          Poor Bishop James Ussher who came up with an answer of 4004 BC at 6:00PM on a Suturday, October 22 noless was really off by billions of years, but he only had the bible for reference... no wonder he made such an inaccurate calculation.. if only he opened he eyes and mind to see the expanse of time in eons. Aristotle had it better pegged when he said, "Time is infinite and the universe eternal," and that was the fourth century B.C. Plato had his magnus annus a span of 36,000 years.

          I found this book to be very interesting as the author writes in an easily read style making you well aware of the history involved in this age old question of chasing rainbows and expanded horizons... the moment that time began. And as science slowly put the pieces together via Darwinism, thermodynamics, radioactivily and most recently the astronomers with the Hubble space telescope, we begin to see what deep time means... 13.4 billion years give or take a billion. Thus, making time almost incomprehensible nevertheless, plausible.

          You'll enjoy reading the history involved with calculating when time began and how each thought that they were on the right track, later to be found that they too were not thinking billions of years. There are some very eccentic characters in this book... knowing that they were serious when they took on the caluclation of time, but later we see the error in their thinking.

          5 out of 5 stars Excellent, excellent, excellent.......2001-12-14

          The beauty of this book is that you don't have to know anything about science to be mesmerized by it. Its reads as though a grand wizard of storytelling is telling you an especially wonderful story. Briefly, this book tells the story of how we as human beings came to question the world around us, and eventually the universe. The style of writing is plain, simple english, like a good documentary. Gorst explains the science in examples that don't interfere with the narrative. The search for the beginning of time involved countless scientists, and Gorst seamlessly blends each person's contribution, smoothly moving from one person or era to another. The book is lively and engaging and would make a great present for just about anyone; it's a nice change from the usual bestseller that leaves you with nothing when you're done.

          5 out of 5 stars From 4,004 To 13.8 Billion.......2001-12-04

          If you have an old family Bible published as recently as the early 20Th Century, or about 1910, you will find a notation that is remarkable. This was the last year that Bibles gave not only the year that the world began, but also the date, the day, and the time down to the minute. Specifically, the world was to have been created on Saturday October 22 at 6:30 in the year 4,004b.c. An Irish Bishop, James Usher had calculated the date in the early 17th century, and his date prevailed despite challenges for almost 300 years. His methodology was superficially simple, however his source material contained a variety of time spans that were in conflict. Various ancient texts provided reference points when a variety of Biblical events took place, and these contradictions all had to be reconciled or eliminated to arrive at Bishop Usher's Date. Stated simply, he began with Genesis and then added together all of the lives that were listed, and the times they spanned to arrive at his date.

          At first glance his thinking appears terribly flawed, however the reality of dating the creation of our universe from the, "Big Bang", was only agreed upon after the Hubble Telescope was in orbit for several years, and even the present date comes with a margin of error of plus or minus 10 percent. In practice this amounts to just under 1.4 billion years. It also took until the end of the 20th Century to prove the Universe is expanding, and to agree on the rate of expansion, sort of. For even those who adhere to the present numbers know that few theories never change, and the rate at which the Universe is expanding is still being refined.

          The centuries that encompassed the search for the origin in time of the space that our planet calls home, was pursued without pause and by familiar and brilliant minds. Throughout the process the Church was always watching carefully for no one knew whether Faith and Science would somehow be reconciled, or whether Science would somehow shatter beliefs held for millennia. Failing to place scientific thought, if not in step with The Church, then at least not in obvious opposition was both critical and potentially fatal to those who espoused such perceived heresy. When the theory of all matter originating from a void at a single moment in time was put forth, The Vatican was so relieved that Pope Pius The XII literally spoke and wrote embracing the theory. Scientists rushed to suggest that their theory was just that and the Pontiff would do well to not continue to celebrate what was not fact. He did not speak publicly on the subject again.

          "Time", is a man-made construct that is relevant only to us. Even to our species, Albert Einstein demonstrated that time was relative, depending on a person's point of view, their position relative to a specific event. "Measuring Eternity" by Mr. Martin Gorst documents the history and the men and woman who sought to measure an area that was both real and had an age, and to use our definition of time to arrive at an answer. The story is incredible, and the book relates the history in both an exciting manner, and one that the non-scientist can enjoy.

          Mr. Gorst relates the tale of the Irish Bishop already mentioned, up to those who work with The Hubble Telescope today. Many of the earlier methods will seem primitive until they are placed in context. Measuring the saline content of oceans, the changes in elevation after an earthquake, the depth of lava flows, and when known comets repeatedly visited the Earth are just a few of the methodologies that were used. A famous French Scientist would heat metal and equate the time it took for the specimen to cool, to the touch of a hand, and compare that with when the Earth could have sustained life. His answers were not correct, however his progress toward the correct answer was exponentially closer than previously thought.

          And so history progressed, with seashells found thousands of feet above sea level, and fossils found deep within the Earth. How did they get there, how long did it take? When the methods turned to the stars, again the basic question of how to measure was the primary hurdle. The events that lead to finding reliable reference points, and enough of them literally did not come together until The Hubble Telescope was able to supply all the measurements, and the journey is amazing.

          All the reader need bring to this book is an inquisitive mind. There are plenty of ideas that can only be understood by a select group, however the author does manage to relate the story for most everyone. The book does require that the reader try and imagine "everything from a void", to get comfortable with the idea that what is observed not only happened long ago, but that if you were able to instantly travel to the event, it would have ended and vanished billions of years ago.

          And the amazing convergence of science and ancient faith is remarkable. Scientists routinely speak of the two systems working together, being dependent upon one another, almost symbiotic. For some it may read as metaphor, for others it will read literally. Whichever the case, the trip through time about measuring just how long time has been ticking, is extraordinary.
          The 2007 Import and Export Market for Time of Day Recording Apparatus and Apparatus for Measuring or Recording Intervals of Time with a Clock or Watch Movement or Synchronous Motor in China
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            The 2007 Import and Export Market for Time of Day Recording Apparatus and Apparatus for Measuring or Recording Intervals of Time with a Clock or Watch Movement or Synchronous Motor in China
            Philip M. Parker
            Manufacturer: ICON Group International, Inc.
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

            EconometricsEconometrics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
            ASIN: 0497675625
            Release Date: 2006-10-24

            Product Description

            On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on time of day recording apparatus and apparatus for measuring or recording intervals of time with a clock or watch movement or synchronous motor in China face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying time of day recording apparatus and apparatus for measuring or recording intervals of time with a clock or watch movement or synchronous motor to China? How important is China compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of time of day recording apparatus and apparatus for measuring or recording intervals of time with a clock or watch movement or synchronous motor vary from one country of origin to another in China? On the supply side, China also exports time of day recording apparatus and apparatus for measuring or recording intervals of time with a clock or watch movement or synchronous motor. Which countries receive the most exports from China? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers? This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for time of day recording apparatus and apparatus for measuring or recording intervals of time with a clock or watch movement or synchronous motor in China. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for time of day recording apparatus and apparatus for measuring or recording intervals of time with a clock or watch movement or synchronous motor for those countries serving China via exports, or supplying from China via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models. In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where China fits into the world market for imported and exported time of day recording apparatus and apparatus for measuring or recording intervals of time with a clock or watch movement or synchronous motor. The total level of imports and exports on a worldwide basis, and those for China in particular, is estimated using a model which aggregates across over 150 key country markets and projects these to the current year. From there, each country represents a percent of the world market. This market is served from a number of competitive countries of origin. Based on both demand- and supply-side dynamics, market shares by country of origin are then calculated across each country market destination. These shares lead to a volume of import and export values for each country and are aggregated to regional and world totals. In doing so, we are able to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of both the value of each market and the share that China is likely to receive this year. From these figures, rankings are calculated to allow managers to prioritize China compared to other major country markets. In this way, all the figures provided in this report are forecasts that can be combined with internal information sources for strategic planning purposes.

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