Philip Ball
Author
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
"Though at first glance the natural world may appear overwhelming in its diversity and complexity, there are regularities running through it, from the hexagons of a honeycomb to the spirals of a seashell and the branching veins of a leaf. Revealing the order at the foundation of the seemingly chaotic natural world, Patterns in Nature explores not only the math and science but also the beauty and artistry behind nature's awe-inspiring designs,"--Amazon.com....
Author
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pub. Date
2006
Language
English
Description
Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, who called himself Paracelsus, stands at the cusp of medieval and modern times. A contemporary of Luther, an enemy of the medical establishment, a scourge of the universities, an alchemist, an army surgeon, and a radical theologian, he attracted myths even before he died. His fantastic journeys across Europe and beyond were said to be made on a magical white horse, and he was rumored to carry...
Author
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
In this lively look at a timeless idea, Ball provides the first comprehensive history of our fascination with the unseen. This sweeping narrative moves from medieval spell books to the latest nanotechnology, from fairy tales to telecommunications, from camouflage to ghosts to the dawn of nuclear physics and the discovery of dark energy. Along the way, Invisible tells little-known stories about medieval priests who blamed their misdeeds on spirits;...
Author
Series
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Pub. Date
[1994]
Language
English
Description
"Winner of the 1994 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Chemistry, Association of American Publishers" Philip Ball, Associate Editor for Physical Sciences for Nature, has written on the new chemistry for both technical journals and popular magazines and newspapers.
Some of the most exciting scientific developments in recent years have come not from theoretical physicists, astronomers, or molecular biologists but instead from the chemistry...
Author
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Pub. Date
2014.
Language
English
Description
After World War II, most scientists in Germany maintained that they had been apolitical or actively resisted the Nazi regime, but the true story is much more complicated. In Serving the Reich, Philip Ball takes a fresh look at that controversial history, contrasting the career of Peter Debye, director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin, with those of two other leading physicists in Germany during the Third Reich: Max Planck, the...
Author
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Pub. Date
c1997
Language
English
Description
"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1998" Philip Ball is an associate editor for physical sciences with Nature. He contributes regular articles on all fields of science to the academic and popular press, and is the author of Designing the Molecular World (Princeton) and The Self-Made Tapestry (Oxford).
Made to Measure introduces a general audience to one of today's most exciting areas of scientific research: materials science. Philip...
Author
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
From the Yangtze to the Yellow River, China is traversed by great waterways, which have defined its politics and ways of life for centuries. Water has been so integral to China's culture, economy, and growth and development that it provides a window on the whole sweep of Chinese history. In The Water Kingdom, renowned writer Philip Ball opens that window to offer an epic and powerful new way of thinking about Chinese civilization. Water, Ball shows,...
Author
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
"In this book, popular science writer Philip Ball surveys a range of sciences to map our answers to a big, philosophically rich question, one with practical and ethical consequences for today. How do we even begin to think about minds that are not human? Sciences from astronomy to biology, computer science to neuroscience, are mapping the mind in their own disciplinary territories, and Ball pulls the pieces together so that we can appreciate the full...
Author
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
Pub. Date
2021.
Language
English
Description
"The Elements is a stunning visual history of how the chemical elements were discovered. By piecing together the Periodic Table, science writer Philip Ball explores not only how we came to understand what everything is made of but also how chemistry developed into a modern science. He groups the elements into chronological eras of discovery, covering three millennia from the first known to the last named. As he moves deliberately from classical antiquity...