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The Synthesis of the Elements

Overview

Authors:
  1. Giora Shaviv

    1. Dept. Physics, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

  • A guided historical and scientific tour of our understanding of element synthesis
  • Highly readable but scientifically exact
  • Describes the successes of the past but also the gaps in today’s knowledge
  • Clearly depicts the random walk that is the advance of science
  • All relevant physical terms are explained in a simple way with helpful diagrams
  • A gripping read for all everyone interested in the evolution of matter in the universe
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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About this book

This book describes the origins and evolution of the chemical elements  we and the cosmos are made of. The story starts with the discovery of the common elements on Earth and their subsequent discovery in space. How do we learn the composition of the distant stars? How did progress in quantum theory, nuclear physics, spectroscopy, stellar structure and evolution, together with observations of stars, converge to provide an incredibly detailed picture of the universe? How does research in the micro-world explain the macro-world? How does progress in one affect the other, or lack of knowledge in one inhibit progress in the other? In short, Shaviv describes how we discovered the various pieces of the jigsaw that form our present picture of the universe; and how we sometimes put these in the wrong place before finding in the right one.

En route we meet some fascinating personalities and learn about heated controversies. Shaviv shows how science lurched from one dogma  to the next, time and again shattering much of what had been considered solid knowledge, until eventually a stable understanding arose.

Beginning with generally accepted science, the book ends in today’s terra incognita of nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology. A monumental work that will fascinate scientists, philosophers, historians and lay readers alike.

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Keywords

Table of contents (14 chapters)

Reviews

From the reviews:

“Here, theoretical astrophysicist Shaviv … shows readers where, when, and how they were formed along with the sequence of scientific discovery, the detective work, and the interactions among the many scientific pioneers who contributed their piece of the puzzle to today’s understanding of the field. … This very scholarly approach is valuable for both historians of these subfields and readers seeking modern explanations of how the building blocks of our world were formed. … Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.” (W. E. Howard III, Choice, Vol. 50 (4), December, 2012)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Dept. Physics, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Giora Shaviv

About the author

After spending several years in the USA, at Caltech and Cornell, Giora Shaviv was instrumental in bringing astrophysical teaching and research to Israel ( with posts at Tel Aviv University and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology). He  also conceived, designed and organized the launch of the Technion student and faculty research satellite. A leading theoretical astrophysicist, Shaviv has published numerous articles on stellar physics, galaxies and astrophysical fluids in professional journals. Among his many contributions to stellar physics is a paper that Physical Review Letters selected as one of their best 20 of the past 50 years. He is also author of the highly acclaimed book "Life of Stars" (Springer, 2010). He founded the Asher Space Research Institute at the Technion with president Singer and also served as President of the Israeli Physical Society.

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