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This volume of selected Evening Discourses from the Royal Institution offers an authoritative and accessible summary of current thinking in many areas of science and technology. The subjects are wide-ranging, from studies of Venus and what they tell us about the Earth, the history and possible future of television, to the interface between art and science - using spectroscopy to analyse the pigments in Medieval manuscripts. Will we be able to build machines with molecular-based memories? How do you deal with an historic tower `founded on jelly and slowly inclining to the point at which it is about to fall over'? The answers to these and other questions are to be found within. - ;Are we alone or are there other intelligent forms of life in the Universe? Sir Arnold Wolfendale explores the ways in which Scientists' thinking on this question has evolved, including an hypothesis to estimate how probable intelligent extraterrestrial life might be, and a discussion of the Martian meterorites that were the subject of recent speculation about life on Mars. Meteorites in general, where they come from and what we can learn from them, are discussed by Monica Grady, a researcher in interstellar components in meteorites and micrometeorites. Together with other essays by experts in their fields, this volume of selected Evening Discourses from the Royal Institution offers an authoritative and accessible summary of current thinking in many areas of science and technology. The subjects are wide-ranging, from studies of Venus and what they tell us about the Earth, the history and possible future of television, to the interface between art and science - using spectroscopy to analyse the pigments in Medieval manuscripts. Will we will be able to build machines with molecular-based memories? How do you deal with an historic tower 'founded on jelly and slowly inclining to the point at which it is about to fall over'? The answers to these and other questions are to be found within. -
Originally published in Great Britain by Profile Books Ltd, 2016.
Are we alone or are there other intelligent forms of life in the Universe? Sir Arnold Wolfendale explores the ways in which Scientists' thinking on this question has evolved, including an hypothesis to estimate how probable intelligent extraterrestrial life might be, and a discussion of theMartian meterorites that were the subject of recent speculation about life on Mars. Meteorites in general, where they come from and what we can learn from them, are discussed by Monica Grady, a researcher in interstellar components in meteorites and micrometeorites. Together with other essaysby experts in their fields, this volume of selected Evening Discourses from the Royal Institution offers an authoritative and accessible summary of current thinking in many areas of science and technology. The subjects are wide-ranging, from studies of Venus and what they tell us about the Earth,the history and possible future of television, to the interface between art and science - using spectroscopy to analyse the pigments in Medieval manuscripts. Will we will be able to build machines with molecular-based memories? How do you deal with an historic tower 'founded on jelly and slowlyinclining to the point at which it is about to fall over'? The answers to these and other questions are to be found within.
This book is a collection of essays written by the very scientists and engineers who have led, and continue to lead, the scientific quest known as SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Divided into three parts, the first section, ‘The Spirit of SETI Past’, written by the surviving pioneers of this then emerging discipline, reviews the major projects undertaken during the first 50 years of SETI science and the results of that research. In the second section, ‘The Spirit of SETI Present’, the present-day science and technology is discussed in detail, providing the technical background to contemporary SETI instruments, experiments, and analytical techniques, including the processing of the received signals to extract potential alien communications. In the third and final section, ‘The Spirit of SETI Future’, the book looks ahead to the possible directions that SETI will take in the next 50 years, addressing such important topics as interstellar message construction, the risks and assumptions of interstellar communications, when we might make contact, what aliens might look like and what is likely to happen in the aftermath of such a contact.
The spectre of the UFO, as popularized by shows such as The X-Files, has brought an astonishing slant to the face of modern religious practice. But what motivates the fantastical and sometimes sinister beliefs of UFO worshippers? UFO Religions critically examines some of the fascinating issues surrounding UFO worship - abduction narratives, UFO-based interpretations of other religions, the growth of pseudo-sciences purporting to explain UFOs, and the responses of the core scientific community to such claims. Focusing on contemporary global UFO groups including the Raelian Movement, Heaven's Gate, Unarius and the Ansaaru Allah Community, it gives a clear profile of modern UFO controversies and beliefs.
Astronomers around the world are pointing their telescopes toward the heavens, searching for signs of intelligent life. If they make contact with an advanced alien civilization, how will humankind respond? In thinking about first contact, the contributors to this volume present new empirical and theoretical research on the societal dimensions of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Archaeologists and astronomers explore the likelihood that extraterrestrial intelligence exists, using scientific insights to estimate such elusive factors as the longevity of technological societies. Sociologists present the latest findings of novel surveys, tapping into the public’s attitudes about life beyond Earth to show how religion and education influence beliefs about extraterrestrials. Scholars from such diverse disciplines as mathematics, chemistry, journalism, and religious studies offer innovative solutions for bridging the cultural gap between human and extraterrestrial civilizations, while recognizing the tremendous challenges of communicating at interstellar distances. At a time when new planets are being discovered around other stars at an unprecedented rate, this collection provides a much needed guide to the human impact of discovering we are not alone in the universe.
But what does your furniture point at?' asks the character Joey in the sitcom Friends on hearing an acquaintance has no TV. It's a good question: since its beginnings during WW2, television has assumed a central role in our houses and our lives, just as satellite dishes and aerials have become features of urban skylines. Television (or 'the idiot's lantern', depending on your feelings about it) has created controversy, brought coronations and World Cups into living rooms, allowed us access to 24hr news and media and provided a thousand conversation starters. As shows come and go in popularity, the history of television shows us how our society has changed. Armchair Nation reveals the fascinating, lyrical and sometimes surprising history of telly, from the first demonstration of television by John Logie Baird (in Selfridges) to the fear and excitement that greeted its arrival in households (some viewers worried it might control their thoughts), the controversies of Mary Whitehouse's 'Clean Up TV' campaign and what JG Ballard thought about Big Brother. Via trips down memory lane with Morecambe and Wise, Richard Dimbleby, David Frost, Blue Peter and Coronation Street, you can flick between fascinating nuggets from the strange side of TV: what happened after a chimpanzee called 'Fred J. Muggs' interrupted American footage of the Queen's wedding, and why aliens might be tuning in to The Benny Hill Show.
This multidisciplinary work celebrates Wayne Orchiston's career and accomplishments in historical and cultural astronomy on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Over thirty of the world’s leading scholars in astronomy, astrophysics, astronomical history, and cultural astronomy have come together to honor Wayne across a wide range of research topics. These themes include: • Astronomy and Society • Emergence of Astrophysics • History of Radio Astronomy • Solar System • Observatories and Instrumentation • Ethnoastronomy and Archeoastronomy This exceptional collection of essays presents an overview of Wayne’s prolific contributions to the field, along with detailed accounts of the book’s diverse themes. It is a valuable and insightful volume for both researchers and others interested in the fields of historical astronomy and cultural astronomy.
“Refreshing . . . A penetrating analysis of the assumptions that underlie SETI and the entire enterprise of searching for life beyond Earth.” —Chris McKay, Nature Fifty years ago, a young astronomer named Frank Drake first pointed a radio telescope at nearby stars in the hope of picking up a signal from an alien civilization. Thus began one of the boldest scientific projects in history, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). After a half-century of scanning the skies, however, astronomers have little to report but an eerie silence—eerie because many scientists are convinced that the universe is teeming with life. Physicist and astrobiologist Paul Davies has been closely involved with SETI for three decades and chairs the SETI Post-Detection Taskgroup, charged with deciding what to do if we’re suddenly confronted with evidence of alien intelligence. He believes the search so far has fallen into an anthropocentric trap—assuming that an alien species will look, think, and behave much like us. In this provocative book Davies refocuses the search, challenging existing ideas of what form an alien intelligence might take, how it might try to communicate with us, and how we should respond if it does. “Paul Davies gives us a panoramic view of the quickening search for cosmic company—a fascinating tale stuffed with novel ideas about the nature of intelligence far beyond our own.” —Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute “An immensely readable investigation of the SETI enterprise . . . [A] wonderful book.” —New Scientist “A far-ranging look at what might happen here on Earth when we make first contact. Highly recommended for both science fiction and astronomy buffs.” —Publishers Weekly