Stellar Alchemy: The Celestial Origin of Atoms

Erscheinungsjahr 2003
ISBN: 978-0-521-82182-7
Verlag: CAMBRIDGE

Buch, Englisch, 256 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 233 mm, Gewicht: 553 g

Why do the stars shine? What messages can we read in the light they send to us from the depths of the night? Nuclear astrophysics is a fascinating discipline, and enables connections to be made between atoms, stars, and human beings. Through modern astronomy, scientists have managed to unravel the full history of the chemical elements, and understand how they originated and evolved into all the elements that compose our surroundings today. The transformation of metals into gold, something once dreamed of by alchemists, is a process commonly occurring in the cores of massive stars. But the most exciting revelation is the intimate connection that humanity itself has with the debris of exploded stars. This engaging account of nucleosynthesis in stars, and the associated chemical evolution of the Universe, is suitable for the general reader.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Casse, Michel

Cassé, Michel

Weitere Mitwirkende

Lyle, Stephen

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Astronomie Galaxien und Sterne
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Populärwissenschaftliche Werke
• Naturwissenschaften Astronomie Astronomie: Sachbuch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; 1. Nuclear astrophysics: defence and illustration; 2. Light from atoms, light from the sky; 3. Visions; 4. Contents of the sky: atomic sources and fountains; 5. Nuclear suns; 6. Sociology of stars and clouds; 7. Histories; 8. Ancient stars in the galactic halo; 9. Conclusion; Appendices.

Über Autor(innen)

Cassé, Michel
Michel Cassé is an astrophysicist at the Service d'Astrophysique in Saclay, France, and an associate research scientist at the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris. He has published several other popular physics books in French.