Splinters of Infinity: Cosmic Rays and the Clash of Two Nobel Prize-Winning Scientists over the Secrets of Creation

Science & Math

Wolverton, Mark

Astronomy & Space Science

The MIT Press

A primer on nuclear weapons, from the science of fission and fusion to the pursuit of mutual assured destruction, the SALT treaties, and the Bomb in pop culture.\nAlthough the world’s attention has shifted to drone-controlled bombing and cyberwarfare, the threat of nuclear war still exists. There are now fourteen thousand nuclear weapons in the hands of the nine declared nuclear powers. Even though the world survived the Cold War, we need to understand what it means to live with nuclear weapons. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Mark Wolverton offers a primer on nuclear weapons, from the science of fission and fusion to the pursuit of mutual assured destruction, the SALT and START agreements, and the Bomb in pop culture.\nWolverton explains the basic scientific facts, offers historical perspective, and provides a nuanced view of the unique political, social, and moral dilemmas posed by nuclear weapons. He describes the birth of the Bomb in 1945 and its use against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; explains how a nuclear bomb works; recounts episodes when the world came close to waging nuclear war, including the Cuban missile crisis in 1962; discusses nuclear policy and nuclear treaties; and traces the influence of such films as On the Beach, Dr. Strangelove, and The Day After.

Nuclear Weapons (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series)

History

Military

The first spacecraft to explore the secrets of the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, and the void beyond Pluto, the Pioneer space probes have been the trailblazers of the space age, truly going where no man has gone before. Emblazoned with the nude figures of a man and a woman, etched representations of our human form, the Pioneer generation of probes were aptly named. Launched into the inky depths of space, they were more than mere machines, they were humanity's first emissaries into deep space. And the pictorial inscriptions that adorned the crafts embodied the hopes and dreams of everyone involved in the Pioneer program. They were our humble attempt to communicate with the extraterrestrial intelligent life we imagined the probes might encounter -- they were our message in a bottle. Perhaps the most efficient, reliable, and cost effective program to come out of NASA, the Pioneer missions are a shining example of how a small and talented group of people can, against all odds, pull something off that has never been done before. Indeed, more than thirty years after its launch in 1972, Pioneer 10 is still cruising into interstellar space, sending back data as it courses through the galaxy while Pioneer 6, in solar orbit, is more than 35 years old and humankind's oldest functioning spacecraft. But despite their enduring contributions, the Pioneer project remains a footnote in space history, little more than a humble prologue to its inheritors. The Depths of Space recounts the long overdue history of Pioneer both as a scientific and technological achievement and as the story of the exceptional people who made the program possible. This tight narrative captures the black-coffee buzz of full-throttle, deadline-driven production, the sharp, intense thrill of discovery, the pang of anxiety that accompanies looming danger and ultimate loss, and the satisfaction and pride of creating an enduring legacy. Table of Contents <ul>
<li>Front Matter</li>
<li>Introduction--Message in a Bottle</li>
<li>1 Embarkation</li>
<li>2 Reaching into the Void</li>
<li>3 Something Man Has Never Done Before</li>
<li>4 The Sole Selection</li>
<li>5 Countdown and Controversy</li>
<li>6 Spring at the Cape</li>
<li>7 Twelve Generations from Galileo</li>
<li>8 Filling in the Gaps</li>
<li>9 A Jewel in the Night</li>
<li>10 Planet of Clouds</li>
<li>11 Whispers Across the Abyss</li>
<li>12 Lone Survivor</li>
<li>Notes</li>
<li>Bibliography</li>
<li>Index</li>
</ul>

The Depths of Space: The Story of the Pioneer Planetary Probes

Joseph Henry Press

A Life in Twilight reveals the least-known and most enigmatic period of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life, from the public humiliation he endured after the 1954 Atomic Energy Commission’s investigation into his alleged communist leanings and connections to his death in 1967. It covers Oppenheimer’s continued work as a scientist and philosopher and head of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, his often controversial public appearances, as well as parts of his private life. 
What emerges is a portrait of a man who was toppled from the highest echelons of politics and society, had to see his honor and name blackened, but succeeded in maintaining his dignity and rebuilding a shattered life, although he never truly recovered from the McCarthy-inspired persecution he suffered. Previously unpublished FBI files round out the picture and cast a sinister cloud over Oppenheimer’s final years, during which he remained under occasional surveillance.
Mark Wolverton has succeeded in presentingan evenhanded and very well- researched account of a life that ended in twilight. It reads like a written version of the acclaimed film Good Night, and Good Luck, and indeed Murrow’s interview with Oppenheimer is one of the central elements of the story. 
A Life in Twilight is an important exploration, not only of a prominent scientist and philosopher, but also of an unforgettable era in American history.

A Life in Twilight: The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

St.Martin's Press

The Science Of Superman

YOU WILL BELIEVE A MAN CAN FLY! He is known as the Man of Steel -- the Last Son of Krypton. For more than half a century, Superman has been an American icon and the world's first and most recognizable super hero. From his beginnings as the featured character in his own comic book, through multiple incarnations on radio, newspaper syndication, television, and the movies, Superman has emerged as the flagship hero of a publishing empire. In fact, the Man of Steel has become so ubiquitous, it's as if he were real. But what if he were real? What if the Kryptonian named Kal-El, a humanoid being whose world orbited a far-off red dwarf star, was actually raised here on Earth? Would, in fact, such a being be capable of achieving the amazing feats of power commonly associated with Superman? And if so, how could his powers be scientifically explained? In "The Science of Superman," gifted science writer Mark Wolverton takes up the challenge and answers these very questions. Examining Superman's powers through the lens of modern science, Wolverton explains the fundamental biological and genetic differences between Earthlings and Kryptonians that allow Superman to exercise extraordinary abilities on our planet. For the first time anywhere, you'll understand the logic and science that underlie Superman's "super powers." You'll never look at the Man of Steel the same way again.

The Science of Superman

Biological Sciences

I Books

YOU WILL BELIEVE A MAN CAN FLY! He is known as the  Man of Steel -- the Last Son of Krypton. For more than half a century, Superman has been an American icon and the world's first and most recognizable super hero. From his beginnings as the featured character in his own comic book, through multiple incarnations on radio, newspaper  syndication, television, and the movies, Superman has emerged as the flagship hero of a publishing empire. In fact, the Man of Steel has become so ubiquitous, it's as if he were real. But what if he were  real? What if the Kryptonian named Kal-El, a humanoid being whose world  orbited a far-off red dwarf star, was actually raised here on Earth? Would, in fact, such a being be capable of achieving the amazing feats of power commonly associated with Superman? And if so, how could his powers be scientifically explained?  In "The Science of Superman," gifted science writer Mark Wolverton  takes up the challenge and answers these very questions. Examining Superman's powers through the lens of modern science, Wolverton explains  the fundamental biological and genetic differences between Earthlings and Kryptonians that allow Superman to exercise extraordinary abilities on our planet. For the first time anywhere, you'll understand the logic and science that underlie Superman's "super powers." You'll never look at the Man of Steel the same way again.

Zimmerman, Howard

IBooks

The summer of 1958 was a nerve-racking time. Ever since the Soviet Union proved that it possessed an operational intercontinental ballistic missile with the launch of Sputnik, the world watched anxiously as the two superpowers engaged in a game of nuclear one-upmanship. Tensions escalated between the United States and the Soviet Union over their respective nuclear weapons reserves, both sides desperate for a solution to the threat of the massive, instant destruction the one could cause on the other.In the midst of this rising tension, Nicholas Christofilos, an eccentric Greek-American physicist, brought forth an outlandish, albeit ingenious, idea to defend the US from a Soviet attack: launching atomic bombs from the South Atlantic Ocean, about 1,100 miles from Cape Town, to detonate in outer space to fry incoming Soviet ICBMs with an artificial radiation belt. Known as Project Argus, this plan is the biggest, most secret, and riskiest scientific experiment in history, and classified details of this operation have been long obscured. In Burning the Sky, Mark Wolverton tells the unknown and controversial story of this scheme to reveal a fascinating narrative almost completely forgotten by history―one that still has powerful resonances today. Drawing from recently declassified sources, Burning the Sky chronicles Christofilos’s unconventional idea from its inception to execution―when the so-called mad scientist persuaded the military to carry out the most grandiose scientific experiment ever conceived, using the entire Earth’s atmosphere as a laboratory. With over a decade of experience researching and writing about the sociological and political impacts of the science of the Cold War, Wolverton is the ideal authority on this risky experiment. Meticulously researched, with the pacing of a thriller and the language of science fiction, Burning the Sky will intrigue any lover of scientific or military history and will remind readers why Project Argus remains frighteningly relevant nearly sixty years later.

Burning the Sky: Operation Argus and the Untold Story of the Cold War Nuclear Tests in Outer Space

Americas

Abrams Press

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Science Fiction

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Books by Wolverton, Mark