Most Popular Books by James Trefil

Explores scientific questions on a variety of topics including astronomy, genetics, geology, and information technology.

A best-selling science writer explores the technology behind the modern city; how it works, what it can tell us about ourselves, and what new developments in science portend for the city of tomorrow.

Destined to be a leader in the field, this Encyclopedia is a full-colour, A to Z guide that sets a new standard for science reference. It contains 1000 entries, combining in-depth coverage with a vivid graphic format.

This text is an unbound, three hole punched version. The Sciences: An Integrated Approach, Binder Ready Version, 8th Edition by James Trefil and Robert Hazen uses an approach that recognizes that science forms a seamless web of knowledge about the universe. This text fully integrates physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth sciences, and biology and emphasizes general principles and their application to real- world situations. The goal of the text is to help students achieve scientific literacy. Applauded by students and instructors for its easy-to-read style and detail appropriate for non-science majors, the eighth edition has been updated to bring the most up-to-date coverage to the students in all areas of science.

A science book for the general reader that is informative enough to be a popular textbook and yet well-written enough to appeal to general readers. “Hazen and Trefil [are] unpretentious—good, down-to-earth, we-can-explain-anything science teachers, the kind you wish you had but never did.”—The New York Times Book Review Knowledge of the basic ideas and principles of science is fundamental to cultural literacy. But most books on science are often too obscure or too specialized to do the general reader much good. Science Matters is a rare exception—a science book that is informative enough for introductory courses in high school and college, and yet lucid enough for readers uncomfortable with scientific jargon and complicated mathematics. And now, revised and expanded, it is up-to-date, so that readers can enjoy Hazen and Trefil''s refreshingly accessible explanations of the most recent developments in science, from particle physics to biotechnology.

Examines twelve questions exploring the way modern physicists view the world.

Acclaim for Are We Unique? "In his masterful book, Trefil shares with readers some of the most recent research in neurology, evolution, primate research, computer science, and philosophy. Trefil''s prose is lively and engaging." --Boston Globe "Trefil''s race through the science that could explain the brain is highly readable." --Sunday Times of London "In a provocative essay, Trefil argues that the science of artificial intelligence is progressing rapidly. Machines, he theorizes, will one day develop a new kind of intelligence and self-awareness. So, maybe the real question is: Are we ready?" --San Diego Union-Tribune "A highly readable and engaging treatment of a fascinating question. Trefil makes a case for human uniqueness while at the same time celebrating the achievements of creations ranging from lobsters to neural nets. A provocative and enjoyable book." --Daniel L. Schacter Professor and Chair of Psychology, Harvard University author of Searching for Memory

Scientific discoveries make headlines almost daily, and many of the most important issues of our time require an understanding of basic science. This book explains the science that affects you - from the basic elements to the latest breakthroughs.

With conviction and clarity, prize-winning scientist and bestselling author James Trefil explains why every U.S. citizen needs to be scientifically literate. As Trefil sees it, citizens simply cannot participate fully in the democratic process if they dont understand fundamental scientific concepts. And he describes exactly what these principles are, from understanding natural selection to grasping Maxwells Equations governing electricity and magnetism; from recognizing that the surface of the earth is constantly in flux to grasping the basic concepts of physics and chemistry. With an appreciation of our national state of ignorance on scientific matters, he not only explains these concepts but also shows why they are worth knowing.

Prize-winning theoretical physicist and outspoken advocate for scientific literacy Trefil looks squarely at our environmental future and finds--contrary to popular wisdom--reason to celebrate.

Activity Book From amusement park rides to critical environmental issues such as energy generation-physics affects almost every aspect of our world. In PHYSICS MATTERS, James Trefil and Robert Hazen examine the fundamental physics principles at work behind the many practical applications that fuel our society and individual lives. Their goal is to promote a deeper understanding of how the great ideas of physics connect to form a much larger understanding of the universe in which we live. Highlights: Helps readers build a general knowledge of key ideas in physics and their connection to technology and other areas of science. Promotes an appreciation of what science is, how scientific knowledge is developed, and how it differs from other intellectual activities. Examines modern technologies, including GPS, the Internet, and information technologies, as well as medical technologies, such as MRI, PET scans, CAT scans, and radioisotope tracers. Explores key issues facing the world today, such as global warning, nuclear waste, and government funding for research.

Filled with lavish illustrations, this book is a grand tour of the universe. Three ever widening domains are presented--the planets, the stars, and the large scale universe itself--each including the ones before it and extending outward. The tour starts close to home within the first domain, our own solar system. There is a tremendous variety here, from the sun scorched rocks of Mercury to the icy vastness of the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto. We see the sun and planets born from the collapse of an interstellar dust cloud whose atoms were themselves created in long dead stars. Since many of these planets have been visited by space probes or landers, we are able to benefit from the incredible technology of exploration developed by NASA and its counterparts in other countries. The second domain is made up of the billions of stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. We walk in the steps of the American astronomer Edwin Hubble, who first established that the universe is made up of discrete galaxies, then go on to examine the fundamental constituents of those galaxies--the stars. We see stars not as eternal lights in the sky, but as objects born out of a desperate struggle between pressure and gravity. We trace the life cycle of our own sun, from its birth 4.5 billion years ago to its quiet end 6 billion years in the future. We see the galaxy not as a serene and placid place, but as a giant factory, where primordial material is taken up into stars, then returned to the galaxy enriched with the heavy elements necessary for life. Finally, we move to the ultimate domain--the large scale structure of the universe itself in which galaxies are the building blocks. We discover the most amazing fact, that the solid stuff of stars and planets on which we have been concentrating up to this point make up only a few percent of the mass in the universe, with the rest being composed of two mysterious entities called, respectively, dark matter and dark energy. We descend into deep caverns to see scientists trying to detect dark matter as it sweeps by the Earth, and we talk to theorists trying to solve the riddle of dark energy. This quest brings us to the frontier of knowledge, the edge of the unknown. To conclude, two ultimate questions remain: How did the universe begin? How will the universe end? We trace our theories back to the first fraction of a second of the life of the universe and listen to the speculations of cosmologists about how it might all have started.

Good Seeing presents a readable, inspiring history of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, from its founding in 1902, through the emergence of "big science" after World War II, to the institution''s role in addressing the major science questions of the 21st century. Authors James Refil and Margaret Hindle Hazen open their narrative with the story of Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish bobbin boy who used his ingenuity to build a fortune in industrial America-and then turned his energy to giving that fortune away. The book then goes on to chronicle the groundbreaking work accomplished by the various Carnegie departments, tracing their growth and change as the frontiers of science expanded through the decades. And it looks at Carnegie''s influence on the mechanisms of science funding, the institution''s early support of ecology, and the building of the world''s leading astronomical observatories. The authors offer fascinating glimpses into the lives of science giants Barbara McClintock, George Ellery Hale, Edwin Hubble, Vera Rubin, Alfred Kidder-and the legendary Vannevar Bush, Institution President from 1939-1955. Lavishly illustrated with historical photos and drawings, this celebration of the Carnegie Institution''s century of discovery will be a delightful read for scientists, science advocates, and students of American science leadership.

The captivating possibilities of extraterrestrial life on exoplanets, based on current scientific knowledge of existing worlds and forms of life 2023 Canopus Awards for Interstellar Writing Finalist It is now known that we live in a galaxy with more planets than stars. The Milky Way alone encompasses 30 trillion potential home planets. Scientists Trefil and Summers bring readers on a marvelous experimental voyage through the possibilities of life--unlike anything we have experienced so far--that could exist on planets outside our own solar system. Life could be out there in many forms: on frozen worlds, living in liquid oceans beneath ice and communicating (and even battling) with bubbles; on super-dense planets, where they would have evolved body types capable of dealing with extreme gravity; on tidally locked planets with one side turned eternally toward a star; and even on "rogue worlds," which have no star at all. Yet this is no fictional flight of fancy: the authors take what we know about exoplanets and life on our own world and use that data to hypothesize about how, where, and which sorts of life might develop. Imagined Life is a must-have for anyone wanting to learn how the realities of our universe may turn out to be far stranger than fiction.

The ultimate science handbook for the home explains in everyday terms 200 of the most important laws and principles that define one''s sense of the physical world. 100 full-color illustrations & photos.

The past few years have seen an incredible explosion in our knowledge of the universe. Since its 2009 launch, the Kepler satellite has discovered more than two thousand exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. More exoplanets are being discovered all the time, and even more remarkable than the sheer number of exoplanets is their variety. In Exoplanets, astronomer Michael Summers and physicist James Trefil explore these remarkable recent discoveries: planets revolving around pulsars, planets made of diamond, planets that are mostly water, and numerous rogue planets wandering through the emptiness of space. This captivating book reveals the latest discoveries and argues that the incredible richness and complexity we are finding necessitates a change in our questions and mental paradigms. In short, we have to change how we think about the universe and our place in it, because it is stranger and more interesting than we could have imagined.

"Makes important contributions to the tendentious debate about abortion....Should be indispensable to that vast majority of citizens who are troubled by the simplistic polemics that have (mis)informed much of the debate."--Joshua Lederberg

Albert Einstein, one of the most prolific scientists of the twentieth century, developed the theory of relativity which was crucial for the advancement of modern physics. Young Einstein identified a paradox between Newtonian Mechanics and Maxwell’s equations which pointed to a flawed understanding of space and time by the scientists of the day. In Relativity, Einstein presents his findings using a minimal amount of mathematical language, but the text can still be challenging for readers who lack an extensive scientific background. The Routledge Guidebook to Einstein’s Relativity expands on and supplements this seminal text, by exploring: the historical context of Einstein’s work and the background to his breakthroughs details of experimental verification of special and general relativity the enduring legacy of Einstein’s theories and their implications for future scientific breakthroughs. This is an essential introduction for students of physics, philosophy and history in understanding the key elements of the work and the importance of this classic text to society today.