Cosmic Imagery: Key Images in the History of Science

Front Cover
W. W. Norton & Company, 2008 - Science - 608 pages
We live in a visual age, an age of images--iconic, instant, and influential--that have crystallized our conception of the large, the small, and the complex, of both inner and outer space. Some, like Robert Hooke's first microscopic views of the natural world, arose because of new technical capabilities. Others, like the first graphs, were breathtakingly simple but perennially useful. The first stunning picture of Earth from space stimulated an environmental consciousness that has grown ever since; the mushroom clouds from atomic and nuclear explosions became the ultimate symbol of death and destruction; Mercator's flat map of the Earth cemented an entire worldview. John D. Barrow's collection encompasses the frontiers of modern science and its most memorable historic moments. But this is much more than a picture book. Entertaining and informative essays accompany the powerful display of images that have illuminated concepts of far-reaching significance.
 

Contents

II
1
IV
11
V
21
VI
27
VII
33
VIII
39
IX
45
X
51
LXX
285
LXXI
295
LXXII
303
LXXIII
309
LXXIV
315
LXXV
321
LXXVI
327
LXXVIII
333

XI
57
XII
63
XIII
69
XIV
73
XV
81
XVII
87
XVIII
93
XIX
99
XXI
105
XXII
111
XXIII
117
XXIV
121
XXVI
129
XXVIII
135
XXXI
141
XXXIII
145
XXXV
155
XXXVI
159
XXXVIII
163
XL
167
XLII
175
XLIII
181
XLV
195
XLVI
199
XLVIII
205
XLIX
209
L
213
LII
217
LIV
223
LV
227
LVII
233
LX
239
LXII
243
LXIII
249
LXIV
255
LXV
259
LXVII
267
LXVIII
273
LXIX
279
LXXIX
339
LXXX
343
LXXXIII
351
LXXXIV
355
LXXXV
363
LXXXVI
369
LXXXVII
375
LXXXIX
381
XC
387
XCII
393
XCIII
397
XCIV
405
XCV
413
XCVI
419
XCVII
433
XCVIII
439
XCIX
445
CI
451
CII
455
CIII
461
CIV
469
CV
475
CVI
479
CVII
485
CVIII
489
CX
495
CXI
501
CXII
507
CXIII
515
CXV
519
CXVI
523
CXVII
527
CXIX
533
CXX
537
CXXI
543
CXXII
548
CXXIII
594
CXXIV
602
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About the author (2008)

John D. Barrow is professor of mathematical sciences and director of the Millennium Mathematics Project at Cambridge University, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is the best-selling author of many books on science and mathematics, including Mathletics: 100 Amazing Things You Didn't Know about the World of Sports and 100 Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know: Math Explains Your World.

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