Planetary Climate before the Space Age - Softcover

Lorenz, Ralph D

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1546814191 ISBN 13: 9781546814191

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

This book tells the story of how we learned what controls the temperature of the planets, including our own. From the first ideas on climate in ancient times, to the magnificent intellectual leaps of the Renaissance, then via the progressive understanding of heat and the daring explorations of the Earth and atmosphere by ship, mountain ascent and balloons in the 19th century, to the modern era of mathematical prediction of weather and climate, the story sweeps in parallel with astronomical observation of our planetary neighbors. This scientific tour sees everything from long and meticulous calculations by lone geniuses, to international diplomacy and globetrotting adventures of discovery. Science is a human endeavor, and its forward march has been sometimes punctuated by self-delusion, dismissal of radical ideas, and untimely death. Critical advances have been sometimes lost for years, but the centuries leading up to the era of planetary exploration progressively built our knowledge of the sun, the greenhouse effect, and the ice ages, setting the stage to understand our neighboring worlds, and our past and future.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Ralph Lorenz is a planetary scientist and aerospace engineer, originally from Scotland. He worked for the European Space Agency on the Huygens probe to Titan and has been involved in many NASA and international space projects , including Cassini, Mars Polar Lander and JAXA's Akatsuki. He enjoys visiting exotic locations on Earth, from the Arabian desert and Alaska to Vanuatu and New Zealand, to learn about processes on other worlds, notably dust devils, sand dunes and volcanos. He enjoys writing, perhaps something to do with attending King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford-upon-Avon, the same school as William Shakespeare. He works at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Maryland, USA.

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1546814191
• ISBN 13: 9781546814191
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 110