Probability One - Couverture rigide

D. Aczel, Amir

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0316648299 ISBN 13 : 9780316648295

Editeur : Little, Brown & Company, 1999

Synopsis

At one level, this book surveys recent findings about the existence of planets orbiting other sun-like stars, such as 51 Pegasi (discovered in 1995) and Tau Bootis. It addresses questions such as what life is and what intelligent life is, as well as theories about how life evolved on Earth from basic molecules into more complex organic compounds leading to DNA. The existence of similar molecules on other planets in our solar system, as well as in meteorites that land on Earth every year, are used in an argument for the evolution of such compounds - the building blocks of life - outside Earth. At the same time, the author applies the laws of large numbers to the immense size of the known universe, with its billions of galaxies, each containing many billions of stars, to argue the probability that there is life elsewhere.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

For thousands of years, it was the visionaries and writers who argued that we cannot be alone-that there is intellegent life in the universe. Now, with the discoveries of the Hubble Telescope, data emerging from Mars, and knowledge about life at the extremes, scientists are taking up where they left off. Amir Aczel, author of Fermat's Last Theorem, pulls together everyting science has discovered, and mixes in proabability theory, to argure the case for the existence of intelligent life beyond this planet. Probability 1 is an extraordinary tour de force in which the author draws on cosmology, math, and biology to tell the rollicking good story of scientists tackling important scientific questions that help answer this fundamental question. What is the probability of intelligent life in the universe? Read this book, and you'll be convinced, by the power of the argument and the excitement of the science.

Revue de presse

"For one practiced in dealing with numbers, Amir Aczel certainly has a way with words. . . . Before reading Aczel's book, you might find it easy to shrug off his conclusions. After you've finished Probability 1, you may find it harder to do so."-Astronomy
"There are two reasons for recommending [Probability 1] to any person interested in the debate: It is clearly and gracefully written and it is up-to-date in its astronomical data."-Martin Gardner, Los Angeles Times Book Review

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Little, Brown & Company
• Date d'édition: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0316648299
• ISBN 13: 9780316648295
• Reliure: Relié
• Langue: anglais
• Nombre de pages: 240
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible