-
This book will give students an understanding of the history of flight right up to the technology and scientific discoveries that allow us to fly planes as large as todays super jumbo jets. How are airplanes designed so they can operate safely? What is the future of flight? All of these questions and more will be answered as students take a look at super jumbo jets, inside and out!
-
Chemistry is often a daunting subject for students, fostering a bewilderment that sets in upon their first encounter with the Periodic Table. This book demystifies an important aspect of the subject--chemical reactions--and demonstrates exactly how fascinating and fun chemistry can be. Starting out by explaining just what a chemical reaction is--and what it isn't--the book details in accessible language the various kinds of chemical reactions that are possible. It draws upon readily comprehensible everyday examples, like rusting metal, baking bread, battery power, digestion, rotting eggs, and burning candles. The book then turns to a survey of the history of chemical research, beginning in the Ancient and Classical Worlds, progressing to the Medieval alchemists and Renaissance innovators, and ending with the leading lights of modern chemistry. Readers will be introduced to luminaries such as Antoine Lavoisier, John Dalton, Louis Pasteur, Dmitri Mendeleyev, the Curies, and Ernest Rutherford. It concludes with an inspiring examination of how current research and cutting edge developments are using chemistry and chemical reactions to save lives and insure continued life on Earth. This book amply illustrates the accessibility, relevance, and gee-whiz fun of chemical reactions.
-
Because of the biological similarities between many animals and humans, scientists can learn about diseases, and find out how humans might react to medicines, cosmetics, chemicals, and other products by testing them on animals first. According to the Humane Society of the United States, more than twenty-five million animals are used in research, testing, and education each year. Readers learn about the various philosophies on animal testing, what tests are used, and how they are performed. The book presents the pros and cons of animal testing and some of the alternative methods to animal testing that scientists are developing today.
-
The spread of harmful chemicals and biological organisms can injure and kill thousands of people and make an infected area unlivable for some time to come. In the age of modern terrorism, many people fear militant organizations will unleash chemical and biological weapons in public places. This book provides readers with an overview of what these weapons are, who uses them and why, and explains how much of a threat they are to our way of life. Over time, countries have pledged to ban the use of CBWs in various agreements, with limited success.
-
The world's wildlife is vanishing at an alarming rate. Scientists at the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Federation estimate that one in four mammals, and a full third of Earth's amphibians are in danger of becoming extinct. Today species are becoming extinct at a rate that is anywhere from 100 to 1,000 times faster than normal. People have been in fierce competition with wild animals for land, food, and natural resources for years. When over-hunting and -fishing of species and a rise in the level of pollution is added to this mix, humans come to represent the single gravest threat to wildlife survival. Any species that disappears leaves a hole in the web of life. Mass extinction would leave so many holes that the web might totally fall apart. Humans must realize the important role wildlife plays in the survival of the planet and reverse the damage--before it's too late.
-
Today there are more than 1.1 billion Muslims in the world. Even in the wake of this enormous growth, many of the practices established by Muhammad remain intact today. By adhering to the Qur’an, Muslims observe a rich cultural tradition that bridges the past, present, and future worlds in a community of the faithful.
-
Presents a general history of the cultural and social aspects of the ancient Maya and Aztec empires up to the arrival of Spanish conquerors, in a book that also provides readers with instructions for creating such related craft projects as a feather fan, a mosaic mask, a codex, and a miniature pyramid temple.
-
Artificial Intelligence is one of the most intriguing and difficult technological advances ever explored by man. It is the study of intelligent behavior and the attempt to recreate it through technology. This beginner's guide explores, not only the technology behind AI, but the current and future benefits of further exploration.
-
Since the terrible events of 9/11, more attention than ever has been paid to the threats and challenges posed by terrorists. Weinberg explains who the terrorists are, where they came from, what motivates them, and what, if anything, can be done to stop them. It provides a fascinating insight into how terrorist 'cells' operate and what they might do in the future. Leonard Weinberg is Foundation Professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada. He has also served as a consultant to the United Nations Office for the Prevention of Terrorism and was a recipient of the 1999 Thornton Peace Prize.
-
What is your carbon footprint? Readers can find out inside this book. Energy comes from many different sources, but some of them are quickly depleting. Readers explore the different ways to replace fossil fuels, such as solar energy and hydropower. They even discover small steps they can take to make themselves more energy efficient, such as walking or riding a bike to school.
-
Great Expectations is Charles Dickens's thirteenth novel. It is his second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age novel, and it is a classic work of Victorian literature. It depicts the growth and personal development of an orphan named Pip. The novel was first published in serial form in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes.Dickens originally intended Great Expectations to be twice as long, but constraints imposed by the management of All the Year Round limited the novel's length. The novel is collected and dense, with a conciseness unusual for Dickens. According to G. K. Chesterton, Dickens penned Great Expectations in "the afternoon of [his] life and fame." It was the penultimate novel Dickens completed, preceding Our Mutual Friend.It is set among the marshes of Kent and in London in the early to mid-1800s. The novel contains some of Dickens most memorable scenes, including its opening, in a graveyard, when the young orphan Pip is accosted by the escaped convict, Abel Magwitch. Great Expectations is a graphic book, full of extreme imagery, poverty, prison ships ("the hulks"), barriers and chains, and fights to the death.Upon its release, Thomas Carlyle spoke of "All that Pip's nonsense." Later, George Bernard Shaw praised the novel as "All of one piece and consistently truthfull." Dickens felt Great Expectations was his best work, calling it "a very fine idea," and was very sensitive to compliments from his friends: "Bulwer, who has been, as I think you know, extraordinarily taken by the book."Great Expectations has a colourful cast that has entered popular culture: the capricious Miss Havisham, the cold and beautiful Estella, Joe the kind and generous blacksmith, the dry and sycophantic Uncle Pumblechook, Mr. Jaggers, Wemmick with his dual personality, and the eloquent and wise friend, Herbert Pocket. Throughout the narrative, typical Dickensian themes emerge: wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and the eventual triumph of good over evil. Great Expectations has become very popular and is now taught as a classic in many English classes. It has been translated into many languages and adapted many times in film and other media.
-
As the world's population expands, so too does the risk of communicable disease and global pandemics. Consequently, healthcare has assumed a greater centrality in the public consciousness both in the United States and around the world. With various national and international organizations dedicated to epidemiological research and disease control, societal welfare has become an increasingly significant aspect of public policy. The historical, legal, and scientific factors that form the basis of public health locally and globally are the subjects of this relevant and revealing volume.