The world's 20 greatest unsolved problems / John R. Vacca.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vacca, John R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Miscellanea.

Research.

Genre:

Trivia and miscellanea.

Physical Description:

xxxii, 669 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

World's twenty greatest unsolved problems

Place of Publication:

Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall PTR, [2005]

Summary:

In this comprehensive volume, today's greatest scientific minds--60 brilliant scientists selected by their colleagues--discuss the most intriguing scientific questions of the day. Topics include the beginnings of the universe, earthquake prediction, and the mystery of dark matter.

Contents:

Part I Astronomy and Cosmology 1

Chapter 1 Astronomy: The Mystery of Dark Matter 3

What Really Is Dark Matter? 5

Dark Matter Candidates 6

The Invisible Universe: How Important Is It? 13

Chapter 2 Cosmology: The Creation of the Universe 23

How Did the Universe Begin? 29

Inflation 30

Doubling Up the Acceleration 33

Tapioca and Disorder 34

Gravity Waves Surfing 39

Alternative Ways of Understanding Creation 41

Chapter 3 Theoretical Cosmology and Particle Physics: The Cosmological Constant Problem 55

The Matter and Energy Spread 56

Stars: Engines of Change in an Evolving Universe 58

Galaxies: Bringing It All Together 62

The Difficulties of Theoretical Cosmology 64

New Observational Developments 66

The Cosmological Constant Problem 67

Type Ia Supernovae and the Cosmological Constant 67

Inconstant Constant 72

Quintessence 74

Part II Physics and Astrophysics 81

Chapter 4 Gravity: The Construction of a Consistent Quantum Theory of Gravity 83

What Is Gravity? 83

What Is a Black Hole? 84

Bridging Quantum Mechanics and Gravity 103

Quantum Theory of Gravity 103

How Gravity Is Produced by General Relativity 107

Unusual Features of Quantum Mechanics 108

The Uncanny Implications of Quantum Mechanics 109

Chapter 5 Particle Physics: The Mechanism That Makes Fundamental Mass 143

Standard Model 144

How Breaking Destroys Electroweak Unification 147

What Is the Unsolved Problem? 148

The Possible Discovery of the "God Particle" 149

Fundamental Forces 151

Basic Particle Forces 153

Chapter 6 Particle Physics and Astrophysics: The Solar Neutrino Problem 159

Neutrinos: What Are They? 159

Do Neutrinos Have Mass? 162

Neutrinos Do Have Mass 163

Chapter 7 Astrophysics: The Source of Gamma-Ray Bursts 177

Why Scientists Study Gamma-Ray Bursts 179

What Scientists Know and What They Don't Know 179

Astrophysicists Know That They Come from Every Direction in the Sky 181

Astrophysicists Don't Know What Kinds of Objects Emit the Radiation 182

How the Mystery Will Be Solved 185

Now All of That May Have Changed! 185

Chapter 8 Theoretical High-Energy Physics: The Unification of the Basic Forces 195

Examples of Unification 195

Forces That Have Not Been Unified 196

Unification of Other Forces 196

The Best Candidate for Unification 197

Hanging on a String 202

Modifying the Concept of Space-Time 207

Chapter 9 Solid State Physics: The Mechanism Behind High-Temperature Superconductors 213

Superconductors 213

High-Temperature Superconductors 221

An Awaiting Audience 223

Behind the Scenes 229

Other HST Applications 231

Part III Biology and Paleontology 249

Chapter 10 Biology: How the Basic Processes of Life Are Carried Out by DNA and Proteins 251

DNA! What Is It? 251

An Enzyme DNA Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) 255

Understanding DNA Typing 258

Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA 260

Preservation and Collection of Biological Evidence 265

Contamination Issues 267

DNA and Proteins 268

Protein Synthesis 272

The Challenge 273

The Genome Project 274

The Importance of Understanding the Human Genome 279

The Next Step in the Discovery Process 280

How This Knowledge Will Affect Your Life 282

Breaking Cancer's Genetic Activity 285

Growing Your Own Spare Parts 291

Cures from Clones 295

Immortality 300

Chapter 11 Biology: Protein Folding 309

The Importance of Protein Folding 313

Protein Deposits in Tissues 314

Continued Research 315

Temperature-Sensitive Mutations 316

Hereditary Diseases 317

Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy (FAP) 317

Alzheimer's 318

Mad Cow and Creutzfeldt-Jacob Diseases 320

Miniscule Protein 322

Protein Misfolding Treatment 323

Understanding the Mechanism of Computational Protein Folding 324

Twisting Proteins 325

Fundamental Biophysics 326

Programming Potentials 327

Molecule Modeling 327

Computational Protein Folding 328

Chapter 12 Paleontology: How Present-Day Microbiological Information Can Be Used to Reconstruct "The Ancient Tree of Life" 347

The Three Domains of the Ancient Tree of Life 349

Climbing the Branches of the Ancient Tree of Life 360

Unified Ancient Tree of Life 363

Part IV Neuroscience 367

Chapter 13 Free Will 369

Freedom to Decide and Act 370

What Actually Plays a Role in Free Will 376

The Skeptics 376

Is Free Will or Is It Not a Necessary Fiction? 379

Believers 391

Chapter 14 Consciousness 399

The Problems 400

Cognitive Abilities And Functions 404

The Conscious Experience 408

The Unconscious Consciousness Experience 419

Consciousness Theory 423

Structural Coherence 425

Organizational Invariance 429

Theory of Double-Aspect of Information 432

Part V Geology 439

Chapter 15 The Dynamics of the Inner Earth 441

Revealing Earth's Deepest Secrets 446

Crust 448

The Mantle 449

Core 451

Chapter 16 Earthquake Predicting 455

Shake, Rattle, and Roll Watch 455

Tectonic Plates on the Move 463

Divergent Boundaries 464

Convergent Boundaries 471

Transform Boundaries 476

Plate-Boundary Zones 477

Rates of Motion 477

The Future: Using Satellites to Detect Ground Movement 479

Lubricating the Cracks in the Earth's Crust 480

Part VI Chemistry 483

Chapter 17 How Microscopic Atomic Forces Produce Various Macroscopic Behaviors 485

Universal Natural Laws 485

Universal Natural Law Scope 486

Supreme Administration 492

Universal Natural Law Application 496

The Source of All Problems 497

The Meaning of Violating Universal Natural Law 498

Violation of Universal Natural Law Problems 499

Problems Caused by Violation of Universal Natural Law 500

How Microscopic Atomic Forces Produce Various Macroscopic Behaviors 501

Chapter 18 The Fabrication and Manipulation of Carbon-Based Structures (Fullerenes) 509

Fabrication and Manipulation of Simulations of Carbon Nanotube-Based Gears 517

Bonded Interactions Simulation Details 523

The Results 525

Part VII Energy 539

Chapter 19 Free Energy 541

The Ultimate Survivors: Have Advanced Civilizations Harnessed Free Energy? 542

Free Energy 556

Current Free Energy Technology 556

Chapter 20 Nuclear Fusion and Waste 617

Fusion Reaction 619

The Current Research 622

Fusion Power Plants 627

Fusion-Powered Spacecraft 632

The Compact Model 633

A Bottled Star 634

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fusion 635.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0131426435

OCLC:

55886452