Atoms & Stars: Contents of Hardcopy Anthology
(underscored materials are also available on line; numbers refer to page numbers in hard copy anthology)
Preface . . . v
In Praise of Literacy (Sagan) . . . vii
Class Syllabus . . . ix
Part I: The Nature of Science / Atmospheric Pressure
Class Activity: Mystery of the Temperamental Aluminum Can . . . 1
We are all Scientists (T. H. Huxley) . . 5
Science and Hypothesis (I. M. Copi) . . . 9
The Development of the Concept of Atmospheric Pressure (Conant) . . . 17
Class Activity: Predictions of Torricelli’s Sea of Air Hypothesis . . . 27
Conceptual Activity: The Nature of Science . . . 29
Gambling Anyone? Doubleup! . . . 35
Case Histories in Science:
Scientific Inquiry (Hempel) . . . 38 The Story of the [Martian] Canals (Moore) . . . 40 Crop Circles (Sagan) . . . 50 Science and the Spirits (Tyndall) . . . 53 The Speed of Light . . . 59
Part II: Atoms
Atomic Nature of Matter (Hewitt) . . . 66
Class Activity: The Chemical Composition of Water . . . 80
Part III: Greek Science & Mathematics
The Greek Mind (H. D. F. Kitto) . . . 83
Thales of Miletus (H. D. F. Kitto) . . . 84
Euclid . . . 85
Strato (Farrington), Aristarchus, and the Legacy of Greek Science . . . 91
What Do Mathematicians Do? (Dewdney) . . . 101
Take Home Exercise: Archimedes' Exploits . . . 103
Part IV: Astronomy
An Inventory of the Universe (Hamburg) . . . 121
Class Activity: The Size of the Solar System . . . 129
Phases of the Moon: A Take-Home Exercise . . . 135
Black Holes (Asimov) . . . 138
Our Moon (Spangenburg & Moser) . . . 140
The Telescope, Galileo, and Dogma (Boorstein) . . . 146
Conceptual Activity: Quo Vadis, Jupiter?. . . 162
The Planet Mars and Kepler's Three Laws of Planetary Motion . . . 163
What do we mean by natural laws?—The Cold Equations (Tom Godwin) . . . 172
The Red World (Moore). . . 186
Mars in the Solar System (Moore) . . . 190
Skimming the Milky Way (Bill Nye) . . . 199
Part V: The Greenhouse Effect (where Astronomy and Ecology Meet)
The Greenhouse Effect . . . 203
Climate change warning (BBC). . . 208
Reality Check (Gelbspan). . . 210
2001 Was the 2nd Hottest, Confirming a Trend, U.N. Says. . . 213
Class Activity: Can CO2 Trap Heat? . . . 214
Part VI: Extraterrestrials and the Colonization of Space?
Reflections on the Possibility of Extraterrestrial Life (Asimov) . . . 218
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Sagan & Drake) . . . 221
Tests on Mars rock reveal life can jump between planets . . . 229
Suppose Aliens did Come, then What?—The Star Beast (Gray) . . . 231
First Step to the Stars?—The Martian Base (Moore) . . . 236
Part VII: The Nature of Science Revisited
What is Science? . . . 241
Acknowledgments . . . 258
A Partial Glossary . . . 259