Reviews this sober and thorough introduction to energy use and sustainable options should be accessible to a wide selection of readers from highschool. The july 2009 issue of scientific american included an article on the potential of grassoline by huber and bruce e. The book has a story arc as great as the universe, and as small as a microbe found in a termites gut. What steps are being taken to use bio fuels and you virgin airlines becoming the major jet fuel producer local to air fields as per scientific american issue july 2009 grassoline and taking the production onto the world stage and producing jet fuel with bio technology. The earlytwentiethcentury american entomologist william wheeler began as a believer in the political example of termites and ants. May 7, 2017 america the beautiful by charlene notgrass is a oneyear american history, geography, and literature course designed for students in grades 58. Actually it is not a romance novel that involves a black man and a white woman. Many of those articles are now viewed as classics, from his seminal piece on hexaflexagons in dec 1956which led to the. A team from mit uses termites as a model for robots designed to swarm like social insects. Huber is a professor of chemical engineering at the university of massachusetts amherst. As timothy ferris so eloquently writes in his introduction, consider some of the cosmic wonders explored in the book, and ask yourself what poet or artist. What future holds for world energy and climate change conference book volume, world future society, jul 2007 american center for international policy studies. Shop amongst our popular books, including 289, the scientific american day in the life of your brain, scientific american nutrition for a changing world with 2015 dietary guidelines and more from scientific american. The scientific american book of astronomy presents an astonishing array of knowledge that has shaped our understanding of space thus far and continues to stimulate and drive the imagination.
An obsessive tale of termites and technology 2018 scientific american, 303 pp offers a much bigger picture than a mere glimpse inside a termite mound. His research focus is on developing new catalytic processes for the production of renewable liquid fuels and chemicals. Scientific american editors mark fischetti, dina maron and seth fletcher talk about the info they picked up at the justconcluded annual meeting of the american association for the advancement of science in washington, d. The fuel of the future is grassoline scientific american. This book, grass, is actually set in the same universe as raising the stones, but the two books can be read and understood in any order. This chapter describes several contrasting pathways that lead from algae cultivation to. Aug 31, 2009 buy scientific american books at indigo. Having read the grass is singing 1950, her very first novel, i found that it is not as described on the book jacket, nothing at all. In a car or truck, petroleum diesel is currently more energy efficient than biodiesel, but things are changing. The set of processes that lead from algae cultivation to collection and harvest, and finally to fuel conversion is termed the pathway for algal biofuel production. Many of those articles are now viewed as classics, from his seminal piece on hexaflexagons in dec 1956which led to the offer to write a regular column for the magazine. Join steve mirsky each week as he explores cuttingedge breakthroughs and controversial issues with leading scientists and journalists. Scientific american is the essential guide to the most aweinspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our.
The scientific american book of the cosmos is a collection of articles from the pages of the respected magazine scientific american. But this appears to be far in the future if ever the termite biota system in their guts is simply too difficult, if not impossible, to scale up in a. The scientific american book of projects for the amateur scientist c. Chapters on batteries, energy harvesting, and the future of energy provide an understanding of fundamental relationships between energy use and. The book combines descriptions in nontechnical english with the accuracy and insight of equations. The level of writing is similar to that of scientific american.
About the relative size of things in the universe, human diversity, the discovery of subatomic particles, and several more. In 2015 thomson reuters has listed george as a highly cited researcher which indicates that he is one of the worlds most influential. The scientific american book of projects for the amateur. The book is itself a hybrid of material primarily for the intelligent general reader with added insight for the equationconfident reader. An obsessive tale of termites and technology, author lisa margonelli obsesses with termites only to find herself undertaking a journey that stretches from the 16th to the 21st century, from philosophers to computer scientists, and from the technology of grassoline to drone warfare. It combines the flexibility and richness of a unit study with the simplicity of a textbookbased approach to history. Scientific american is the essential guide to the most aweinspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives. The cost for petroleum to change to grassoline would depend on how fast the use of grassoline grows.
In the book, biologists in namibia try to crack the purpose and process of termite architecture. Scientific american has covered einsteins theories and the refinements and reactions to them ever since scientists began to grasp the import of his landmark 1905 papers. Huber is the harvey spangler professor of chemical engineering at the university of wisconsin madison. The book presents a unique, unifying view of ultra low power analog and digital electronics and emphasizes the use of the ultra energy efficient subthreshold regime of transistor operation in both. The best american series the next edition in a series praised as undeniably exquisite maria popova, the best american science and nature writing 2015 includes work from both awardwinning writers and upandcoming voices in the field. The best american science and nature writing 2015 pdf. So did termites, no matter who happens to be studying them. Department of energy, the energy content of a gallon of diesel is 11 percent more than the energy content of a gallon of biodiesel. This website has been hacked in 2016 and is no longer functional.
Exploring america literature package notgrass history. She has written for the atlantic, wired, scientific american, the new york times, and other publications. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. I read this book mainly to find out where grassoline stood. Stars in the grass ebook 9781634099523 by ann stewart. In 2003 scientific american cited his work on hydrogen production from biomass feedstocks as one of the top 50 breakthroughs of the year. But this appears to be far in the future if ever the termite biota system in their guts is simply too difficult, if. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Scientific american supplement issues at project gutenberg. A gardners dozenmartins scientific american cover stories. July 2009 volume 301 issue 1 john rennie download bok. A gardners dozenmartins scientific american cover stories martin wrote about 300 articles for scientific american between 1952 and 1998, most famously in his legendary mathematical games column starting in jan 1957. See the complete scientific american library series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles.
Because it is a collection of articles, it has no particular narrative outline running through each. And only personal experiment prevents science from being a matter of faith. Supplemental information and sample data download for the book open source gis. Nsf article on the work of huber and others towards plant based fuel. The renaissance of renewable energy by gian andrea pagnoni. The result is a rare longitudinal insight into the slippery nature of scientific progressmargonellis masterly book is a timely, thoughtprovoking exploration of what it means to be human, as much as what it means to be termite, and a penetrating look at the moral challenges of our ongoing technological revolution. Scientists thought 10 years ago that we could recreate the termite biota system of digesting biomass to create biofuels. From 2006 to 2012, she was a fellow at the new america foundation. The library of america calls this a deluxe new edition of carsons seminal 1962 book about the harmful impacts of chemical pesticides.
Digital collections of our best reporting on the hottest topics in science. Barbara kiser, books and arts editor at nature, talks about her favorite science books of 2016, especially three works about the littleknown history of women mathematicians. Sheri stewart tepper was a prolific american author of science fiction, horror and mystery novels. Read on for a sampling of our reports, some by leading physicists of their times working knowledge. Mar 20, 2017 the best american series the next edition in a series praised as undeniably exquisite maria popova, the best american science and nature writing 2015 includes work from both awardwinning writers and upandcoming voices in the field. From the july 2009 scientific american magazine 9 comments. Dec 31, 2016 barbara kiser, books and arts editor at nature, talks about her favorite science books of 2016, especially three works about the littleknown history of women mathematicians. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. This book, based on the 1950s and 1960s amateuar scientist columns in scientific american, does not spare you the fuss and muss of real experimentation. Lisa margonelli is the author of the national bestseller oil on the brain. Subjects covered include gravitational waves, whether theres really a war on science, the growing concern over zika virus, sea level rise and advances in artificial. He is also an articles editor and columnist at scientific american magazine. Scientific american is the essential guide to the most aweinspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the.
Hfcs and fluorides greenhouse coolants harmful to global warming 2016. You can also look up this serial on the online books page, which may list additional issues from other sites. Sources serious summer reading guide portland press herald. Science talk is a weekly science audio show covering the latest in the world of science and technology. By also dealing with the history, politics and economics of energy use, it offers both scientific and nonscientific readers a deeper understanding of the most important issue of our age. This article was originally printed with the title, grassoline at the pump. The information in this book that is actually about termites and their biology could fill a book about 15 the length of this book. The book should appeal to a wide range of readers who want to know more about how they may be able to influence the difficult transition to a lowcarbon energy future. Scientific american 3 on the cover 44 grasses and other plants are rich in cellulose that can be converted into alternatives to gasolinebut at what price.
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