Israeli fighter pilots, children of, and coincidence 268, 271–3
J
Japan 148, 366
Jeffery, Charlotte 306
Jeffreys, Sir Harold 147–8
Jerison, Harry 317
Johnson Space Center, Houston 172
junk DNA 218
Jupiter 93, 117–8, 120, 122, 125, 129, 133, 157, 159, 177, 253, 255, 257, 305, 364, 381
Jurassic Park 282–3, 289, 302–4, 310, 379
Jurassic period 291
K
Kaloper, Nemanja 94
kangaroos 38–9, 283, 319–20
Kant, Immanuel 119–21
Kant-Laplace theories on formation of solar system 119–21
Kauffman, Stuart 62
Kennedy, John F. 293
Kennedy, Martin 230
Kennett, James 232
Kepler, Johannes 90
kevlar 371
Khurana, K.K 133
King, Stephen 329
Knauth, Paul 165
Knoll, Andrew 200
knowledge 16, 34, 40, 44*, 86, 124, 160, 183, 203, 205
koala ‘bear’ 320
krypton 23
K/T boundary extinction 304–7, 309–10
meteorite 308
Kuiper belt 117, 257
Object (KBO) 117–8
Kumar, Sudhir 324
Kyte, Frank 306
L
Lagrange point L2 131
Lake Victoria 310
Langevin, Paul 92
Langton’s Ant system 104–6
Laplace, Pierre-Simon de 119–121
laser propulsion 368
Laskar, Jaques 124, 177, 179
lava 167, 172, 279, 307–8
Lavoisier Antoine 73
law, effect of on human society 354
Law of Conservation of Energy 37, 201
lead 72, 76, 80–1, 113
Leggett, Anthony 110
Leonids 257
Leonov, Alexei 370
levitation (magnetic) 372
Lewis, Roy 197*
library-space (L-space) 203, 348
‘lies-to-children’ 43, 44*, 51, 80*, 109, 143,173, 215, 282, 290, 352
life
alien 134, 380–1
as a rarity 250
as a robust phenomenon 250
on Europa 133–5
and catastrophes 300
diversity of 209, 226, 232, 241–2, 301, 317, 322
and non-life 37, 196, 215
on other planets 380–1
repetitiousness of 300
resilience 279, 300, 364
rules about 295, 300
and space elevators 39, 201–2
Life Finder (project) 131
life sciences 36–7
Life of the Universe, The (Smolin) 62
light
bending (gravitational lensing) 92
and dark 180, 182–4, 186–7
emitted by quasars 26
speed of 13, 23, 25–6, 91–2, 182, 259
in relativity theory 91–2
from stars 57, 125–6
waves 130
lime 73
Linnaean Society 210
liquids 71–2, 156, 184
lithium 79
atomic weight of 74
lizards 276–7, 279, 281, 295–8, 309, 314–5, 332, 342, 374, 384
and birds 207
and dinosaurs 302, 303*, 304
Loch Ness monster 309–10
Lorentz, Hendrik 91
Lost World, The (Doyle) 282
Lovelock, James 252
Lucy (Australopithecine fossil) 294, 337
Lugmair, G.W. 306
Lunar Curatorial Facility, Houston 172
lunar eclipses 35
M
McCord, T.B. 134
machine, intelligent 348–50
macroscopic systems 109
madness, Moon and 171
Magaritz, Mordeckai 232
magic
and alchemy 72
and science 32–44
spells 72
and symbols 42
and technology 40
and television 41–2
Magical Event Horizon 41, 78
magic numbers 81–3
magnesium 165
magnetic monopoles 78
magnetism
of Earth 44,127,143–5
of Europa 133
of pulsars 127
magnetopause 145
magnetotail 145
main sequence (of stars) 259
Make-a-Human-Being-Kit 352–4
malaria 311
Malthus, Thomas 100
mammals 160, 164, 241, 243, 283, 304, 316–29, 335, 378, 384
Manicouagan 253
mantis shrimp, mind of 350–1
mantle, Earth’s 142, 146–8, 172
Maoris 312
Marcy, Geoffrey 129
maria 172, 175
Mariana Trench 142, 306
Mars 117–8, 125,132–3,174, 178, 252, 305, 372
ocean on 133
Mars Global Surveyor 133
Marsh, David 336
marsupials 319–21
Martin, Michael 93
Mass (of elementary particles) 60
mass extinctions 287
of dinosaurs 301, 305–12
mastodons 312
mathematics 12, 56, 89, 91, 103–5, 119, 124, 145, 147, 208, 214, 240, 271, 275, 338, 340
rules of 100
matter into energy by nuclear fission 23–4
Mayor, Michel 129
mechanics, Newtonian 91
Mediterranean sea 323
meerkats 340
Meitner, Lise 23–4
melting points 73, 82
Mendeleev, Dimitri 75–7, 82
menstrual cycle 170, 179
mercury (metal) 75
Mercury (planet) 90, 117, 124, 171, 252, 259, 307
mesosaur 285–7
Mesosaurus 147
metals 39, 69, 75,114, 141
meteor 254
meteorites 118, 132, 159, 172, 238, 254, 305–8, 328, 365
shower 256
meteoroid 255–6
meteorology 146
methane 118, 123, 157, 162, 164, 229, 232
methane hydrates 232
microscopes 182
microtome 182
microwaves to launch spacecraft 368
Middle Ages 71–2, 327–8
mid-Eocene period 323
migration 321, 323, 326
mild glacial ice age 229
Milankovitch, Milutin 228
Milgrom, Mordehai 94
Milgrom’s modification of Newton’s law of motion 94
Milky Way 258
mind(s) 73,108,110, 303, 327–8, 339–40, 347–52, 355
as process 351–2
minerals 165, 192, 197
mirrors in radio astronomical telescopes 130–1
Mitchell, Joni 79
mitochondria 196
mixture vs compound 72
modules, of the brain 339
molecules 53, 77, 79, 101–3, 133–4, 157–8, 163, 197, 215, 217, 272
vibration of 163
weight of 157–8
monsters, dinosaurs as 303, 309
Moon 32–5, 37, 39, 116–8, 167–179, 181, 189, 252, 262, 301, 367, 369, 380
formation of 174–5
gravity of 37
movement of 35
rock 172–3
rotation of 173
as satellite 117, 170
theories about origin 172–5
travelling to 37, 367, 380
moons 132–3
Morgan, Elaine 336
morganucodontids 284, 318–9
Morris, Simon Conway 240
mosasaurs 285–6, 309–10
mosquitoes 311
Motion, Law(s) of (Newton’s) 94,119
mountains 58, 142
Mount St Helens volcano 141
multi-celled
creatures 231
multiplex minds 355–6
mutations 218, 239*, 336
Myrabo, Leik 368
N
Namibia 366
narrative imperative 10, 11, 41, 58, 267, 270, 302
narrativium 10, 11, 18, 55, 73, 77, 79*, 99, 107, 113, 138, 152–3, 188, 218, 221, 236, 246, 265, 267–8, 272, 274, 295, 374
NASA 131,132,171–2, 367, 370–1
national cultures 352
natural disasters 301, 365, 379
natural selection 211–4
Nature 23
nature, living in harmony with 312
nautilus 309
neap tides 177
Nectocaris 241
negative electrical charge 76
neon, atomic weight of 74
Neptune 117–8, 157
nerve cells 338–9, 349
nests 340
neural networks of the brain 339, 349
neurophysiology and culture 347
neutrons 22–4, 60, 76–9, 81–2
slow 22–4
neutron stars 82, 126–7, 258–9, 373
Newlands, John 75
Newton, Isaac 40, 56, 77, 90–4, 100,107, 119, 123, 176
Law of Gravity 40, 90, 92, 176
Law(s) of Motion 94, 119
Newtonian mechanics 91
newts 325
New Zealand 148, 321
Next Generation Space Telescope 130
nickel 117
Nile Perch 310
Nilsson, Daniel 214, 336
nitric acid 162
nitrogen 73–4, 79, 157, 162, 231
atomic weight of 74
Noah’s ark 35
novas 80, 83, 258
Novell, Mark 292
nuclear chain reaction 22
nuclear fission 23–4
nuclear forces 27
nuclear fusion 79
nuclear power 22, 32
nuclear reactions 24, 76, 79–81, 122, 157, 259
nuclear warfare 158, 364–5
nuclear weapons 80
nuclear winter 158, 307
nucleus 76–7, 195, 198, 215
solar system as model for 76–7
O
oceanography 370
oceans
on Earth 36, 118, 140, 142, 147–8, 156, 158, 162, 164–5, 175–6, 197–8, 227–9, 231–2, 243, 306, 316, 321, 323
in Europa 133–5
on Mars 133
see also seas
octopuses 310
oil 229
Oklo’s ‘natural reactor’ 24–6
olivine 142
Omnès, Roland 110
One Million Years BC 285
Oort, Jan Hendrik 255–6
Oort cloud 117,129, 255–7
opossums 320
optical astronomy 130–1
optical interferometer arrays (aka flocks) 131
optical telescopes 130–1
oral cultures 353
orangutans 336
orbital tower 370
orbits, planetary, as elliptical 90, 117
organic life on Europa 133–5
Origin of Species, The (Darwin) 210
origin of universe 52–62
Ornithomimus 291
orreries 124
Oscar II, King of Sweden 12
Outline of History (Wells) 282–3
overpopulation 365
oxygen 72–4, 76, 79, 118, 122, 140, 157–65, 184, 230, 232, 251, 284, 307
atomic weight of 74, 76
oxygen-18 (radioactive isotope of oxygen) 230
P
Pacific Ocean 142, 148, 306
Paillard, Didier 229
Palaeocene/Eocene extinction 232
palaeontology 200, 241, 303–4, 307, 324
Pangea 146–7
Pan paniscus 334
Pan troglodytes 334
parasite 286
Parameciums 134
parental relationships and sex 341
parochials (features of organisms) 243
pattern-recognition device, brain as 338
Pearson, Jerome 370
Pegasi (51 Pegasi star) 129
Pelger, Susanne 214, 336
Penrose, Roger 23†
periodic charts (Mendeleev) 75–6
periodicity 77
Periodic Table of the Elements 75
Perlmutter, Saul 94
Permian era 284–5, 287
Permian/Triassic extinction 232, 308
perovskite 142
Perseids 257
petrification 200
phase space 106, 269, 301, 340, 350, 367
phase transitions 102, 163
phlogiston 10, 184
Phobos 117
phosphorus 231
photon 104
photosynthesis 158, 164, 179, 202
physical sciences 36
physics 22, 25, 37–9, 44*, 62, 74, 76–8, 80, 102, 109–10, 156, 169, 181, 201, 207, 342
Pikaia 241
Pioneer 10 and 11 space probes 93–4
Pisanosaurus 283
placental mammals 319–22
Planck’s constant 25, 26*
Planet Imager 132
planets 116–129
chemical composition of 117
colonization of 372–3
extrasolar 123
formation of 119–22
isolated 123
life on other 41
magnetic fields of 145
mapping alien (Planet Imager) 132
as model for electrons 76
and moons 171
movement/orbits of 35, 90, 117, 119, 123–5, 127–30
size of 117
Planet X (undiscovered planet) 93
plants 34, 134, 158–62, 195, 210–11, 218, 301, 306, 311, 318
plates, Earth’s 148
Pleistocene era 227
plesiosaurs 285–7, 309
pliosaurs 285–6
Pluto 93, 117–20, 123–4, 171, 255, 257
plutonium 80
Poincaré, Henri 91
Poisson distribution 254
polarity, reversing of Earth’s 145, 148
pollution 227, 307, 365
in stars 80
polonium 81
Polyakov, Alexander 26
‘Population I and II’ stars 80, 83
population growth
and food supply 100
rates 212
positive electrical charge 76
potassium 165
potentiality 50–1
power beaming 368
Pre-Cambrian era
Ediacarans 198–201, 242
triploblasts 199–201, 231
Pre-Cambrian/Palaeozoic (Cambrian) boundary 242
precession 178–9
of the equinoxes 35
primitive organisms 238–9
printing 335, 353–4
prions 216–7, 326
privatives 183–6, 188*
probability theory 269–70, 273, 275
process 41–2, 44, 59, 61, 73, 109, 116, 187–8, 196, 201, 209, 213, 348–9
mind as 351–2
processing 349
progress, human 347
prokaryotes 198
proteins 162, 197, 215, 217–8
Protoarchaeopteryx 291
protons 61, 76–9, 81–2
protozoans 284
PSR 1257+12 pulsar 128
PSR 1829–10 pulsar 127–8
Pteranodon 290
pterodactyls 283, 290, 309
pterosaurs 309
Ptolemy (Claudius Ptomelaeus) 90
pulsar 126–9, 373
‘punctuated equilibrium’ theory of evolution 240
pyrite 197
pyroxine 142
Q
qualia 338
quantum mechanics 25, 32, 44, 77, 79*, 91, 95, 101, 107–10
quantum systems 109
quantum wave functions 108–10, 188
quarks 60
quartz 306
quasars, light emitted by 26, 92
Queloz, Didier 129
questions, little and big 51–2
Quetzalcoatlus 290
quintessence 95
R
rabbits 246, 316, 321, 323
radiation 58, 77, 93, 102, 127, 204
radioactive decay 80
radioactivity 22
radio astronomy 125, 130
radio telescopes 126
radio waves 125–6, 130, 144
radium 80
rainbow, colour and shape of 43
rainfall 322
rainforests 161, 365, 381
burning of 365
randomness 47, 75, 104, 107–8, 121, 124, 196, 211, 213–4, 219–20, 239*, 242, 268–9, 271, 273, 276, 305, 324, 349, 380
Rebolo, Rafael 123
recombination (cross-breeding algorithms) 219
recursion 375, 384
red 57
red blood cells 316
red giant 259–60
Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars (Robinson) 372
red shift 57
reductionism 101–2, 107, 222
regulatory (homeotic) genes 218
reifying 185
Relativity, Theory of (Einstein) 44, 91–5, 101
new observations casting doubt on 93–6
religion 54, 166, 189, 206, 213–4, 378
reproduction 196, 201, 304
reptiles 241, 243, 309, 317–9
repulsive force in gravity 94–5
resilience of life 279, 300, 364
rhinoceros 311, 323–4
rings of satellites 117
Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) 289
rivers 35, 40, 165, 226
Roberts, Richard 322
Robinson, Kim Stanley 372
rockets, space 37–40, 201, 325, 364, 367, 369
rodents 321
Ruben, John 291*
rule-changing universe 62–3, 83
rules 9,11–12, 36–7, 40, 42, 51, 63, 83, 90, 111, 115, 121, 124, 152, 154, 156, 201, 295
about life 295, 300
origin of 100–10
S
sabre-toothed tiger 324
Sagan, Carl 158
Sahara Desert 146
Saint Augustine 55
salt(s) 34*, 72, 134, 164–5, 191
hydrated 134
sample space 269–72, 274–5
Santiago, David 95
satellite photography 140
satellites 117, 120, 133, 170–1
communications 39, 126, 140, 369–70
Saturn 93, 117–8, 120, 157, 253
Saudi Arabia 254
‘savannah’ theory of human evolution 334, 336–7
Sceptical Chymist, The (Boyle) 72
Schaüffelein, Hans 367
Schmidt, Brian 94
Schrag, Daniel 230–1
Schrödinger, Erwin 108–10
Schrödinger’s cat 13, 108–10
Schumacher, Michael 268
science 9–13, 25, 32, 35–7, 40–44, 58, 62, 72–3, 78, 87–8, 90, 95, 101, 116, 125, 175, 185, 188, 211, 213, 219, 268, 303, 312, 338, 378
and common sense 87–8
and magic 32–44
and process 44
stories of 11
and universe 35–6
science fiction 133, 196, 197*, 355, 365, 370
and space exploration 365