Series: Princeton Science Library

John Tyler Bonner, one of our most distinguished and creative biologists, here offers a completely new perspective on the role of size in biology. In his hallmark friendly style, he explores the universal impact of being the right size. By examining stories ranging from Alice in Wonderland to Gulliver's Travels, he shows that humans have always been fascinated by things...

A fun, entertaining exploration of the ideas and people behind the growth of trigonometry. Trigonometry has a reputation as a dry, difficult branch of mathematics, a glorified form of geometry complicated by tedious computation. In Trigonometric Delights, Eli Maor dispels this view. Rejecting the usual descriptions of sine, cosine, and their trigonometric relatives, he brings the subject to life in...

Everybody knows that mathematics is indispensable to physics—imagine where we'd be today if Einstein and Newton didn't have the math to back up their ideas. But how many people realise that physics can be used to produce many astonishing and strikingly elegant solutions in mathematics? Mark Levi shows how in this delightful book, treating readers to a host of entertaining...

An entertaining and enlightening history of irrational numbers, from ancient Greece to the twenty-first century. The ancient Greeks discovered them, but it wasn't until the nineteenth century that irrational numbers were properly understood and rigorously defined, and even today not all their mysteries have been revealed. In The Irrationals, the first popular and comprehensive book on the subject, Julian Havil...

The world's top experts take readers to the very frontiers of brain scienceIncludes a chapter by 2014 Nobel laureates May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser An unprecedented look at the quest to unravel the mysteries of the human brain, The Future of the Brain takes readers to the absolute frontiers of science. Original essays by leading researchers such as Christof Koch,...

The ocean teems with life that thrives under difficult situations in unusual environments. The Extreme Life of the Sea takes readers to the absolute limits of the ocean world — the fastest and deepest, the hottest and oldest creatures of the oceans. It dives into the icy Arctic and boiling hydrothermal vents and exposes the eternal darkness of the deepest...

The remarkable scientific story of how Earth became an oxygenated planet The air we breathe is twenty-one percent oxygen, an amount higher than on any other known world. While we may take our air for granted, Earth was not always an oxygenated planet. How did it come to be this way? Donald Canfield covers this vast history, emphasising its relationship...

Among the many constants that appear in mathematics, π, e, and i are the most familiar. Following closely behind is γ, or gamma, a constant that arises in many mathematical areas yet maintains a profound sense of mystery. In a tantalizing blend of history and mathematics, Julian Havil takes the reader on a journey through logarithms and the harmonic series,...

Some 250 million years ago, the earth suffered the greatest biological crisis in its history. Around 95 percent of all living species died out—a global catastrophe far greater than the dinosaurs' demise 185 million years later. How this happened remains a mystery, but there are many competing theories. Some blame huge volcanic eruptions that covered an area as large as...

An essential exploration of the engineering aesthetics of celebrated structures from long-span bridges to high-rise buildings What do structures such as the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the concrete roofs of Pier Luigi Nervi have in common? According to The Tower and the Bridge, all are striking examples of structural art, an exciting area distinct from either architecture or...

In Why Stock Markets Crash, Didier Sornette delves into the intricate fabric of financial markets to unravel the mysterious mechanisms behind their sudden collapses. Departing from conventional theories that focus on immediate triggers, Sornette's groundbreaking work suggests a deeper, more complex process underpinning the inception of financial crises. He posits that these catastrophic events stem from a gradual build-up of...

QED by Richard P. Feynman is acclaimed for its masterful exploration of quantum electrodynamics, diving into the intriguing interactions of light with charged particles. This seminal work invites readers on a journey through the marvels of the quantum world, rendered through the unique lens of one of the 20th century's most celebrated physicists. Instead of merely focusing on complex equations...

One of today's most accomplished biologists and gifted storytellers reveals the rules that regulate all life. How does life work? How does nature produce the right numbers of zebras and lions on the African savanna, or fish in the ocean? How do our bodies produce the right numbers of cells in our organs and bloodstream? In The Serengeti Rules, award-winning...

Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist and pioneer in ancient DNA research, addresses this intriguing question by walking readers through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction. From deciding which species should be restored to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen...

The classic book that shares the enjoyment of mathematics with readers of all skill levels. What is so special about the number 30? Do the prime numbers go on forever? Are there more whole numbers than even numbers? The Enjoyment of Math explores these and other captivating problems and puzzles, introducing readers to some of the most fundamental ideas in...

What can fashionable ideas, blind faith, or pure fantasy possibly have to do with the scientific quest to understand the universe? Surely, theoretical physicists are immune to mere trends, dogmatic beliefs, or flights of fancy? In fact, acclaimed physicist and bestselling author Roger Penrose argues that researchers working at the extreme frontiers of physics are just as susceptible to these...

A mathematical journey through the most fascinating problems of extremes and how to solve them What is the best way to photograph a speeding bullet? How can lost hikers find their way out of a forest? Why does light move through glass in the least amount of time possible? When Least Is Best combines the mathematical history of extrema with...

A landmark account of the dynamics of living systems and the methods for studying them. Random Walks in Biology provides a lucid, straightforward introduction to the concepts and techniques of statistical physics that students of biology, biochemistry, and biophysics must know. Howard Berg offers an essential foundation for understanding random motions of molecules, subcellular particles, and cells as well as...

An entertaining and informative book that explores how living things contend with nonbiological reality. Life on Earth is subject to the pull of gravity, the properties of air and water, and the behaviour of diffusing molecules, yet such physical factors are constraints that drive evolution and offer untold opportunities to creatures of all sizes. In this lively introduction to the...

This is a rare and much-needed book: a concise but comprehensive account of quantum mechanics for popular science readers written by a respected physicist. Sam Treiman—who was internationally renowned for his work in particle physics—makes quantum mechanics accessible to non-specialists. Combining mastery of the material with clear, elegant prose and infectious enthusiasm, he conveys the substance, methods, and profound oddities...

In the mid-eighteenth century, Swiss-born mathematician Leonhard Euler developed a formula so innovative and complex that it continues to inspire research, discussion, and even the occasional limerick. Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula shares the fascinating story of this groundbreaking formula—long regarded as the gold standard for mathematical beauty—and shows why it still lies at the heart of complex number theory. In...

For almost four billion years, microbes had the primordial oceans all to themselves. The stewards of Earth, these organisms transformed the chemistry of our planet to make it habitable for plants, animals, and us. Life's Engines takes readers deep into the microscopic world to explore how these marvellous creatures made life on Earth possible and how human life today would...

Every day, we use our computers to perform remarkable feats. A simple web search picks out a handful of relevant needles from the world's biggest haystack. Uploading a photo to Facebook transmits millions of pieces of information over numerous error-prone network links, yet somehow a perfect copy of the photo arrives intact. Without even knowing it, we use public-key cryptography...

An exploration of one of the most celebrated and well-known theorems in mathematics. By any measure, the Pythagorean theorem is the most famous statement in all of mathematics. In The Pythagorean Theorem, Eli Maor reveals the full story of this ubiquitous geometric theorem. Although attributed to Pythagoras, the theorem was known to the Babylonians more than a thousand years earlier....

Biological evolution is a fact, but the many conflicting theories of evolution remain controversial even today. When Adaptation and Natural Selection was first published in 1966, it struck a powerful blow against those who argued for the concept of group selection—the idea that evolution acts to select entire species rather than individuals. Williams's famous work in favour of simple Darwinism...

Until a few decades ago, the ocean depths were almost as mysterious and inaccessible as outer space. Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth's surface with an average depth of more than two miles—yet humans had never ventured more than a few hundred feet below the waves. One of the great scientific and archaeological feats of our time has been finally...

From 'one of the master naturalists of our time' (American Scientist), a fascinating exploration of what seashells reveal about biology, evolution, and the history of life. Geerat Vermeij wrote this celebration of shells to share his enthusiasm for these supremely elegant creations and what they can teach us about nature. Most popular books on shells emphasise the identification of species;...

What is morality? Where does it come from? And why do most of us heed its call most of the time? In Braintrust, neurophilosophy pioneer Patricia Churchland argues that morality originates in the biology of the brain. She describes the "neurobiological platform of bonding" that, modified by evolutionary pressures and cultural values, has led to human styles of moral behaviour....

Heart of Darkness describes the incredible saga of humankind's quest to unravel the deepest secrets of the universe. Over the past thirty years, scientists have learned that two little-understood components—dark matter and dark energy—comprise most of the known cosmos, explain the growth of all cosmic structure, and hold the key to the universe's fate. The story of how evidence for...

A richly illustrated account of the story of ancient viniculture. The history of civilisation is, in many ways, the history of wine. This book is the first comprehensive account of the earliest stages of the history and prehistory of viniculture, which extends back into the Neolithic period and beyond. Elegantly written and richly illustrated, Ancient Wine opens up whole new...

A perennial bestseller by eminent mathematician G. Polya, How to Solve It will show anyone in any field how to think straight. In lucid and appealing prose, Polya reveals how the mathematical method of demonstrating a proof or finding an unknown can be of help in attacking any problem that can be "reasoned" out--from building a bridge to winning a...

Our universe seems strangely biophilic, or hospitable to life. Is this happenstance, providence, or coincidence? According to cosmologist Martin Rees, the answer depends on the answer to another question, the one posed by Einstein's famous remark: "What interests me most is whether God could have made the world differently." This highly engaging book explores the fascinating consequences of the answer...