A knowledge of crystallography opens the door to a clearer understanding of topics in physics, chemistry, and other disciplines. In this new text, basic ideas in crystallography and diffraction are explained simply and comprehensively. The physical concepts and geometrical features common to diffraction modes are emphasized by simple analogies and demonstrations, with special attention paid to two-dimensional patterns and symmetry. The book, written by an experienced teacher, is an ideal introduction for students. Read more

Statistical Rethinking: A Bayesian Course with Examples in R and Stan builds your knowledge of and confidence in making inferences from data. Reflecting the need for scripting in today's model-based statistics, the book pushes you to perform step-by-step calculations that are usually automated. This unique computational approach ensures that you understand enough of the details to make reasonable choices and interpretations in your own modeling work.The text presents causal inference and generalized linear multilevel models from a simple Bayesian perspective that builds on information theory and maximum entropy. The core material ranges from the basics of regression to advanced multilevel models. It also presents measurement error, missing data, and Gaussian process models for spatial and phylogenetic confounding.The second edition emphasizes the directed acyclic graph (DAG) approach to causal inference, integrating DAGs into many examples. The new edition also contains new material on the design of prior distributions, splines, ordered categorical predictors, social relations models, cross-validation, importance sampling, instrumental variables, and Hamiltonian Monte Carlo. It ends with an entirely new chapter that goes beyond generalized linear modeling, showing how domain-specific scientific models can be built into statistical analyses.FeaturesIntegrates working code into the main textIllustrates concepts through worked data analysis examplesEmphasizes understanding assumptions and how assumptions are reflected in codeOffers more detailed explanations of the mathematics in optional sectionsPresents examples of using the dagitty R package to analyze causal graphsProvides the rethinking R package on the author's website and on GitHub Read more

Provides a very clear guide to sedimentary rock types as seen under the microscope supported by practical aspects of slide preparation. Read more

Explore Earth's natural treasures, from their primeval origins to traditional uses and modern-day appeal with this illustrated guide to rocks, minerals, crystals, gems and more!Featuring sparkling crystals, vibrant gemstones, and other precious materials often prized for their beauty, such as amber, coral, and fossils, this illustrated guide is sure to captivate every rockhound and budding gemmologist. Learn how to identify more than 450 rock and mineral specimens through beautiful photographs and key characteristics. Discover more about rocks and minerals through folklore and historical artefacts, and find out the fascinating stories behind some of the amazing natural treasures, including the Hope Diamond and the Great Mogul emerald. Plus there is information on polishing and displaying your finds to further equip you with all the knowledge needed to become a rock and mineral collector.Dive deep into this riveting book on rocks and minerals to further discover:- Comprehensive coverage of more than 450 specimens of rocks, minerals, crystals, gems and fossils.- Expert text and high-quality images combine to make this an indispensable reference tool for every rockhound and budding gemmologist.- Detailed reference panels provide key at-a-glance information for identifying specimens.- Feature panels on folklore, historical artefacts, and famous gems tell the fascinating stories of rocks and minerals.- Includes information on collecting and showing rocks and mineralsPractical advice on cutting, polishing, and displaying your finds further equips you with all the knowledge needed to delve into the arena of rock and mineral collecting. Read more

Explore the treasures of the Earth - sparkling crystals, vibrant gemstones and age-old fossils - with this illustrated guide that's sure to captivate every rockhound and budding gemmologist.From primeval origins to their astonishing modern-day uses and appeal, this is the ultimate portrait of Earth's geological riches - rocks, minerals, crystals, and gems. Also included is a focussed look at other precious materials often prized for their beauty, such as amber, coral, ivory, and fossils.Learn how to identify more than 450 rock and mineral specimens through stunning photographs and detailed characteristics. Discover more about rocks and minerals through folklore and historical artefacts, and find out the fascinating stories behind the world's natural treasures, including the Hope diamond and the Great Mogul emerald. Practical advice on cutting, polishing, and displaying your finds further equips you with all the knowledge needed to delve into the arena of rock and mineral collecting.Rocks and Minerals was produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the world's largest museum complex, ensuring the guide's accuracy. Read more

The Earth that sustains us today was born out of a few remarkable, near-catastrophic revolutions, started by biological innovations and marked by global environmental consequences. The revolutions have certain features in common, such as an increase in the complexity, energy utilization, and information processing capabilities of life. This book describes these revolutions, showing the fundamental interdependence of the evolution of life and its non-living environment. We would not exist unless these upheavals had led eventually to 'successful' outcomes - meaning that after each one, at length, a new stable world emerged. The current planet-reshaping activities of our species may be the start of another great Earth system revolution, but there is no guarantee that this one will be successful. This book explains what a successful transition through it might look like, if we are wise enough to steer such a course. This book places humanity in context as part of the Earth system, using a new scientific synthesis to illustrate our debt to the deep past and our potential for the future. Read more

Jurassic, basalt, moraine, flint, alluvial, magma: what are these words and what do they have to do with wine? The answers are here in this book. They are geological terms that reflect a bond between wine and the land. Understanding geology, however, is tricky. Geological concepts are obscure; processes can be imperceptibly slow, invisible, and unimaginably ancient. The terminology is formidable, such that even the names of common rocks carry an air of mystery. Geology is introduced plainly, starting with basic principles, all in the context of wine. The emphasis is on the kinds of processes that shape vineyards, and on the minerals, rocks and soils that host the vines. Geological words now commonly seen in wine writings are systematically explained. You will learn the stories behind some of the names, the human face of geology. The book also explores how the geology-wine connection manifests in the finished product and evaluates its importance, particularly in the contexts of minerality, terroir, and wine taste. The fact is that geology is increasingly being promoted in the world of wine; the aim here is to help it be properly understood. Read more

'Hurray for Mackenzie and Guilford for at last we have a pictorial guide to the rock-forming minerals! . . . such feasts of colour in mineralogy books are rare . . . an admirable guide' New Scientist Read more

Rocks, more than anything else, underpin our lives. They make up the solid structure of the Earth and of other rocky planets, and are present at the cores of gas giant planets. We live on the rocky surface of the planet, grow our food on weathered debris derived from rocks, and we obtain nearly all of the raw materials with which we found our civilization from rocks. From the Earth's crust to building bricks, rocks contain our sense of planetary history, and are a guide to our future.In this Very Short Introduction Jan Zalasiewicz looks at the nature and variety of rocks, and the processes by which they are formed. Starting from the origin of rocks and their key role in the formation of the Earth, he considers what we know about the deep rocks of the mantle and core, and what rocks can tell us about the evolution of the Earth, and looks at those found in outer space and on other planets. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Read more

✓Exciting and Mindful Dot-To-Dot For Adults is good companion for anyone seeking a fun and relaxing way to unleash their inner creativity. With its engaging dot-to-dot illustrations, this book provides a fun and exciting activity that will help you unwind and destress.This book features a variety of dot-to-dot puzzles, ranging from simple and easy to more complex and challenging. Each puzzle is carefully designed to engage your mind and help you focus, while also providing an enjoyable and entertaining experience. Whether you're looking to escape the stresses of everyday life, or simply seeking a new and engaging way to spend your downtime, this book has something for everyone.✓In addition to its fun and challenging puzzles, Exciting and Mindful Dot-To-Dot For Adults also offers a range of benefits to its readers.For starters, it is a great way to improve your hand-eye coordinationBuild fine motor skills,Enhance cognitive abilities.Book's relaxing and meditative qualities can help reduce stress and anxiety, allowing you to find inner peace and tranquility.✓Other features of this book include:40 unique and engaging dot-to-dot puzzles to solveBeautifully designed dot activity with different themes that will captivate your attentionSuitable for adults of all ages and skill levelsProvides a fun and entertaining way to unwind and destress◆Start exploring the many benefits of dot-to-dot puzzles for adults!◆ Read more

‘Hugely readable and entertaining’ JIM AL-KHALILI‘An accessible and crystal-clear portrait of this discipline’s breadth, largely told through its history’ PHIL BALL, PHYSICS WORLDEinstein’s Fridge tells the story of how scientists uncovered the least known and yet most consequential of all the sciences, and learned to harness the power of heat and ice.The laws of thermodynamics govern everything from the behaviour of atoms to that of living cells, from the engines that power our world to the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Not only that, but thermodynamics explains why we must eat and breathe, how the lights come on, and ultimately how the universe will end. The people who decoded its laws came from every branch of the sciences – they were engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists, cosmologists and mathematicians.Their discoveries, set over two hundred years, kick-started the industrial revolution, changed the course of world wars and informed modern understanding of black holes. This book captures the thrill of discovery and the power of revolutionary science to change the world forever. Read more

Why are humans so fond of water? Why is our skin colour so variable?Why aren’t we hairy like our close ape relatives?A savannah scenario of human evolution has been widely accepted primarily due to fossil evidence; and fossils do not offer insight into these questions. Other alternative evolutionary scenarios might, but these models have been rejected. This book explores a controversial idea – that human evolution was intimately associated with watery habitats as much or more than typical savannahs. Written from a medical point of view, the author presents evidence supporting a credible alternative explanation for how humans diverged from our primate ancestors. Anatomical and physiological evidence offer insight into hairlessness, different coloured skin, subcutaneous fat, large brains, a marine-type kidney, a unique heat regulation system and speech. This evidence suggests that humans may well have evolved, not just as savannah mammals, as is generally believed, but with more affinity for aquatic habitats – rivers, streams, lakes and coasts.Key Features:Presents the evidence for a close association between riparian habitats and the origin of humansReviews the "savannah ape" hypothesis for human originsDescribes various anatomical adaptations that are associated with hypotheses of human evolutionExplores characteristics from the head and neck such as skull and sinus structures, the larynx and ear structures and functions Read more

The Anthropocene, a term launched into public debate by Nobel Prize winner Paul Crutzen, has been used informally to describe the time period during which human actions have had a drastic effect on the Earth and its ecosystems. This book presents evidence for defining the Anthropocene as a geological epoch, written by the high-profile international team analysing its potential addition to the geological time scale. The evidence ranges from chemical signals arising from pollution, to landscape changes associated with urbanisation, and biological changes associated with species invasion and extinctions. Global environmental change is placed within the context of planetary processes and deep geological time, allowing the reader to appreciate the scale of human-driven change and compare the global transition taking place today with major transitions in Earth history. This is an authoritative review of the Anthropocene for graduate students and academic researchers across scientific, social science and humanities disciplines. Read more

An isotope is a variant form of a chemical element, containing a different number of neutrons in its nucleus. Most elements exist as several isotopes. Many are stable while others are radioactive, and some may only exist fleetingly before decaying into other elements. In this Very Short Introduction, Rob Ellam explains how isotopes have proved enormously important across all the sciences and in archaeology. Radioactive isotopes may be familiar from their use in nuclear weapons, nuclear power, and in medicine, as well as in carbon dating. They have been central to establishing the age of the Earth and the origins of the solar system. Combining previous and new research, Ellam provides an overview of the nature of stable and radioactive isotopes, and considers their wide range of modern applications. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Read more

Exercise Book A4 7mm Squared7 mm (0.7 cm) Squared Quad Ruled Grid Paper Notebook for Mathematics (Math), Science, Graph, Writing Pad A4Exercise books for classroom, college, office and home use, drawing, writing notes, journaling, doodling, list making, creative writing, school notes, and capturing ideas. It can be used as a notebook, journal, diary, or composition book.Perfect for all ages -- kids or adults!Wonderful as a Gift, Present, or Personal Notebook!About This Book:100 lightly lined pages, Quad ruled 7mm SquaredSoft Matte Cover - Designer Artwork. Math and Science designPerfect size for school: A4 210x297mm (8.27x11.69 In)Available in other colours (colors) as well as 5mm and 10mm squares. Click on our author page link above - ALIF, to browse other products by ALIF.Scroll up and click 'buy' to grab one today! Read more

Uniting the conceptual foundations of the physical sciences and biology, this groundbreaking multidisciplinary book explores the origin of life as a planetary process. Combining geology, geochemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, evolution and statistical physics to create an inclusive picture of the living state, the authors develop the argument that the emergence of life was a necessary cascade of non-equilibrium phase transitions that opened new channels for chemical energy flow on Earth. This full colour and logically structured book introduces the main areas of significance and provides a well-ordered and accessible introduction to multiple literatures outside the confines of disciplinary specializations, as well as including an extensive bibliography to provide context and further reading. For researchers, professionals entering the field or specialists looking for a coherent overview, this text brings together diverse perspectives to form a unified picture of the origin of life and the ongoing organization of the biosphere. Read more

‘Hugely readable and entertaining’ JIM AL-KHALILI‘An accessible and crystal-clear portrait of this discipline’s breadth, largely told through its history’ PHIL BALL, PHYSICS WORLDEinstein’s Fridge tells the story of how scientists uncovered the least known and yet most consequential of all the sciences, and learned to harness the power of heat and ice.The laws of thermodynamics govern everything from the behaviour of atoms to that of living cells, from the engines that power our world to the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Not only that, but thermodynamics explains why we must eat and breathe, how the lights come on, and ultimately how the universe will end. The people who decoded its laws came from every branch of the sciences – they were engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists, cosmologists and mathematicians.Their discoveries, set over two hundred years, kick-started the industrial revolution, changed the course of world wars and informed modern understanding of black holes. This book captures the thrill of discovery and the power of revolutionary science to change the world forever. Read more

This book is written as an addition to Darwin's work and that of molecular biologists on evolution so as to include views of it from the point of view of chemistry rather than just from our knowledge of the biology and genes of organisms. By concentrating on a wide range of chemical elements, not just those in traditional organic compounds, we show that there is a close relationship between the geological or environmental chemical changes from the formation of Earth and those of organisms from the time of their origin. These are considerations which Darwin or other scientists could not have explored until very recent times since sufficient analytical data were not available. They lead us to suggest that there is a combined geo- and bio-chemical evolution, that of an ecosystem, which has had a systematic chemical development. In this development the arrival of new very similar species is shown to be by random Darwinian competitive selection processes such that a huge variety of species coexist with only minor differences in chemistry and advantages. This is in agreement with previous studies. On the large scale of evolution of very different organisms, and over greater timescales, by way of contrast, we observe that groups of species have special, different, chemical features and function. It is more difficult to understand how they evolved and therefore we examine their chemical development in detail. Overall there is a cooperative evolution of a chemical system driven by capture of energy, mainly from the sun, and its degradation in which the chemistry of both the environment and organisms are facilitating intermediates. We shall suggest that the overall drive of the whole joint system is to optimise the rate of this energy degradation. Since the environmental changes are inorganic and relatively fast they move inevitably to equilibrium. The living part of the system, the organisms, under the influence of this inevitable environmental change are forced to follow but as they are increasingly energised and their reactions are slow, they move further away from equilibrium. We are able to explore the ways in which this chemical system evolved, recognising that as complexity of the chemistry of organisms increased, they had to be formed from more and more compartments and to become part of a chemically cooperative overall activity. They could not remain as isolated species. Only in the last chapter do we attempt to make a connection between the changing chemistry of organisms with the coded molecules of each cell which have to exist to explain reproduction. Read more