Book 2,540 – Life Science Library: Time

Description

Up for sale is
Life Science Library: Time
by Samuel A. Goudsmit, Robert Claiborne, and the editors of
Life
. What is time? Any child knows the answer, and yet even the most advanced theoretical physicist is hard put for a fully satisfactory definition. He cannot say for certain when time started, when it will end, or even if it really exists in a philosophical sense. Yet the measurement of time is the basis of all science, for the scientist can study only what changes with time. Astronomers chart the history of the universe in “big time”, the passage of billions of years. Physicists and engineers subdivide “little time” into billionths of a second. Biologists have discovered that animals and plants measure time, too – that even the lowliest single-celled organisms depend on biological clocks to keep themselves synchronized internally and externally. This book explores all of these facets of the meaning of time. Each chapter is followed by a supplementary picture essay which may be read independently. For instance, chapter 4, which explores the history of man’s search for more accurate clocks, is followed by an essay which explains how several of the earliest clocks worked. 200 pages. Hard cover. Copyright 1966. Excellent condition. – Book 2,540