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The Science Book: From Darwin to Dark Energy
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"As the island of knowledge grows, the surface that makes contact with mystery expands. When major theories are overturned, what we thought was certain knowledge gives way, and knowledge touches upon mystery differently. This newly uncovered mystery may be humbling and unsettling, but it is the cost of truth. Creative scientists, philosophers, and poets thrive at this shoreline."
~W. Mark Richardson, “A Skeptic’s Sense of Wonder,” Science

Ranging from theoretical and eminently practical topics to the odd and perplexing, The Science Book showcases the breadth and diversity of scientific discovery and accomplishment. Thoughtfully compiled by award-winning author Clifford Pickover, this omnibus edition includes 250 pivotal milestones from various science-based books in the Sterling Milestones series—biology, chemistry, engineering, math, medicine, physics, psychology, and space.

Along with odd and perplexing marvels like insect dance language and parallel universes, this timeline covers such diverse topics as dark energy, evolution, antibiotics, the Periodic Table, the steam engine, anesthesia, Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, food webs, quantum computers, the Theory of Everything, and more. This book is also about the people behind many of the great ideas of science and mathematics, such as Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Ambroise Paré, and Stephen Hawking.

Chronologically organized, each entry consists of a short summary and one or more stunning full-color images, while the “Notes and Further Reading” section provides resources for more in-depth study. Carefully curated into one impressive volume, these discoveries are among humanity’s greatest achievements.

The Science Book
From Darwin to Dark Energy

Clifford A. Pickover

Praise for Pickover

"Pickover contemplates realms beyond our known reality."
-- The New York Times

"Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying machines and create new Mona Lisas."
-- Christian Science Monitor

250 Milestones in the History of Science and Mathematics
Is time travel possible?
What are Möbius strips, tesseracts, and transcendental numbers?
Why does bronze get a historical age named after it?

Welcome to The Science Book, which ranges from theoretical and eminently practical topics to the odd and perplexing. We’ll encounter mysterious dark energy, which may one day tear apart galaxies and end the universe in a terrible cosmic rip, and the blackbody radiation law, which started the science of quantum mechanics. The Copernican System, evolution, antibiotics, the Periodic Table, the steam engine, and anesthesia all make an appearance in this book. We’ll travel through time and space, leaping through the ages, from the creation of bronze (c. 3300 BCE), iron smelting (c. 1300 BCE), and development of Roman concrete (c. 125) to the first industrial synthesis of polyethylene (1933), which is the most common plastic in the world today. In biological arenas, we’ll witness the cultivation of wheat and the domestication of animals, and explore the fossil record, food webs and insect dance language.

Milestones include:

Ishango Bone (c. 18,000 BCE) • Sutures (c. 3000 BCE) • Iron Smelting (c. 1300 BCE) • Pythagorean Theorem and Triangles (c. 600 BCE) • Golden Ratio (1509) • Telescope (1608) • Logarithms (1614) • Circulatory System (1628) • Development of Modern Calculus (1665) • Newton’s Laws of Motion and Gravitation (1687) • Linnaean Classifications of Species (1735) • Black Holes (1783) • Smallpox Vaccine (1798) • High-Pressure Steam Engine (1800) • Atomic Theory (1808) • Greenhouse Effect (1824) • Blood Transfusion (1829) • Faraday’s Laws of Induction (1831) • Daguerreotype (1839) • Fiber Optics (1841) • The Möbius Strip (1858) • Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection (1859) • Discovery of Viruses (1892) • Proof of the Prime Number Theorem (1896) • Psychoanalysis (1899) • The Wright Brothers’ Airplane (1903) • E = mc2 (1905) • Internal Combustion Engine (1908) • Superconductivity (1911) • Continental Drift (1912) • General Theory of Relativity (1915) • String Theory (1919) • Penicillin (1928) • Neutron (1932) • Dark Matter (1933) • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1938) • Little Boy Atomic Bomb (1945) • Photosynthesis (1947) • Information Theory (1948) • Radiocarbon Dating (1949) • Fermi Paradox (1950) • DNA Structure (1953) • Placebo Effect (1955) • Parallel Universes (1956) • Integrated Circuit (1958) • Laser (1960) • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (1963) • Quarks (1964) • Dynamic RAM (1966) • First on the Moon (1969) • Genetic Engineering (1972) • Fractals (1975) • Quantum Computers (1981) • Artificial Heart (1982) • Mitochondrial Eve (1987) • Hubble Telescope (1990) • World Wide Web (1990) • Dark Energy (1998) • Human Genome Project (2003) • Spirit and Opportunity on Mars (2004) • Human Cloning (2008) • Proof of the Kepler Conjecture (2017) And many more....

It may seem unusual to some readers to see so many mathematical entries in a book about science. However, I have intentionally emphasized mathematics. After all, mathematics has permeated every field of scientific endeavor and plays an invaluable role in biology, physics, chemistry, economics, sociology, and engineering. Mathematics can be used to help explain the colors of a sunset or the architecture of our brains. Mathematics helps us build supersonic aircraft and roller coasters, simulate the flow of Earth’s natural resources, explore subatomic quantum realities, and image faraway galaxies. Mathematics has changed the way we look at the cosmos.

Sampling of Images from The Science Book

Explore the colorful mysteries of science and mathematics as the adventure unfolds over 1000s of years.
All the Knoweldge of Humanity in One Book. The Wisdom of the Ages. For the Joy of Learning. Mathematics Included!
History and Humanity: Cultivation of Rice and Wheat, The Bronze Age, Domesticational of Animals, and More

Rational Surgery
Rational Surgery
Platonic Solids
Platonic Solids
Archimedes Law
Archimedes Law
Steam Turbine
Steam Turbine
Imaginary Numbers
Imaginary Numbers
Telescope
Telescope
ARPANET
ARPANET
Black Holes
Black Holes
Fossil Record & Evolution
Fossil Record & Evolution
Fermi Paradox
Fermi Paradox
Mobius Strip
Mobius Strip
Agriculture
Agriculture

"Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." -- WIRED

"A perpetual idea machine, Clifford Pickover is one of the most creative, original thinkers in the world today." -- Journal of Recreational Mathematics

Clifford A. Pickover is a prolific author, having published more than fifty books, translated into over a dozen languages, on topics ranging from science and mathematics to religion, art, and history. He received his PhD from Yale University's Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, holds over 485 U.S. patents, and is an associate editor for several scientific journals. His research has received considerable attention from media outlets ranging from CNN and WIRED to The New York Times, and his website, www.pickover.com, has received millions of visits.

Pickover has been elected a Fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry for his "significant contributions to the general public's understanding of science, reason, and critical inquiry through scholarship, writing, and work in the media." Other Fellows have included Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov.

Follow Dr. Cliff Pickover on Twitter. Return to Pickover's main web page. Information on Pickover's other books.

The Science Book: From Darwin to Dark Energy
Some Topics

Introduction 7
c. 18,000 BCE Ishango Bone, Clifford A. Pickover 12
c. 11,000 BCE Wheat: The Staff of Life, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 14
c. 10,000 BCE Agriculture, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 16
c. 10,000 BCE Domestication of Animals, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 18
c. 7000 BCE Rice Cultivation, Michael C.Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 20
c. 5000 BCE Birth of Cosmology, Jim Bell 22
c. 3300 BCE Bronze, Derek B. Lowe 24
c. 3000 BCE Dice, Clifford A. Pickover 26
c. 3000 BCE Sundial, Clifford A. Pickover 28
c. 3000 BCE Sutures, Clifford A. Pickover 30
c. 2500 BCE Egyptian Astronomy, Jim Bell 32
c. 1850 BCE Arch, Clifford A. Pickover 34
c. 1650 BCE Rhind Papyrus, Clifford A. Pickover 36
c. 1300 BCE Iron Smelting, Derek B. Lowe 38
c. 1000 BCE Olmec Compass, Clifford A. Pickover 40
c. 600 BCE Pythagorean Theorem and Triangles, Clifford A. Pickover 42
c. 600 BCE Sewage Systems, Clifford A. Pickover 44
c. 350 BCE Aristotle’s Organon, Clifford A. Pickover 46
c. 350 BCE Platonic Solids, Clifford A. Pickover 48
c. 300 BCE Euclid’s Elements, Clifford A. Pickover 50
c. 250 BCE Archimedes Principle of Buoyancy, Clifford A. Pickover 52
c. 250 BCE Pi, Clifford A. Pickover 54
c. 240 BCE Eratosthenes Measures the Earth, Clifford A. Pickover 56
c. 240 BCE Sieve of Eratosthenes, Clifford A. Pickover 58
c. 230 BCE Pulley, Clifford A. Pickover 60
c. 125 BCE Antikythera Mechanism, Clifford A. Pickover 62
c. 50 Gears, Clifford A. Pickover 64
c. 126 Roman Concrete, Derek B. Lowe 66
c. 650 Zero, Clifford A. Pickover 68
830 al-Khwarizmi’s Algebra, Clifford A. Pickover 70
c. 850 Gunpowder, Derek B. Lowe 72
1202 Fibonacci’s Liber Abaci, Clifford A. Pickover 74
1284 Eyeglasses, Clifford A. Pickover 76
c. 1500 Early Calculus, Jim Bell 78
1509 Golden Ratio, Clifford A. Pickover 80
1543 De Humani Corporis Fabrica, Clifford A. Pickover 82
1543 Sun-Centered Universe, Clifford A. Pickover 84
1545 Paré’s “Rational Surgery”, Clifford A. Pickover 86
1572 Imaginary Numbers, Clifford A. Pickover 88
1608 Telescope, Clifford A. Pickover 90
1609 Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion, Clifford A. Pickover 92
1614 Logarithms, Clifford A. Pickover 94
1620 Scientific Method, Michael C. Gerald, with Gloria E. Gerald 96
1621 Slide Rule, Clifford A. Pickover 98
1628 Circulatory System, Clifford A. Pickover 100
1637 Descartes’ La Géométrie, Clifford A. Pickover 102
1638 Acceleration of Falling Objects, Clifford A. Pickover 104
1639 Projective Geometry, Clifford A. Pickover 106
1654 Pascal’s Triangle, Clifford A. Pickover 108
1660 Von Guericke’s Electrostatic Generator, Clifford A. Pickover 110
1665 Development of a Modern Calculus, Clifford A. Pickover 112
1665 Micrographia, Clifford A. Pickover 114
1668 Refuting Spontaneous Generation, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 116
1672 Measuring the Solar System, Clifford A. Pickover 118
1672 Newton’s Prism, Clifford A. Pickover 120
1678 Discovery of Sperm, Clifford A. Pickover 122
1683 Zoo Within Us, Clifford A. Pickover 124
1687 Newton as Inspiration, Clifford A. Pickover 126
1687 Newton’s Laws of Motion and Gravitation, Clifford A. Pickover 128
1713 Law of Large Numbers, Clifford A. Pickover 130
1727 Euler’s Number, e, Clifford A. Pickover 132
1733 Normal Distribution Curve, Clifford A. Pickover 134
1735 Linnaean Classification of Species, Michael Gerald with Gloria Gerald 136
1738 Bernoulli’s Law of Fluid Dynamics, Clifford A. Pickover 138
1760 Artificial Selection (Selective Breeding), Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 140
1761 Bayes’ Theorem, Clifford A. Pickover 142
1761 Causes of Cancer, Clifford A. Pickover 144
1761 Morgagni’s “Cries of Suffering Organs”, Clifford A. Pickover 146
1783 Black Holes, Clifford A. Pickover 148
1785 Coulomb’s Law of Electrostatics, Clifford A. Pickover 150
1797 Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, Clifford A. Pickover 152
1798 Smallpox Vaccine, Clifford A. Pickover 154
1800 Battery, Clifford A. Pickover 156
1800 High-Pressure Steam Engine, Marshall Brain 158
1801 Wave Nature of Light, Clifford A. Pickover 160
1807 Fourier Series, Clifford A. Pickover 162
1808 Atomic Theory, Clifford A. Pickover 164
1812 Laplace’s Théorie Analytique des Probabilités, Clifford A. Pickover 166
1822 Babbage Mechanical Computer, Clifford A. Pickover 168
1824 Carnot Engine, Clifford A. Pickover 170
1824 Greenhouse Effect, Clifford A. Pickover 172
1825 Ampère’s Law of Electromagnetism, Clifford A. Pickover 174
1827 Brownian Motion, Clifford A. Pickover 176
1828 Germ-Layer Theory of Development, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 178
1829 Blood Transfusion, Clifford A. Pickover 180
1829 Non-Euclidean Geometry, Clifford A. Pickover 182
1831 Cell Nucleus, Michael C. Gerald, with Gloria E. Gerald 184
1831 Darwin and the Voyages of the Beagle, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 186
1831 Faraday’s Law of Induction, Clifford A. Pickover 188
1836 Fossil Record and Evolution, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 190
1837 Nitrogen Cycle and Plant Chemistry, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 192
1837 Telegraph System, Marshall Brain 194
1839 Daguerreotype, Derek B. Lowe 196
1839 Rubber, Derek B. Lowe 198
1841 Fiber Optics, Clifford A. Pickover 200
1842 General Anesthesia, Clifford A. Pickover 202
1843 Conservation of Energy, Clifford A. Pickover 204
1844 Transcendental Numbers, Clifford A. Pickover 206
1847 Semmelweis’s Hand Washing, Clifford A. Pickover 208
1850 Second Law of Thermodynamics, Clifford A. Pickover 210
1855 Bessemer Process, Marshall Brain 212
1855 Cell Division, Clifford A. Pickover 214
1856 Plastic, Marshall Brain 216
1858 Möbius Strip, Clifford A. Pickover 218
1859 Darwin’s Theory of Natural Section, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 220
1859 Ecological Interactions, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 222
1859 Kinetic Theory, Clifford A. Pickover 224
1859 Riemann Hypothesis, Clifford A. Pickover 226
1861 Cerebral Localization, Clifford A. Pickover 228
1861 Maxwell’s Equations, Clifford A. Pickover 230
1862 Germ Theory of Disease, Clifford A. Pickover 232
1864 Electromagnetic Spectrum, Clifford A. Pickover 234
1865 Antiseptics, Clifford A. Pickover 236
1865 Mendel’s Genetics, Clifford A. Pickover 238
1869 Periodic Table, Derek B. Lowe 240
1874 Cantor’s Transfinite Numbers, Clifford A. Pickover 242
1875 Boltzmann’s Entropy Equation, Clifford A. Pickover 244
1876 Gibbs Free Energy, Derek B. Lowe 246
1876 Telephone, Marshall Brain 248
1878 Enzymes, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 250
1878 Incandescent Light Bulb, Clifford A. Pickover 252
1878 Power Grid, Marshall Brain 254
1887 Michelson-Morley Experiment, Clifford A. Pickover 256
1888 Tesseract, Clifford A. Pickover 258
1890 Steam Turbine, Marshall Brain 260
1890 The Principles of Psychology Wade E. Pickren 262
1891 Neuron Doctrine, Clifford A. Pickover 264
1892 Discovery of Viruses, Clifford A. Pickover 266
1895 X-rays, Clifford A. Pickover 268
1896 Proof of the Prime Number Theorem, Clifford A. Pickover 270
1896 Radioactivity, Clifford A. Pickover 272
1897 Electron, Clifford A. Pickover 274
1899 Psychoanalysis, Clifford A. Pickover 276
1900 Blackbody Radiation Law, Clifford A. Pickover 278
1900 Hilbert’s 23 Problems, Clifford A. Pickover 280
1902 Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance, Clifford A. Pickover 282
1903 Wright Brothers’ Airplane, Marshall Brain 284
1903 Classical Conditioning Wade E. Pickren 286
1905 E = mc2, Clifford A. Pickover 288
1905 Photoelectric Effect, Clifford A. Pickover 290
1905 Special Theory of Relativity, Clifford A. Pickover 292
1908 Internal Combustion Engine, Marshall Brain 294
1910 Chlorination of Water, Clifford A. Pickover 296
1910 Main Sequence, Jim Bell 298
1911 Atomic Nucleus, Clifford A. Pickover 300
1911 Superconductivity, Clifford A. Pickover 302
1912 Bragg’s Law of Crystal Diffraction, Clifford A. Pickover 304
1912 Continental Drift, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 306
1913 Bohr Atom, Clifford A. Pickover 308
1915 General Theory of Relativity, Clifford A. Pickover 310
1919 String Theory, Clifford A. Pickover 312
1920 Hydrogen Bonding, Derek B. Lowe 314
1920 Radio Station, Marshall Brain 316
1921 Noether’s Idealtheorie, Clifford A. Pickover 318
1921 Einstein as Inspiration, Clifford A. Pickover 320
1924 De Broglie Relation, Clifford A. Pickover 322
1925 Pauli Exclusion Principle, Clifford A. Pickover 324
1926 Schrödinger’s Wave Equation, Clifford A. Pickover 326
1927 Complementarity Principle, Clifford A. Pickover 328
1927 Food Webs, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 330
1927 Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, Clifford A. Pickover 332
1927 Insect Dance Language, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 334
1928 Dirac Equation, Clifford A. Pickover 336
1928 Penicillin, Clifford A. Pickover 338
1929 Hubble’s Law of Cosmic Expansion, Clifford A. Pickover 340
1931 Gödel’s Theorem, Clifford A. Pickover 342
1932 Antimatter, Clifford A. Pickover 344
1932 Neutron, Clifford A. Pickover 346
1933 Dark Matter, Clifford A. Pickover 348
1933 Polyethylene, Derek B. Lowe 350
1933 Neutron Stars, Clifford A. Pickover 352
1935 EPR Paradox, Clifford A. Pickover 354
1935 Schrödinger’s Cat, Clifford A. Pickover 356
1936 Turing Machines, Clifford A. Pickover 358
1937 Cellular Respiration, Derek B. Lowe 360
1937 Superfluids, Clifford A. Pickover 362
1938 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Clifford A. Pickover 364
1941 Doped Silicon, Marshall Brain 366
1942 Energy from the Nucleus, Clifford A. Pickover 368
1945 Little Boy Atomic Bomb, Clifford A. Pickover 370
1945 Uranium Enrichment, Marshall Brain 372
1946 ENIAC, Clifford A. Pickover 374
1946 Stellar Nucleosynthesis, Clifford A. Pickover 376
1947 Hologram, Clifford A. Pickover 378
1947 Photosynthesis, Derek B. Lowe 380
1947 Transistor, Clifford A. Pickover 382
1948 Information Theory, Clifford A. Pickover 384
1948 Quantum Electrodynamics, Clifford A. Pickover 386
1948 Randomized-controlled Trials, Clifford A. Pickover 388
1949 Radiocarbon Dating, Clifford A. Pickover 390
1949 Time Travel, Clifford A. Pickover 392
1950 Chess Computer, Marshall Brain 394
1950 Fermi Paradox, Clifford A. Pickover 396
1951 HeLa Cells, Clifford A. Pickover 398
1952 Cellular Automata, Clifford A. Pickover 400
1952 Miller-Urey Experiment, Derek B. Lowe 402
1953 DNA Structure, Clifford A. Pickover 404
1955 Atomic Clocks, Clifford A. Pickover 406
1955 Birth-Control Pill, Clifford A. Pickover 408
1955 Placebo Effect, Clifford A. Pickover 410
1955 Ribosomes, Michael C. Gerald, with Gloria E. Gerald 412
1956 Parallel Universes, Clifford A. Pickover 414
1957 Antidepressant Medications Wade E. Pickren 416
1957 Space Satellite, Marshall Brain 418
1958 Central Dogma of Molecular Biology, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 420
1958 Integrated Circuit, Clifford A. Pickover 422
1959 Structure of Antibodies, Clifford A. Pickover 424
1960 Laser, Clifford A. Pickover 426
1961 The Genetic Code for Protein Biosynthesis, Michael Gerald with Gloria Gerald 428
1961 First Humans in Space, Jim Bell 430
1961 Green Revolution, Marshall Brain 432
1961 Standard Model, Clifford A. Pickover 434
1963 Chaos and the Butterfly Effect, Clifford A. Pickover 436
1963 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clifford A. Pickover 438
1964 Brain Lateralization, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 440
1964 Quarks, Clifford A. Pickover 442
1965 Cosmic Microwave Background, Clifford A. Pickover 444
1966 Dynamic RAM, Marshall Brain 446
1967 Endosymbiont Theory, Michael C. Gerald, with Gloria E. Gerald 448
1967 Heart Transplant, Clifford A. Pickover 450
1967 Saturn V Rocket, Marshall Brain 452
1969 ARPANET, Marshall Brain 454
1969 First on the Moon, Jim Bell 456
1972 Genetic Engineering, Marshall Brain 458
1975 Feigenbaum Constant, Clifford A. Pickover 460
1975 Fractals, Clifford A. Pickover 462
1977 Public Key Cryptography, Clifford A. Pickover 464
1978 Theory of Mind, Wade E. Pickren 466
1979 Gravitational Lensing, Jim Bell 468
1980 Cosmic Inflation, Clifford A. Pickover 470
1981 Quantum Computers, Clifford A. Pickover 472
1982 Artificial Heart, Marshall Brain 474
1983 Epigenetics, Clifford A. Pickover 476
1983 Polymerase Chain Reaction, Clifford A. Pickover 478
1984 Telomerase, Clifford A. Pickover 480
1984 Theory of Everything, Clifford A. Pickover 482
1987 Mitochondrial Eve, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 484
1990 Domains of Life, Michael C. Gerald with Gloria E. Gerald 486
1990 Hubble Telescope, Clifford A. Pickover 488
1990 World Wide Web, Marshall Brain 490
1994 Global Positioning System (GPS), Marshall Brain 492
1998 Dark Energy, Clifford A. Pickover 494
1998 International Space Station, Jim Bell 496
2003 Human Genome Project, Clifford A. Pickover 498
2004 Spirit and Opportunity on Mars, Jim Bell 500
2008 Human Cloning, Clifford A. Pickover 502
2009 Large Hadron Collider, Clifford A. Pickover 504
2016 Gene Therapy, Clifford A. Pickover 506
2016 Gravitational Waves, Jim Bell 508
2017 Proof of the Kepler Conjecture, Clifford A. Pickover 510
Notes and Further Reading 512
Contributors 521
Index 523
Picture Credits 527
For the Joy of Learning
Other Illustrated Books by Pickover

"My primary interest is finding new ways to continually expand creativity
by melding art, science, mathematics and other seemingly disparate areas
of human endeavor. I seek not only to expand the mind, but to shatter it."


Return to Cliff Pickover's main web page.
Information on Cliff's other books is here.

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