1. Aristotle's quartet: the elements in antiquity
Philip Ball
in The Elements: A Very Short Introduction
‘Aristotle's quartet: the elements in antiquity’ outlines how the study of elements progressed from ancient Greece to the seventeenth century. The Aristotelian system of elements claimed ...
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2. Revolution: how oxygen changed the world
Philip Ball
in The Elements: A Very Short Introduction
‘Revolution: how oxygen changed the world’ charts the discovery of oxygen. Antoine Lavoisier found that water and air were not actually elements, and in the process discovered oxygen, ...
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Introduction
Nick Middleton
in Deserts: A Very Short Introduction
There isn't just one type of desert; they can appear in all sorts of climates. Deserts carry with them images of romance, hardship, spirituality, and natural beauty. The Introduction ...
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Epilogue
Nick Middleton
in Rivers: A Very Short Introduction
We are all affected by rivers in some way, either by living next to one or through the plumbing systems in our homes. Rivers' impact on human society is immense and always has been. Rivers ...
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2. Water waves
Mike Goldsmith
in Waves: A Very Short Introduction
Water waves may in fact be the most complex of all; out at sea, the water surface is a summation of an ever-changing mix of waves of many sizes, speeds, and directions, thanks largely to ...
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1. Why eat?
David A. Bender
in Nutrition: A Very Short Introduction
A healthy adult eats about a tonne of food a year. ‘Why eat?’ explores the need for food and the uses to which it is put in the body. We eat because we are hungry, but why have we evolved ...
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2. A new technology is developed
Maxwell Irvine
in Nuclear Power: A Very Short Introduction
‘A new technology is developed’ explains the process of nuclear fission and charts the development of nuclear weapons during the Second World War. In August 1939 a letter to President ...
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Water: A Very Short Introduction
John Finney
Water dominates the surface of Earth and is vital to life on our planet. It is a remarkable liquid that shows anomalous behaviour. Water: A Very Short Introduction introduces the science of ...
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5. Forest goods and services
Jaboury Ghazoul
in Forests: A Very Short Introduction
Our increasingly urbanized modern society is distanced from forest habitats so it is easy to forget that forests continue to provide many goods that we take for granted, as well as ...
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1. Introduction
Warwick F. Vincent
in Lakes: A Very Short Introduction
What is a lake? At first glance, this seems like such an easy question: a lake is simply a body of water surrounded by land. But this sterile, physical definition is only a beginning, and ...
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2. Atmospheric physics
Paul I. Palmer
in The Atmosphere: A Very Short Introduction
Earth’s atmosphere is tied closely with the Sun. The Sun emits electromagnetic radiation at a wide range of wavelengths. Radiation is transported through the atmosphere by transmission, ...
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5. Climate change impacts
Mark Maslin
in Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction (3rd edn)
What is dangerous climate change? What is our coping range? ‘Climate change impacts’ assesses the potential effects of climate change on the natural environment as well as on human ...
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Deserts: A Very Short Introduction
Nick Middleton
Deserts: A Very Short Introduction explores the nature of deserts and the extent of their variety, climates, landscapes, wildlife, and human habitation. Typified by drought and ...
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Rivers: A Very Short Introduction
Nick Middleton
Rivers: A Very Short Introduction describes the impact of rivers on land, human history, animals, plants, and in works of art. It explores the cultural resonances of rivers ...
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5. Dynamic ocean
Dorrik Stow
in Oceans: A Very Short Introduction
‘Dynamic ocean’ explains the movement of water and energy in the oceans. Almost all surface waves are generated by wind stress with the three stages in wave development known as sea, swell, ...
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2. Its principles: atoms and molecules
Peter Atkins
in Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction
There are a number of fundamental concepts that are essential to know about in order to understand any account of modern chemistry. ‘Its principles: atoms and molecules’ describes, in very ...
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3. Thermal nuclear reactors
Maxwell Irvine
in Nuclear Power: A Very Short Introduction
‘Thermal nuclear reactors’ explains how the technology that had ended the Second World War was turned into a source of civil power. It is now more than fifty years since operations of the ...
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7. Far-off worlds, distant suns
David C. Catling
in Astrobiology: A Very Short Introduction
Beyond the Solar System, astronomers have discovered over 3,400 exoplanets. ‘Far-off worlds, distant suns’ explores the hunt for exoplanets and describes the methods astronomers have ...
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Glaciation: A Very Short Introduction
David J. A. Evans
Vast, majestic, and often stunningly beautiful, glaciers lock up some 10 per cent of the world’s fresh water. These great bodies of ice play an important part in the Earth system, carving ...
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7. Lakes and us
Warwick F. Vincent
in Lakes: A Very Short Introduction
Humans are not only part of the lake ecosystem through activities including lake shore development and transportation of goods and people, but we can also do great damage to a lake and its ...
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