The Sun is an account of the many ways in which our nearest star affects our planet, how its influence has changed over the last few centuries and millennia, and the extent to which we can predict its future impact. The book is the first to integrate astronomical, geological, climatic and social aspects of the Sun. The Sun's rays foster the formation of Vitamin D by our bodies, but it can also promote skin cancer. Besides providing the warmth and light essential to most animal and plant life, solar energy contributes substantially to global warming. The Sun is the ideal renewable energy source, but its exploitation is still bedeviled by the problems of storage and distribution. Our nearest star, in short, is a complex machine which needs to be treated with caution, and this book will equip every reader with the knowledge that is required to understand the benefits and dangers it can bring.
The Sun is an account of the many ways in which our nearest star affects our planet, how its influence has changed over the last few centuries and millennia, and the extent to which we can predict its future impact. The book is the first to integrate astronomical, geological, climatic and social aspects of the Sun. The Sun's rays foster the formation of Vitamin D by our bodies, but it can also promote skin cancer. Besides providing the warmth and light essential to most animal and plant life, solar energy contributes substantially to global warming. The Sun is the ideal renewable energy source, but its exploitation is still bedeviled by the problems of storage and distribution. Our nearest star, in short, is a complex machine which needs to be treated with caution, and this book will equip every reader with the knowledge that is required to understand the benefits and dangers it can bring.
Über den Autor
Claudio Vita-Finzi was born in Australia and educated in Argentina and the UK, with BA, PhD and ScD degrees from Cambridge University. He has taught Earth and planetary sciences at University College London for many years and is now a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum, London. He has been a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1991, received the GK Warren Prize of the US Academy of Sciences in 1994 and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2012. He has published numerous papers on geology and planetary science and several books including Planetary Geology (Terra 2005), The Sun - a User's Guide (Springer 2008) and Solar History, an Introduction (Springer 2012).
Zusammenfassung
The Sun is an account of the many ways in which our nearest star affects our planet, how its influence has changed over the last few centuries and millennia, and the extent to which we can predict its future impact. The book is the first to integrate astronomical, geological, climatic and social aspects of the Sun. The Sun's rays foster the formation of Vitamin D by our bodies, but it can also promote skin cancer. Besides providing the warmth and light essential to most animal and plant life, solar energy contributes substantially to global warming. The Sun is the ideal renewable energy source, but its exploitation is still bedeviled by the problems of storage and distribution. Our nearest star, in short, is a complex machine which needs to be treated with caution, and this book will equip every reader with the knowledge that is required to understand the benefits and dangers it can bring.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Preface
1. Looking at the Sun
2. Inside the Sun
3. The Changing Sun
4. Sun and Climate
5. Sun and Life
6. Sun and Health
7. Space Weather
8. Solar Energy
Index
