Science & Technology Audiobooks

For most of history, the beginning of the universe has been understood through the many myths offered in various cultures. But in the modern age, scientific cosmology has emerged to offer new explanations for the beginning and evolution of the universe. By 1900, religious and scientific conceptions of creation were widely seen as incompatible. In the 15th century, Nicholas of Cusa anticipated modern relativistic physics by suggesting that the universe has no center, no circumference, and no beginning or end. In the 20th century, Edwin Hubble used statistical analysis to prove that the universe is infinite. Modern cosmology suggests that there are 200 billion billion stars in the universe, including a variety of structures such as the nova, supernova, nebula, quasar, white dwarf, neutron star, pulsar, and black hole. The behavior of stars is governed by the physics of nuclear combustion and gravitation; our theories about stars depend upon advances in particle physics to explain the nuclear reactions that appear to explain star behavior. Edwin Hubble also discovered that the universe is expanding, which tended to confirm the conception that the universe began with a "big bang". Various theories have suggested that the universe either is in a steady state, that it is inflating, that it may be oscillating, or perhaps even winding down.

Jack Arnold (Author), Edwin Newman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Natural Science and the Planet Earth

Among the greatest natural historians was Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), who influenced Goethe, Darwin, and America's leading naturalists. Humboldt's Cosmos, published in five volumes from 1845 to 1860, stressed the unity of nature and discussed nature's vast details and unifying principles. He financed and led a scientific expedition to South America at the beginning of the 19th century, contributing profoundly to scientific knowledge of botany, geology, and zoology. Humboldt's careful measurements and descriptions also supported his speculations about more universal patterns in nature. Despite all that has been learned about the earth, we are assured that vast discoveries remain, The earth's ten-mile-thin crust is only the outer shell of a radius that is nearly 4,000 miles, and the deepest human exploration has been only five miles into a petroleum well. The biosphere, or "zone of live", provides the vast majority of materials to sustain life; it is (at most) 15 miles wide, including five miles of crust and five to ten miles of atmosphere. The base of information about earth has rapidly grown larger and more interconnected. Technological advances, combined with growing knowledge in the natural sciences, have enhanced the human power to create resources out of materials that have always been around us. Largely because of these advances, the earth now supports over 5 billion people at a standard of living undreamed of in the past. Humboldt understood this potential for improvement when he wrote that every acquisition won by (scientific) investigation is merely a step to the attainment of higher things in the eventful course of human affairs.

Dr. Jack Sommer, Jack Sommer (Author), Edwin Newman (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Thousand Barrels a Second: The Coming Oil Break Point and the Challenges Facing an Energy Dependen

In 2006, world oil consumption will exceed one thousand barrels per second. The news marks an important change that will have a far-reaching impact on world economies, investments, and business profitability. In A Thousand Barrels a Second, Chief Energy Economist of ARC Financial Peter Tertzakian examines the future of oil and offers insights into what it will take to rebalance our energy needs and seize new opportunities. He answers the top questions asked by business leaders, policy makers, investors, and concerned citizens as we approach the coming break point: Are today's high oil and gas prices part of a routine business cycle, or are there more profound forces at play? Are hybrid vehicles our only solution against high gasoline prices? Is China's growing thirst for energy sustainable? Which government policies work and which do not? Will nuclear power and coal save the day-again? Tertzakian also offers a realistic, informed look into the future of our energy supply chains and how our consumption patterns may evolve, revealing how governments, businesses, and even individuals can meet the coming challenges with better solutions and innovations.

Peter Tertzakian (Author), Dick Hill (Narrator)

Audiobook

Field Notes From A Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change

Americans have been warned since the late 1970s that the buildup of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere threatens to melt the polar ice sheets and irreversibly change our climate. With little done since then to alter this dangerous path, the world has reached a critical threshold. By the end of the century, it will likely be hotter than at any point in the last two million years, and the sweeping consequences of this change will determine the future of life on earth for generations to come. Taking listeners from the melting Alaskan permafrost to storm-torn New Orleans, acclaimed journalist Elizabeth Kolbert approaches this monumental problem from every angle. She interviews researchers and environmentalists, explains the science, draws frightening parallels to lost civilizations and presents the moving tales of people who are watching their worlds disappear. Growing out of an award-winning three-part series for the "New Yorker, Field Notes from a Catastrophe brings the environment into the consciousness of the American people and asks what, if anything, can be done to save our planet.

Elizabeth Kolbert (Author), Hope Davis (Narrator)

Audiobook

Physics of Star Trek

A must for any serious Trekker or for anyone who wants an easy-to-understand introductionto the world of physics. What exactly "warps" when you are traveling at warp speed? Whatis the difference between the holodeck and a hologram? What happens whenyou get beamed up? Are time loops really possible, and can I kill my grandmotherbefore I was born? Until now, fans of Star Trek were hard pressed to find answers tovital questions such as these. Now Lawrence M. Krauss,an internationally known theoretical physicist and educator, has writtenthe quintessential physics book for Trekkers and non-Trekkers alike. Anyone who has ever wondered, "Could this really happen?" willgain useful insights into the Star Trek universe (and, incidentally,the real universe) in this charming and accessible volume. Krauss boldlygoes where Star Trek has gone -- and beyond. He uses the StarTrek future as a launching pad to discuss the forefront of modern physics.From Newton to Hawking, from Einstein to Feynman, from Kirk to Janeway,Krauss leads the reader on a voyage to the world of physics as we now knowit and as it might one day be.

Lawrence M. Krauss (Author), Lawrence M. Krauss (Narrator)

Audiobook

Isaac Newton's New Physics

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) achieved momentous breakthroughs in three areas: mathematics (the calculus), a theory of colors, and gravitational attraction. His first insights in each of these areas occurred during the "wonder years" of 1665-66, when retreat from the plague isolated Newton at Woolsthorpe. Newton's theory of "fluxions", along with independent work by Leibniz, created the methods of modern calculus. Building on the analytic geometry of Rene' Descartes, these techniques allow us to reason about the infinitely small and infinitely small and infinitely large in a mathematically rigorous way. Newton also revised Descartes' theory of light to show that white light is composed of different rays, each associated with a specific angle of refraction and a specific color. Newton also invented the reflection telescope, and considered his work on light to be his first great success. The famous theory of gravitation was built on the foundation of Galileo's laws of terrestrial motion and Kepler's laws of celestial motion. Newton described the inverse-square law of gravitation (F=1/r2); his famous Principia of 1686 included three famous laws: 1. Bodies continue in motion or at rest unless changed by a force. 2. Force equals mass times acceleration (F=ma). 3. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Newton also provided the universal law of gravitation (F=Gm, m2/r2) and showed that the gravitational force (the factor G in this equation) is constant for all bodies.

Dr. Gordon Britian, Gordon Brittan (Author), Edwin Newman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Einstein's Revolution

In 1905, Albert Einstein published his Special Theory of Relativity, followed by the General Theory of Relativity in 1916. He firmly established (1) the idea that all judgement about motion is a matter of perspective; (2) that energy and mass are interrelated (E=mc2); and (3) that nothing can move faster than the speed of light (which does not vary). Einstein's theory of the space - time continuum was dramatically confirmed in a 1919 experiment during a solar eclipse. "Relativity" is a concept rooted in the tension between appearance and reality, and it reaches far back in history. Heraclitus argued that only change is real; Parmenides argued that change is impossible, and his follower Zeno invented paradoxes illustrating many of the problems in concepts like space, time, and infinity. Protagoras even argued that there is no single, correct view of reality, but that reality for any person is precisely as it seems to that person. In his words, "Man is the measure of all things." Plato used mathematical reasoning to discern reality from mere appearance, and modern natural science emerged from centuries of effort to acquire objective knowledge. The greatest scientists of the Renaissance and Enlightenment -- including Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton -- believed that some real or absolute space and time are independent of the senses. But Immanuel Kant, J.C. Maxwell, Ernest Mach and Henri Poincare chipped away at this idea in the 18th and 19th centuries.

John T. Sanders, Professor John T. Sanders (Author), Edwin Newman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Sense of Wonder

The Sense of Wonder relates Carson's intimate account of adventures with her young nephew, in their walks along the sea coast and through forests and fields, observing wildlife, strange plants, moonlight, and storm clouds. It is a guide to capturing the simple power of discovery that Carson viewed as essential to life.

Rachel Carson (Author), Kaiulani Lee (Narrator)

Audiobook

Class Action: The Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law

When Lois Jenson, a single mother on welfare, accepted a job at the local iron mine in 1975, she hadn't considered that she would be entering a male-dominated society that would fiercely resist the inclusion of women. This prejudice was born out in the relentless, brutal harassment of every female miner, until Lois, devastated by the abuse, found the courage to sue the company. This is the thrilling true story of how one woman pioneered and won the first sexual harassment class action suit in the United States.

Clara Bingham, Laura Leedy Gansler (Author), Gabrielle De Cuir (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist

Richard Feynman (Author), Raymond Todd (Narrator)

Audiobook

The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why

In The N Word, a renowned cultural critic untangles the twisted history and future of racism through its most volatile word. The author reveals how the word has both reflected and spread the scourge of bigotry in America and states that only when we know its legacy can we loosen this slur's grip on our national psyche.

Jabari Asim (Author), Mirron Willis (Narrator)

Audiobook

Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries

This is a vibrant collection of essays on the cosmos from the nation's best-known astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, renowned for his ability to blend content, accessibility, and humor. Here he covers astral life at the frontiers of astrobiology to the movie industry's feeble efforts to get its night skies right.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson (Author), Dion Graham (Narrator)

Audiobook