Background
Verschuur, Gerrit Laurens was born on June 5, 1937 in Cape Town, South Africa. Came to the United States, 1967. Son of Henk and Tjitske (DeWilde) Verschuur.
(Radio astronomy is the study of radio waves from space. M...)
Radio astronomy is the study of radio waves from space. Many objects in the universe, including certain stars, galaxies, and nebulae, as well as a wide variety of peculiar, fascinating and often mysterious objects, emit radio waves through naturally occurring processes. Radio astronomers use large antennas, known as radio telescopes, together with very sensitive radio receivers to detect the presence of the waves, and this book is about the findings of this science. This book is nontechnical and aimed at the interested lay person. Covers: 1) The Adventure of Radio Astronomy 2) Extragalactic Radio Sources: Quasars, Radio Galaxies, Cosmic Jets, Black Holes, Cannibalism, Radio Galaxies and Quasars: An Overall View 3) The Milky Way: The Galactic Center, The Milky Way Radio Beacon, The Galactic Radio Nebulae, Interstellar Hydrogen, Interstellar Molecules 4) Stellar Type Radio Sources: Pulsars, The Radio Sun and Planets, Galactic Superstars 5) The Universe and Life: Beyond the Quasars-Radio Cosmology, On the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence 6) Radio Astronomy Review: Past, Present and Future
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( In this provocative book, radio astronomer and author G...)
In this provocative book, radio astronomer and author Gerrit L. Verschuur describes the phenomena of scientific curiosity and discovery by following the exciting story of interstellar matter. The discovery of "stuff between the stars" was the result of decades of work by hundreds of astronomers, and the evolving recognition of its existence has profoundly changed the way we view the Universe. Verschuur begins with E.E. Barnard, who puzzled for a quarter century over the interpretation of photographs of dark patches between the stars. Verschuur then traces the tortuous path to acceptance of the existence of interstellar matter. He shares with us the thrill of discovery that motivates astronomers, the use of metaphors and modeling by scientist, and other tricks of the astronomical trade. Finally, we learn about the modern study of interstellar matter: the discovery of complex organic molecules between the stars and how they may have seeded the early earth with the precursors for life, new insights into star formation, the structure of the Milky Way and the elusive interstellar magnetic field. More than a history, Interstellar Matters is a detective story that evokes the excitement and serendipity of science against the background of a century of shared effort by the world community of astronomers. From the reviews: "I can't imagine anyone interested in astronomy who won't enjoy this book - it's chocked full of science, personalities and insights. We are products of the stuff between the stars - Verschuur tells the fascinating story of how its existence was discovered. Interstellar Matters is his best book, I think. It's certainly one of the best astronomy popularizations I've read." (Leif J. Robinson, Sky & Telescope)
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(In this book, radio astronomer, Gerrit L. Verschuur, reve...)
In this book, radio astronomer, Gerrit L. Verschuur, reveals the exciting panorama that is the story of radio astronomy. Illustrated with 60 detailed radiographs of deep-space wonders, The Invisible Universe Revealed is a must for anyone with an interest in discovery.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0387962808/?tag=2022091-20
(In this book, radio astronomer, Gerrit L. Verschuur, reve...)
In this book, radio astronomer, Gerrit L. Verschuur, reveals the exciting panorama that is the story of radio astronomy. Illustrated with 60 detailed radiographs of deep-space wonders, The Invisible Universe Revealed is a must for anyone with an interest in discovery.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3540962808/?tag=2022091-20
(Long one of nature's most fascinating phenomena, magnetis...)
Long one of nature's most fascinating phenomena, magnetism was once the subject of many superstitions. Magnets were thought useful to thieves, effective as a love potion or as a cure for gout or spasms. They could remove sorcery from women and put demons to flight and even reconcile married couples. It was said that a lodestone pickled in the salt of sucking fish had the power to attract gold. Today, these beliefs have been put aside, but magnetism is no less remarkable for our modern understanding of it. In Hidden Attraction, Gerrit L. Verschuur, a noted astronomer and National Book Award nominee for The Invisible Universe, traces the history of our fascination with magnetism, from the first discovery of magnets in Greece, to state-of-the-art theories that see magnetism as a basic force in the universe. The book begins with the early debunking of superstitions by Peter Peregrinus (Pierre de Maricourt), whom Roger Bacon hailed as one of the world's first experimental scientists (Perigrinus held that "experience rather than argument is the basis of certainty in science"). Verschuur discusses William Gilbert, who confronted the multitude of superstitions about lodestones in De Magnete, widely regarded as the first true work of modern science, in which Gilbert reported his greatest insight: that the earth itself was magnetic. We also meet Hans Christian Oersted, who demonstrated that an electric current could influence a magnet (Oersted did this for the first time during a public lecture) and Andre-Marie Ampere, who showed that a current actually produced magnetism. Verschuur also examines the pioneering experiments and theoretical breakthroughs of Faraday and Maxwell and Zeeman (who demonstrated the relationship between light and magnetism), and he includes many lively stories of discovery, such as the use of frogs by Galvani and Volta, and Hertz's accidental discovery of radio waves. Along the way, we learn many interesting scientific facts, perhaps the most remarkable of which is that lodestones are made by bacteria (a sediment organism known as GS-15 eats iron, converting ferric oxide to magnetite and, over billions of years, forming the magnetite layers in iron formations). Boasting many informative illustrations, this is an adventure of the mind, using the specific phenomenon of magnetism to show how we have moved from an era of superstitions to one in which the Theory of Everything looms on the horizon.
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(The present set of chapters by members of the staff of th...)
The present set of chapters by members of the staff of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory deals with the basic fields of research concerned with radio astronomy outside the solar system. The emphasis in this volume is on the type of data available and its interpretation. Basic theory is considered only where absolutely necessary, and little discussion of receivers or techniques is entered into in most of the chapters. The book is intended to take over where most textbooks on radio astronomy leave off, that is, in the discussion of what is actually known from the research done. In addition there is a chapter on the technical aspects of inter ferometry and aperture synthesis, since so much of modern radio astronomy depends, and will depend in an ever increasing manner, on such tools. The editors want to stress that the chapters were not necessarily expected to be compre hensive reviews of any of the fields being covered, but rather, overall outlines which the in dividual authors felt would be suitable for graduate students and interested workers in other fields. As a result, the lists of references are not complete. This only reflects the preferences of the individual authors and not the relative merit of those references included or omitted.
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Verschuur, Gerrit Laurens was born on June 5, 1937 in Cape Town, South Africa. Came to the United States, 1967. Son of Henk and Tjitske (DeWilde) Verschuur.
Master of Science, Rhodes University, 1960. Doctor of Philosophy, Manchester University, 1965.
Assistant scientist, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1969-1971; associate scientist, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1971-1973; visiting associate scientist, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1984-1985; professor, U. Colorado, Boulder, 1973-1979; free-lance writer, Boulder, 1980-1981; vice president, Advanced Energy Technology, Inc., Boulder, 1982-1984; lecturer, U. Maryland., College Park, 1988-1992; research professor, Rhodes College, Memphis, 1992-1996; Adjunct Professor physics Department, University Memphis, since 1996. Director Fiske Planetarium, Boulder, 1973-1978. Vice president Translucent Technologies, since 1998.
(The present set of chapters by members of the staff of th...)
(Long one of nature's most fascinating phenomena, magnetis...)
(Long one of nature's most fascinating phenomena, magnetis...)
( In this provocative book, radio astronomer and author G...)
(Radio astronomy is the study of radio waves from space. M...)
(In this book, radio astronomer, Gerrit L. Verschuur, reve...)
(In this book, radio astronomer, Gerrit L. Verschuur, reve...)
(Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include compa...)
Member American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union.
Married Pamela Margery Jones, 1966 (divorced 1971). 1 child, Carl Anton; married Joan Theresa Schmelz, May 10, 1986.