Author: Mark Mortimer

Modern physics! Who knows where it’s going? Objects so small that we can never see them. Strings that vibrate with the resonance of life. A universe so big and growing, yet starting from no more than a dot. Surely all this is too much! Not so. Marcus Chown in his book, ‘The Quantum Zoo – A Tourist’s Guide to the Neverending Universe’ provides simple analogies and fun derivations to bring sense to all this. After all, physics is simply the science of observation, so there shouldn’t be anything holding back an inquisitive person.
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Spaceports rule! These are one end of our tenuous link with outer space. At one time literary sculptors crafted imaginary sites to blast people up, up and away. Now, hard cold engineering makes them real. A handful of working spaceports dot the Earth’s surface. Cape Canaveral is one with the longest history and Joel Powell, with Art LeBrun, show off its illustrious heritage in their book, ‘Go For Launch – An Illustrated History of Cape Canaveral’. In it is a glowing tribute to a little tract of land in Florida that was transfigured from swamp land into launch site.
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“Mom, I want to be an astronaut just like you!”. Such a line could be a great lead-in to an emotional and technical discussion. For parents and educators less experienced, it could present a real dilemma. Space travel and rocket science have been the fiefdom of nerds and calculator fiends. However, Lonnie Jones Schorer in her book ‘Kids to Space – A Space Traveler’s Guide’ removes the concern. After all, children do ask the darndest questions. But no matter what, they should always get the best possible answer.
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The universe is such a very big place. A seemingly non-stop cavalcade of discoveries pushes its dimensions ever further. At the same time, these new findings fill this enlarging region with new colours and images. Patrick Moore in his book, ‘Atlas of the Universe’ brings many of the wonders of this space into a reader’s view. The universe is big but this book makes it all very manageable.
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Imagine that poor, uninformed Neanderthal man who didn’t know to rub two sticks together to make fire. Then compare him to today’s Homo Sapiens who know this secret. Seems like a great disparity. However, though people today know this secret, few have tried it and fewer still know the best wood, twine and grass. The same awareness can be said for the field of physics. Most know of its secrets, some use this knowledge but fewer are experts on the details. Jeremy Bernstein, in his book ‘Secrets of the Old One – Einstein, 1905’ gives an excellent recount of secrets learned by experts over a century ago. Reading it will give a great assist to those wanting to be more informed.
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Seekers need to know everything about their quarries. Their appearance, lifestyle and mannerisms all provide clues as to their whereabouts. Fishermen know the haunts, the lures and the time of day that give the best chance of success. Comet hunters are an equally avid group of seekers and some would say that their quarry is much more elusive. In both situations, seekers eagerly seek out the experienced master to learn their tricks. David Levy, a master at comet finding, simplifies the seeker’s search by presenting his tricks in his book Deep Sky Objects. Many secrets to finding the elusive comet await within.
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Learning the night sky is pretty intimidating. With enough desire and perseverance it’s achievable, even though thousands of individual stars glitter away. Trying to install that desire and knowledge into the younger crowd is even tougher. Anton Vamplew with his book Simple Stargazing provides a significant aid for just this. With a knack for detail and minimal complications, he cuts the intimidation and adds lots of fun to boot.
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Fighting the good fight. David meeting Goliath. Persevering against the odds. These phrases give images associated with a valiant struggle to succeed. William T. Vollmann in his book Uncentering the Earth shares his thoughts on the struggles of Nicholas Copernicus in relocating the Sun to the centre of the solar system. Though Copernicus did not undertake any physical fight, there certainly was conflict while he was promoting and publishing his ideas.
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Does humanity have a destiny? Are we to accomplish a task before ending as a species, or do we perhaps continue on, ever evolving and exploring? The explorers amongst us certainly want to continue, and their hopes are pointedly directed to the stars. The book Beyond Earth is a compilation of essays from visionaries who are committed to achieving this goal. Their ideas and plans show a decided conviction on a destiny that includes advancing our frontier off of Earth.
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There’s nothing like spending a warm summer’s evening sitting in pitch black while letting your eyes soar to the vaults of the heavens. A few twinkling hot shot stars steal the show, then more subtle but equally charming fine points of light gradually fill in the blank spots. Eventually, with eyes fully adapted to the dark, the heavens are ablaze with a panorama of elegance and variety. Accumulating years of people’s effort brings sense and order to this menagerie. Ian Ridpath with his book Astronomy makes a wonderful little guide for observers looking for a little sense, and it may turn a summer fling with the stars into a longer affair.
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