Nature's Clocks : How Scientists Measure the Age of Almost Everything - Doug Macdougall

Nature's Clocks

How Scientists Measure the Age of Almost Everything

By: Doug Macdougall

Paperback | 20 October 2009 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $59.40

$57.25

or 4 interest-free payments of $14.31 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 7 to 10 business days

"Radioactivity is like a clock that never needs adjusting," writes Doug Macdougall. "It would be hard to design a more reliable timekeeper." In Nature's Clocks, Macdougall tells how scientists who were seeking to understand the past arrived at the ingenious techniques they now use to determine the age of objects and organisms. By examining radiocarbon (C-14) dating--the best known of these methods--and several other techniques that geologists use to decode the distant past, Macdougall unwraps the last century's advances, explaining how they reveal the age of our fossil ancestors such as "Lucy," the timing of the dinosaurs' extinction, and the precise ages of tiny mineral grains that date from the beginning of the earth's history. In lively and accessible prose, he describes how the science of geochronology has developed and flourished. Relating these advances through the stories of the scientists themselves--James Hutton, William Smith, Arthur Holmes, Ernest Rutherford, Willard Libby, and Clair Patterson--Macdougall shows how they used ingenuity and inspiration to construct one of modern science's most significant accomplishments: a timescale for the earth's evolution and human prehistory.
Industry Reviews
"Rich in historical tidbits." New Scientist "A helpful handbook on how we are now able to travel to the distant past." Publishers Weekly "The heart of the book reveals ingenious science." Library Journal "For time-conscious readers, Nature's Clocks provides satisfaction beyond measure." Washington Post Book World "Guaranteed to improve one's understanding." Natl Cntr For Science Education

More in Earth Sciences

First Knowledges Country : Future Fire, Future Farming - Bruce Pascoe
The Fisherman : A chilling supernatural horror epic - John Langan
The Cloudspotter's Guide - Gavin Pretor-Pinney

RRP $24.99

$23.75

Dinosaurs A Children's Encyclopedia - DK

RRP $42.99

$36.50

15%
OFF
The Science of the Ocean : The Secrets of the Seas Revealed - DK
Prehistoric Australasia : Visions of Evolution and Extinction - Michael Archer
Living Hot : Surviving and Thriving on a Heating Planet - Clive Hamilton
Otherlands : A World in the Making - Thomas Halliday

RRP $24.99

$23.75

Australian Freshwater Ecology 2ed : Processes and Management - Andrew Boulton
Earth : The Definitive Visual Guide - DK

RRP $65.00

$44.25

32%
OFF
The Cloud Collector's Handbook - Gavin Pretor-Pinney

RRP $29.99

$26.75

11%
OFF
Natural Farming : a Practical Guide - Pat Coleby

RRP $35.00

$31.75