The Earth: A Very Short Introduction Very Short Introductions - M. Redfern
The Earth: A Very Short Introduction Very Short Introductions - M. Redfern For generations, the ground beneath the feet of our ancestors seemed solid and unchanging. First, geologists realized that…
Specifikacia The Earth: A Very Short Introduction Very Short Introductions - M. Redfern
The Earth: A Very Short Introduction Very Short Introductions - M. Redfern
For generations, the ground beneath the feet of our ancestors seemed solid and unchanging. First, geologists realized that the continents themselves were drifting across the surface of the globe and that oceans were being created and destroyed. Around 30 years ago, two things happened that were to revolutionize the understanding of our home planet.
As the astronomer Fred Hoyle had predicted, this 'let loose an idea as powerful as any in history'. Secondly, pictures of the entire planet were returned from space. Suddenly, the Earth began to be viewed as a single entity; a dynamic, interacting whole, controlled by complex processes we scarcely understood.
It began to seem less solid. As one astronaut put it, 'a blue jewel on black velvet; small, fragile and touchingly alone'. Geologists at last were able to see the whole as well as the detail; the wood as well as the trees.
This book brings their account up to date with the latest understanding of the processes that govern our planet.