Natural gas is the world's cleanest fossil fuel; it generates less air pollution and releases less CO2 per unit of useful energy than liquid fuels or coals. With its vast supplies of conventional resources and nonconventional stores, the extension of
Power Density: A Key to Understanding Energy Sources and Uses
The first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of power densities of renewable energy flows, fossil fuels, and all common energy uses.
In this book, Vaclav Smil argues that power density is a key determinant of
In this book, Vaclav Smil argues that power density is a key determinant of
Transforming the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations and Their Consequences
This inquiry into the technical advances that shaped the 20th century follows the evolutions of all the principal innovations introduced before 1913 (as detailed in the first volume) as well as the origins and elaborations of all fundamental 20th century
Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines
he many books on globalization published over the past few years range from claims that the world is flat to an unlikely rehabilitation of Genghis Khan as a pioneer of global commerce. Missing from these accounts is a consideration of the technologies beh
Vaclav Smil Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects-能源转型:历史、要求、前景
Energy transitions are fundamental processes behind the evolution of human societies: they both drive and are driven by technical, economic, and social changes. In a bold and provocative argument, Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects descr
Vaclav Smil Global Catastrophes and Trends: The Next Fifty Years-全球灾难和趋势:未来五十年
Fundamental change occurs most often in one of two ways: as a "fatal discontinuity," a sudden catastrophic event that is potentially world changing, or as a persistent, gradual trend. Global catastrophes include volcanic eruptions, viral pandemi
Vaclav Smil Energy: A Beginner's Guide-能源:初学者指南
As Einstein pointed out in his famous equation, E=MC2, all matter can be described as energy. It is everywhere; it is everything. In this engaging book, prolific author and academic Vaclav Smil provides an introduction to the far-reaching term and gives t
Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing
In "Made in the USA," Vaclav Smil powerfully rebuts the notion that manufacturing is a relic of predigital history and that the loss of American manufacturing is a desirable evolutionary step toward a pure service economy. Smil argues that no ad
Energy Myths and Realities: Bringing Science to the Energy Policy Debate
There are many misconceptions about the future of global energy often presented as fact by the media, politicians, business leaders, activists, and even scientists--wasting time and money and hampering the development of progressive energy policies. Energ
Vaclav Smil Still the Iron Age: Iron and Steel in the Modern World-仍然是铁器时代:现代世界的钢铁
Although the last two generations have seen an enormous amount of attention paid to advances in electronics, the fact remains that high-income, high-energy societies could thrive without microchips, etc., but, by contrast, could not exist without steel. B
Vaclav Smil Oil: A Beginner’s Guide-油:新手指南
Packed with fascinating facts and insight, this book will fuel dinner party debate, and provide readers with the science and politics behind the world’s most controversial resource. Without oil, there would be no globalisation, no plastic, little transpor
Grand Transitions: How the Modern World Was Made-大变革
书名:Grand Transitions: How the Modern World Was Made《大变革》
作者:Vaclav Smil
简介:From one of the world's leading experts on the history of energy, a rig
作者:Vaclav Smil
简介:From one of the world's leading experts on the history of energy, a rig
How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going
У нас ніколи не було стільки інформації під рукою, як сьогодні, але більшість не знає, як насправді влаштований світ. Ця книжка пояснює сім найбільш фундаментальних реалій, які керують нашим виживанням і процвітанням.
Від виробництва енергії та харчови
Від виробництва енергії та харчови
Should We Eat Meat? Evolution and Consequences of Modern Carnivory
This book is a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary examination and critique of meat consumption by humans, throughout history and around the world. Setting the scene with a chapter on meat's role in human evolution and its growing influence during the
Vaclav Smil Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization-打造现代世界:材料与非物质化
Over the course of time, the modern world has become dependent on unprecedented flows of materials. Now even the most efficient production processes and the highest practical rates of recycling may not be enough to result in dematerialization rates that w
Vaclav Smil Energy and Civilization: A History-能源与文明:一个历史
A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel-driven civilization.
Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done
Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done
Vaclav Smil Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities-增长:从微生物到特大城市
A systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations.
Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of mi
Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of mi
Numbers Don't Lie - 71 Things You Need to Know About the World
Is flying dangerous? How much do the world's cows weigh? And what makes people happy?
From earth's nations and inhabitants, through the fuels and foods that energize them, to the transportation and inventions of our modern world - and how all
From earth's nations and inhabitants, through the fuels and foods that energize them, to the transportation and inventions of our modern world - and how all
Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America’s Most Storied Hospital
David Oshinsky chronicles the history of America's oldest hospital and in so doing also charts the rise of New York to the nation's preeminent city, the path of American medicine from butchery and quackery to a professional and scientific endeav
David M. Oshinsky Polio: An American Story-小儿麻痹症:一个美国故事
Here David Oshinsky tells the gripping story of the polio terror and of the intense effort to find a cure, from the March of Dimes to the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccines--and beyond. Drawing on newly available papers of Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin a
Michael Brooks Far from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds-远离陆地:海鸟的神秘生活
The lives and activities of seabirds as you've never seen them before
Seabirds evoke the spirit of the earth's wildest places. They spend large portions of their lives at sea, often far from land, and nest on remote islands that humans rarely
Seabirds evoke the spirit of the earth's wildest places. They spend large portions of their lives at sea, often far from land, and nest on remote islands that humans rarely
Michael Brooks The Big Questions: Physics-大问题:科学的秘密混乱物理学
Easy, enlightening and mind-stretching, here are the answers to the 20 biggest questions of quantum physics, relativity and our attempts to grasp the true nature of reality.
Michael Brooks Free Radicals: The Secret Anarchy of Science-自由基:科学的秘密混乱
"In Free Radicals, bestselling author Michael Brooks reveals the extreme lengths some of our most celebrated scientists are willing to go to, from fraud and suppressing evidence to reckless, unethical experiments, in order to make new discoveries and
At the Edge of Uncertainty: 11 Discoveries Taking Science by Surprise
The bestselling author of Free Radicals takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the most controversial areas of modern science
The atom. The Big Bang. DNA. Natural selection. All are ideas that have revolutionized science—and all were dismissed out of ha
The atom. The Big Bang. DNA. Natural selection. All are ideas that have revolutionized science—and all were dismissed out of ha
Hollywood Wants to Kill You: The Peculiar Science of Death in the Movies
'A wonderful book... Delightfully varied... As with all the best science writing, this book doesn't just give answers, it also asks interesting questions.' Daily Mail
'Captivating and intelligent! Who knew death could be this much f
'Captivating and intelligent! Who knew death could be this much f