An introduction to astronomy written with a historical perspective.

To create the exotic materials and technologies needed to make stargates and warp drives is the holy grail of advanced propulsion. A less ambitious, but nonetheless revolutionary, goal is finding a way to accelerate a spaceship without having to lug along a gargantuan reservoir of fuel that you blow out a tailpipe. Tethers and solar sails are conventional realizations of the basic idea. There may now be a way to achieve these lofty objectives. “Making Starships and Stargates” will have three parts. The first will deal with information about the theories of relativity needed to understand the predictions of the effects that make possible the “propulsion” techniques, and an explanation of those techniques. The second will deal with experimental investigations into the feasibility of the predicted effects; that is, do the effects exist and can they be applied to propulsion? The third part of the book – the most speculative – will examine the question: what physics is needed if we are to make wormholes and warp drives? Is such physics plausible? And how might we go about actually building such devices? This book pulls all of that material together from various sources, updates and revises it, and presents it in a coherent form so that those interested will be able to find everything of relevance all in one place.

To create the exotic materials and technologies needed to make stargates and warp drives is the holy grail of advanced propulsion. A less ambitious, but nonetheless revolutionary, goal is finding a way to accelerate a spaceship without having to lug along a gargantuan reservoir of fuel that you blow out a tailpipe. Tethers and solar sails are conventional realizations of the basic idea. There may now be a way to achieve these lofty objectives. “Making Starships and Stargates” will have three parts. The first will deal with information about the theories of relativity needed to understand the predictions of the effects that make possible the “propulsion” techniques, and an explanation of those techniques. The second will deal with experimental investigations into the feasibility of the predicted effects; that is, do the effects exist and can they be applied to propulsion? The third part of the book – the most speculative – will examine the question: what physics is needed if we are to make wormholes and warp drives? Is such physics plausible? And how might we go about actually building such devices? This book pulls all of that material together from various sources, updates and revises it, and presents it in a coherent form so that those interested will be able to find everything of relevance all in one place.

A collection of essays that provide an overview of solar physics, discussing how scientists study the Sun and what they have discovered about various celestial phenomena.

Introduces physics as it analyzes the science behind "Star Trek," explaining the intricacies of warp speed and showing the difference between a holodeck and a hologram.

A graduate-level textbook on the astrophysics of binary star systems and their evolution Physics of Binary Star Evolution is an up-to-date textbook on the astrophysics and evolution of binary star systems. Theoretical astrophysicists Thomas Tauris and Edward van den Heuvel cover a wide range of phenomena and processes, including mass transfer and ejection, common envelopes, novae and supernovae, X-ray binaries, millisecond radio pulsars, and gravitational wave (GW) sources, and their links to stellar evolution. The authors walk through the observed properties and evolution of different types of binaries, with special emphasis on those containing compact objects (neutron stars, black holes, and white dwarfs). Attention is given to the formation mechanisms of GW sources—merging double neutron stars and black holes as well as ultra-compact GW binaries hosting white dwarfs—and to the progenitors of these sources and how they are observed with radio telescopes, X-ray satellites, and GW detectors (LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA, Einstein Telescope, Cosmic Explorer, and LISA). Supported by illustrations, equations, and exercises, Physics of Binary Star Evolution combines theory and observations to guide readers through the wonders of a field that will play a central role in modern astrophysics for decades to come. 465 equations, 47 tables, and 350+ figures More than 80 exercises (analytical, numerical, and computational) Over 2,500 extensive, up-to-date references