The Science of Discworld Revised Edition

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The Science of Discworld Revised Edition Page 44

by Terry Pratchett

seas 114, 140, 156, 164–5, 171–2, 193, 198, 227, 231, 246–7, 276, 307, 357

  see also oceans

  seashore 202, 247, 334, 337

  theory of human evolution 336–7

  sea urchins 243, 306

  second-generation immigrants 352

  Second Law of Thermodynamics 201

  sects 355

  sedimentary rocks 165, 195

  selection

  natural 211–2, 219, 303

  pressure 242

  unnatural 203–8

  selective reporting 272–4, 302

  self-awareness of human brain 338

  sequoia 311

  sex

  and bonobos 336, 340–1

  chromosomes, combinations of 60

  family life and intelligence 341

  and humans 340–1

  shark 286

  sheep, cloning of (Dolly) 215–6

  Sheffield, Charles 370

  shifts, light and sound 57, 94

  Shlyakhter, Alexander 26

  Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet 159, 257, 364

  shooting star 254

  shrews 302–3, 316, 318–9

  shrimp see mantis shrimp

  Shukolyukov, A. 306

  Siberia 308, 312

  Siberian Traps 308

  Sibley, Charles 335

  silicate rock 117, 122, 142

  silicon 79*, 82, 122, 221

  silver 75

  simplex minds 355

  simplicity 105

  phase in Langton’s Ant system 104

  simplification of DNA in organisms 325

  single-celled creatures 198, 231

  sleep paralysis 327–8

  sloths 312, 322

  slow neutrons 22, 24

  SMART-2 (project) 131

  Smith, Andrew 306

  Smitherman, David 371

  Smolin, Lee 25, 62–3

  snow 226–8, 230

  snowball Earth 230, 251

  social behaviour, mathematical rule for (Malthus) 100

  social sciences 347

  sodium 72, 164–5

  atomic weight of 74

  ions 164

  soil 284

  solar system(s) 12, 44, 76–7, 93, 116–25, 128–9, 132–3, 140–1, 156, 162, 171–5, 177, 212, 327

  exploration of 367

  formation of 116–123, 156, 162, 173

  future of 123–5

  as model for atom 76

  other 125–35

  solar wind 145

  soul 54, 187–8

  South Africa 253

  South America 146–7, 310, 312, 320–22

  South East Asia 321

  space 51

  as absence 185

  empty 49, 51, 108

  exploration of 37, 171, 365–73

  origins of 55

  and Special Relativity 91

  and time 51, 54

  spacecraft 131–2, 368–9

  space elevator 39, 201–2, 215, 325, 369–72

  as a reality 370–2

  DNA as 215

  life as 39, 201–2

  Space Interferometry Mission 131

  Space Technology 3 (project) 131

  spacetime 55–6, 91–2, 205

  space train 367

  Special Relativity theory (Einstein) 91–2

  speciation 240

  species

  death of 304, 311

  evolution of 210–14, 238, 301

  spectral lines 26

  speed of light 13, 23, 25–6, 91–2, 182, 259

  in relativity theory 91–2

  Speer, Kevin 197

  spells, magic 72

  gene as 222

  symbols (e.g. ‘Cold Start’ icon in cars) and 42, 222

  Spencer, Herbert 211

  sperm count, decline in, and selective reporting 274

  Spielberg, Steven 302

  splitting the atom 76

  spring tides 177

  squids 87, 310

  stability 12, 81, 145, 368

  stable elements 81

  stadium, as Greek measure of distance 89

  Stagg Field, University of Chicago 22

  stars 11, 12, 55*, 57–8, 79–80, 83, 102, 113, 116, 120–2, 125–9, 373

  double 128

  exploding 80

  neutron 82, 126–7, 373

  pollution in 80

  ‘Population I and II’ 80, 83

  ‘Population III’ 80*, 83

  and red shift 57, 94

  Star Light (project) 131

  statistics 272–3, 381

  stegosaurs 283, 289

  Stewart, Ian 41, 43, 79*, 274–5, 327

  stick insects 221–2

  stories 11, 17, 35,43, 73,107, 268, 309, 328

  storytelling 107

  Stott, Lowell 232

  Strassmann, Fritz 23–4

  Strata (Pratchett) 290

  Stravinsky, Igor 289

  stromatolites 195

  subculture, influence of 355

  submarines 147

  sub-oceanic volcanoes on Europa 134

  succubi 328

  Sudbury impact structure 253–4

  sugars 158, 161, 165, 202, 216,

  sulphur 72, 75, 177, 197, 307

  sulphuric acid 118, 164

  Sun 76, 88–90, 92–3, 116–24, 127, 129, 131, 145, 156, 162, 171, 173, 175–8, 202, 228–30

  calculating Earth’s circumference by angle of shadows 88–9

  eclipse of 92, 168–9

  formation of 119–20, 156, 162

  gravity of 92, 176–7

  output of radiant heat 228–30

  sunlight 93, 158–60, 163–4, 178, 229, 306–7

  suns 11, 79*, 80

  as model for nucleus 76

  and planetary movement 90

  stars as early 80

  Sunshine Coast, Queensland 320

  Supernova Cosmology project 94

  supernovas 80, 83, 94, 258

  superplume 308

  supersymmetry 61

  surrogate mother 216

  survival of the fittest 211–12, 215

  Syene (now Aswan, Egypt) 88–9

  symbiosis 198

  symbols and magic 42

  synapsid reptiles 283

  synchrotron radiation 127

  T

  Tasmania 320

  Tasmanian tiger (aka Tasmanian wolf; thylacine) 320

  taxes, as written record of society 353

  teachers, as ‘liars-to-children’ 44*

  technology 5, 22, 25, 36, 39–42, 100, 126, 197*, 312, 326, 367, 370

  and magic 40

  teeth 318–9

  telescopes, astronomical 94, 126, 129–32

  television

  invention of 41–2

  and magic 41

  temperature

  of cosmic background radiation 58

  of centre of Earth 141, 143

  of mammals 325

  of primitive Earth 162

  and global warming 159–60

  variations in Earth’s 228, 322–3

  and vibration of molecules 163

  Terning, John 94

  Terrestrial Planet Finder (project) 131

  Tertiary period (Age of Mammals) 304, 322

  testing theories 90–1

  Thales 71

  theories, testing 90–1

  Theory of Everything 101–7

  therapsids 283, 317–8

  Thompson, Adrian 219–222

  Thompson, J.J. 78

  thorium 80

  thought 79*

  experiments 11

  thylacine (aka Tasmanian tiger; Tasmanian wolf) 320

  tides 170,173,175–7, 202

  tigers 320, 322, 324, 380*, 382

  time 51, 53–8, 62–3, 91–2, 108, 165, 239, 335, 364, 381

  dilation 92

  origins of 53–6, 58

  and Special Relativity 91

  tin 75, 82

  Tingamarra 321

  Tobias, Phillip 337


  transition zones 142

  ‘Tree of Life’ view of evolution 239–42

  trees 161, 179, 203, 241, 321

  rate of growth, and tides 179

  Triassic period 232, 285, 287, 317

  tribal cultures 352

  triceratops 283, 289

  trickery and apparent coincidence 270

  Trilling, David 129

  trilobites 241

  triploblasts 199–201, 231

  tritium 79

  truth 101,188, 378

  tuatara 285, 288

  Tunguska meteorite 254

  turtles 5, 9, 10, 27, 32–4, 51, 53–4, 61, 73, 84, 99, 115, 152, 170, 181, 285–6, 295, 313, 380

  Twins Paradox 13

  tyrannosaurs 283, 285, 287, 289, 292

  Tyrannosaurus rex 304

  U

  UFOs 326–7, 355

  ultraviolet light 195

  underground ocean in Europa 133

  uniramians 241

  United States 172, 312, 364

  universals (features of organisms) 243

  universe

  age of 55–6

  and Big Bang 56,60, 62, 78–9, 80*, 101–2

  changing rules of 62, 68, 83

  evolving, theory of (Smolin) 25, 62–3

  expansion of 57–8, 94–5

  initial conditions and rules 61–2

  origin of 52–62

  shape of 90

  universities 44*

  unnatural selection 203–8

  unnilunium 81

  unstable atoms 10, 80

  unstable elements 81

  ununnilium 10, 81

  uranium 23–5, 80

  uranium-235 24–5

  uranium-238 24

  Uranus 117–8, 127, 157

  Ursae Majoris (47 Ursae Majoris star) 129

  V

  vacuum 26*, 34, 51, 62, 95, 186

  vacuum energy 95

  Velikovsky, Immanuel 125, 258

  velociraptor 289, 292, 303

  Venus 117,124–5,127,171. 253, 259

  Verne, Jules 367

  vertebrates 316, 324, 335

  vibration of molecules 163

  Villeneuve, Jacques 268

  Virginis (70 Virginis star) 129

  viruses 196, 215

  volcanic dust 229

  volcanic vents 132, 134, 197–8, 202, 231

  volcanoes 141, 172, 287, 307

  Vredefort impact structure 253–4

  W

  Wächtershäuser, Günther 197

  Walcott, Charles 240

  Walking with Dinosaurs 282, 293

  Wallace, Alfred 210–11

  Warrawoona, Australia 195

  wars and warfare 365

  nuclear 158, 364–5

  water 34, 43, 71–2, 74, 122, 133–4, 141, 145, 157–8, 163–5, 171, 175–7, 195, 197–8, 243, 268, 274, 305, 323, 325*

  as ancient element 71

  as compound 72, 74

  formation of 122

  humans and 337–8

  underground in Europa 133–4

  wave functions 108

  weather 36, 51, 124, 140, 156, 172,175, 325

  Web Between the Worlds, The (Sheffield) 370

  Webb, John 26

  Wegener, Alfred 146–7

  weight 74–8, 123, 128, 157, 160, 184, 336, 369

  atomic 74, 76, 78

  Welch, Raquel 285

  Wells, H(erbert) G(eorge) 282–3

  werewolf legend 171

  whales 285–6, 309, 311, 316, 323

  ‘what if’ questions in science 11–12, 25

  Whit (Banks) 355

  white dwarf 260

  White Hole 95

  Whittington, Harry 240

  Wilkins, Bishop John 367

  Wireless World 39

  Wisdom, Jack 124

  witches 9, 109, 328–9

  Wolszczan, Aleksander 128

  wolves 171

  Wonderful Life (Gould) 240

  Worlds in Collision (Velikovsky) 125

  World War II 24

  written word, power of 354

  X

  x-rays 57, 127, 129

  Xiao, Shuhai 200

  Y

  year, duration of 35

  yeast 216–7, 326

  Z

  Zaire 334

  Zamagna, Bernard 367

  zebras 12

  Zhang, Yun 200

  zinc 75

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Version 1.0

  Epub ISBN 9781407022659

  www.randomhouse.co.uk

  First published in Great Britain in 1999

  This revised edition published in 2002 by Ebury Press

  11

  Copyright © Terry and Lyn Pratchett, Joat Enterprises, Jack Cohen 1999

  Line drawings Copyright © Paul and Sandra Kidby 1999

  Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the authors of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from the publisher.

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  ISBN 9780091886578

 

 

 


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