{"title":"David Waltham","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"lucky-planet-book-david-waltham-9781848316560","title":"Lucky Planet","description":"Science tells us that life elsewhere in the Universe is increasingly likely to be discovered. But in fact the Earth may be a very unusual planet - perhaps the only one like it in the entire visible Universe. In Lucky Planet David Waltham asks why, and comes up with some surprising and unconventional answers.  Recent geological, biological, and astronomical discoveries are bringing us closer to understanding whether we might be alone in the Universe, and this book uses these to question the conventional wisdom and suggest, instead, that the Earth may have had 'four billion years of good weather' purely by chance.  If Earth-like worlds don't have natural stabilising mechanisms, then intelligent observers such as ourselves will only ever look out onto those rare planets where, like the Earth, all the bad things that could have happened to the climate have fortunately cancelled each other out.  So before you prepare to meet the aliens, consider that we are probably alone .","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49523868139793,"sku":"GOR005886915","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49582913323281,"sku":"GOR008026823","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50300168438033,"sku":"CIN1848316569G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53029474795793,"sku":"GOR009672513","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848316569.jpg?v=1772275941"},{"product_id":"mathematics-book-david-waltham-9780632053452","title":"Mathematics","description":"This book is for students who did not follow mathematics through to the end of their school careers, and graduates and professionals who are looking for a refresher course. This new edition contains many new problems and also has associated spreadsheets designed to improve students' understanding. These spreadsheets can also be used to solve many of the problems students are likely to encounter during the remainder of their geological careers.  The book aims to teach simple mathematics using geological examples to illustrate mathematical ideas. This approach emphasizes the relevance of mathematics to geology, helps to motivate the reader and gives examples of mathematical concepts in a context familiar to the reader. With an increasing use of computers and quantitative methods in all aspects of geology it is vital that geologists be seen as numerate as their colleagues in other physical sciences. The book begins by discussing basic tools such as the use of symbols to represent geological quantities and the use of scientific notation for expressing very large and very small numbers. Simple functional relationships between geological variables are then covered (for example, straight lines, polynomials, logarithms) followed by chapters on algebraic manipulations. The mid-part of the book is devoted to trigonometry (including an introduction to vectors) and statistics. The last two chapters give an introduction to differential and integral calculus. The book is prepared with a large number of worked examples and problems for the students to attempt themselves. Answers to all the questions are given at the end of the book.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49535507824913,"sku":"GOR003896000","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49627679064337,"sku":"GOR003232456","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50414562836753,"sku":"CIN0632053453VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50447227715857,"sku":"CIN0632053453A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50482927534353,"sku":"CIN0632053453G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51147228709137,"sku":"NIN9780632053452","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52131259744529,"sku":"NLS9780632053452","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0632053453.jpg?v=1751199282"},{"product_id":"lucky-planet-book-david-waltham-9781848318328","title":"Lucky Planet","description":"Science tells us that life elsewhere in the Universe is increasingly likely to be discovered. But in fact the Earth may be a very unusual planet - perhaps the only one like it in the entire visible Universe. In Lucky Planet David Waltham asks why, and comes up with some surprising and unconventional answers.  Recent geological, biological, and astronomical discoveries are bringing us closer to understanding whether we might be alone in the Universe, and this book uses these to question the conventional wisdom and suggest, instead, that the Earth may have had 'four billion years of good weather' purely by chance.  If Earth-like worlds don't have natural stabilising mechanisms, then intelligent observers such as ourselves will only ever look out onto those rare planets where, like the Earth, all the bad things that could have happened to the climate have fortunately cancelled each other out.  So before you prepare to meet the aliens, consider that we are probably alone .","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49553798660369,"sku":"GOR010322869","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49571111665937,"sku":"GOR006476811","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53460225556753,"sku":"CIN1848318324A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848318324.jpg?v=1772273167"},{"product_id":"lucky-planet-book-david-waltham-9780465039999","title":"Lucky Planet","description":"Humankind has long fantasized about life elsewhere in the universe. And as we discover countless exoplanets orbiting other stars--among them, rocky super-Earths and gaseous Hot Jupiters--we become ever more hopeful that we may come across extraterrestrial life. Yet even as we become aware of the vast numbers of planets outside our solar system, it has also become clear that Earth is exceptional. The question is: why?  In Lucky Planet, astrobiologist David Waltham argues that Earth's climate stability is one of the primary factors that makes it able to support life, and that nothing short of luck made such conditions possible. The four-billion-year stretch of good weather that our planet has experienced is statistically so unlikely, he shows, that chances are slim that we will ever encounter intelligent extraterrestrial others.  Describing the three factors that typically control a planet's average temperature--the heat received from its star, how much heat the planet absorbs, and the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere--Waltham paints a complex picture of how special Earth's climate really is. He untangles the mystery of why, although these factors have shifted by such massive measures over the history of life on Earth, surface temperatures have never fluctuated so much as to make conditions hostile to life. Citing factors such as the size of our Moon and the effect of an ever-warming Sun, Waltham challenges the prevailing scientific consensus that other Earth-like planets have natural stabilizing mechanisms that allow life to flourish.  A lively exploration of the stars above and the ground beneath our feet, Lucky Planet seamlessly weaves the story of Earth and the worlds orbiting other stars to give us a new perspective of the surprising role chance plays in our place in the universe.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49558773989649,"sku":"GOR013549867","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52085421998353,"sku":"CIN0465039995VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52499819069713,"sku":"CIN0465039995G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0465039995.jpg?v=1750976006"},{"product_id":"mathematics-book-david-waltham-9780412492105","title":"Mathematics","description":"This is a short introductory maths text covering the essential concepts and techniques which first and second year geology undergraduates must learn. It starts with a revision of basic algebra and ends with a chapter each on simple differentiation and integration, and includes a chapter on introductory statistics. It adopts a gentle pace and uses geological examples throughout. There are lots of worked examples and end-of-chapter questions, with answers. This book should be of interest to undergraduates in geology and earth science; some environmental science programmes; and courses on techniques in geology.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49572736270609,"sku":"GOR002879416","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51848161820945,"sku":"GOR002068719","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0412492105.jpg?v=1750878915"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-david-waltham.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}