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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, The Most Violent Explosions
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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, The Most Violent Explosions in the Universe Hardcover - 2002

by Jonathan I. Katz

A professor of physics explains how scientists are unraveling gamma ray bursts, one of the great mysteries of astronomy. 28 line illustrations.


From the publisher

Gamma-ray bursts are about ten times more energetic than the most powerful supernovae. At their peak, they are the brightest objects in space, about 100,000 times brighter than an entire galaxy. In The Biggest Bangs, astrophysicist Jonathan Katz offers a fascinating account of the scientific quest to unravel the mystery of these incredible phenomena. With an eye for colorful detail and a talent for translating scientific jargon into plain English, Katz ranges from the accidental discovery of gamma-ray bursts (by a Cold War satellite system monitoring the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty) to the frustrating but ultimately successful efforts to localize these bursts in distant galaxies.

First line

On December 7, 1941, the "date which will live in infamy," a surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, sank much of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, shocked Americans from their naive isolationism, and carved a permanent mark in the national character: never again would the United States permit itself to be caught by surprise.

Details

  • Title The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, The Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
  • Author Jonathan I. Katz
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 240
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Oxford University Press, USA, New York
  • Date 2002-06-06
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780195145700 / 0195145704
  • Weight 1.08 lbs (0.49 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.46 x 6.54 x 0.76 in (24.03 x 16.61 x 1.93 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Gamma ray bursts
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2001036545
  • Dewey Decimal Code 522.686

Media reviews

Citations

  • Booklist, 04/01/2002, Page 1288

About the author


Jonathan Katz earned his Ph.D. at Cornell University at the age of twenty-two. A Professor of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis, he has worked on problems as diverse as X-ray stars, earthquakes, the fracture of glass, and gamma-ray bursts.
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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe

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The Biggest Bangs : The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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The Biggest Bangs : The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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The Biggest Bangs : The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe

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The Biggest Bangs : The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe

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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, The Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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by Jonathan I. Katz

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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe

by Jonathan I. Katz

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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe

by Katz, Jonathan I.

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Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, The Most Violent Explosions in the Universe
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Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, The Most Violent Explosions in the Universe

by Katz, Jonathan I.

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