Peter Pesic is Tutor and Musician-in-Residence at St. John's College, Santa Fe.
"A remarkable and beautiful book, as lyrical as it is
learned."--Oliver Sacks, author of "The Man Who Mistook His Wife
for a Hat"
"Blue is a theme throughout the book-and not just sky blue. Each of
the ten chapters has blue in its title, from the opening "Out of
the Blue" to the concluding "The Perfect Blue." Pesic not only
traces the scientific legacy of concepts and discoveries that have
led to our current understanding of the sky's usual color, he also
weaves into his tale cultural uses of the color blue.... A
delightful and informative read."-- ""Science""
"If only Tyndall could have put his hands on an advance copy of
science historian Peter Pesic's luminous new book, "Sky in a
Bottle". In 10 cleanly written, well-paced chapters, Pesic traces
the progression of our understanding of atmospheric hue through
dozens of scientists, philosophers, and artists. His smartest move
was to structure "Sky in a Bottle" like a mystery story, coaxing us
puzzle by puzzle through the (very) uneven advances of knowledge
over the centuries."-- ""The Boston Sunday Globe""
"In tireless pursuit of the mundane mystery of the blue sky, Pesic
takes us on a thrilling 2,000-year scientific treasure hunt,
turning up profound questions, surprising answers, unexpected
connections, and--always--more questions. Scholarly, sophisticated,
yet broadly accessible. A little sapphire of a book!"--Hans
Christian von Baeyer, Chancellor Professor of Physics, College of
William and Mary, author of "Information: The New Language of
Science"
"Nimbly stepping from Goethe to Einstein, Peter Pesic takes us to
awesome mountain peaks and into darkened laboratories to see where
the blue in the sky comes from. This is an adventure of the mind,
using observation, inspiration, and measurement to show how simple
things come from subtle sources."--Robert P. Kirshner, Clowes
Professor of Science, Harvard University, author of "The
Extravagant Universe"
"Pesic provides an elegant synopsis of the scientific investigation
into the sky's color as well as an appendix of experiments for
readers seeking to explain some of the sky's mystery for
themselves."-- ""Science News""
"Pesic, a musician who holds a doctorate in physics, sets out on an
enthralling and entertaining journey.... I commend this book to
those who want to read about truly significant discoveries linked
together through the need to answer what seems to be a simple
question. Unlike many other attempts to popularize science, this
book has managed not to garble the facts or sensationalize them. It
is well worth reading."-- ""Nature""
"The question explored by this truly delightful book is 'Why is the
sky blue?'.... The genius of this book, apart from the fact that
Pesic writes like an angel, is that it actually brings the question
alive.... The scholarship is remarkable and the long journey of
discovery is really a sublime study of the endlessly inquisitive
nature of the human mind."-- ""The Age""
"There be mysteries in the simple air above us. Not the least of
them is the color of the sky, the color of hope. Peter Pesic, a
master expositor of science, here recounts (with experiments!) the
lively story of how we came to know why the sky, our sky, is
blue."--Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1981), author
of "The Same and Not the Same"
"Why is the daytime sky blue? Why isn't it violet? Why is the
nighttime sky black? Here is a surprising romp through history,
art, and physics, replete with beguiling twists and turns. A
fascinating, well-focused investigation!"--Owen Gingerich,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, author of "The Book
Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus"
"With the simple question 'Why is the sky blue?' Peter Pesic opens
the door to observations and thoughts about light, color, vision,
and atmosphere, from earliest times to the present. He decorates
his account with biographical sketches and suggests experiments for
readers, and at the end he even comes up with the answer."--David
Park, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Williams College, author of
"The Fire within the Eye" and "The Grand Contraption"
& quot; A remarkable and beautiful book, as lyrical as it is
learned.& quot; --Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His
Wife for a Hat
& quot; Blue is a theme throughout the book-and not just sky blue.
Each of the ten chapters has blue in its title, from the opening &
quot; Out of the Blue& quot; to the concluding & quot; The Perfect
Blue.& quot; Pesic not only traces the scientific legacy of
concepts and discoveries that have led to our current understanding
of the sky's usual color, he also weaves into his tale cultural
uses of the color blue.... A delightful and informative read.&
quot; -- Science
& quot; If only Tyndall could have put his hands on an advance copy
of science historian Peter Pesic's luminous new book, Sky in a
Bottle . In 10 cleanly written, well-paced chapters, Pesic traces
the progression of our understanding of atmospheric hue through
dozens of scientists, philosophers, and artists. His smartest move
was to structure Sky in a Bottle like a mystery story, coaxing us
puzzle by puzzle through the (very) uneven advances of knowledge
over the centuries.& quot; -- The Boston Sunday Globe
& quot; In tireless pursuit of the mundane mystery of the blue sky,
Pesic takes us on a thrilling 2,000-year scientific treasure hunt,
turning up profound questions, surprising answers, unexpected
connections, and -- always -- more questions. Scholarly,
sophisticated, yet broadly accessible. A little sapphire of a
book!& quot; --Hans Christian von Baeyer, Chancellor Professor of
Physics, College of William and Mary, author of Information: The
New Language of Science
& quot; Nimbly stepping from Goethe to Einstein, Peter Pesic takes
us to awesome mountain peaks and into darkened laboratories to see
where the blue in the sky comes from. This is an adventure of the
mind, using observation, inspiration, and measurement to show how
simple things come from subtle sources.& quot; --Robert P.
Kirshner, Clowes Professor of Science, Harvard University, author
of The Extravagant Universe
& quot; Pesic provides an elegant synopsis of the scientific
investigation into the sky's color as well as an appendix of
experiments for readers seeking to explain some of the sky's
mystery for themselves.& quot; -- Science News
& quot; Pesic, a musician who holds a doctorate in physics, sets
out on an enthralling and entertaining journey.... I commend this
book to those who want to read about truly significant discoveries
linked together through the need to answer what seems to be a
simple question. Unlike many other attempts to popularize science,
this book has managed not to garble the facts or sensationalize
them. It is well worth reading.& quot; -- Nature
& quot; The question explored by this truly delightful book is 'Why
is the sky blue?'.... The genius of this book, apart from the fact
that Pesic writes like an angel, is that it actually brings the
question alive.... The scholarship is remarkable and the long
journey of discovery is really a sublime study of the endlessly
inquisitive nature of the human mind.& quot; -- The Age
& quot; There be mysteries in the simple air above us. Not the
least of them is the color of the sky, the color of hope. Peter
Pesic, a master expositor of science, here recounts (with
experiments!) the lively story of how we came to know why the sky,
our sky, is blue.& quot; --Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Laureate in
Chemistry (1981), author of The Same and Not the Same
& quot; Why is the daytime sky blue? Why isn't it violet? Why is
the nighttime sky black? Here is a surprising romp through history,
art, and physics, replete with beguiling twists and turns. A
fascinating, well-focused investigation!& quot; --Owen Gingerich,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, author of The Book
Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus
& quot; With the simple question 'Why is the sky blue?' Peter Pesic
opens the door to observations and thoughts about light, color,
vision, and atmosphere, from earliest times to the present. He
decorates his account with biographical sketches and suggests
experiments for readers, and at the end he even comes up with the
answer.& quot; --David Park, Professor Emeritus of Physics,
Williams College, author of The Fire within the Eye and The Grand
Contraption
" A remarkable and beautiful book, as lyrical as it is learned."
--Oliver Sacks, author of "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a
Hat"
" Blue is a theme throughout the book-and not just sky blue. Each
of the ten chapters has blue in its title, from the opening " Out
of the Blue" to the concluding " The Perfect Blue." Pesic not only
traces the scientific legacy of concepts and discoveries that have
led to our current understanding of the sky's usual color, he also
weaves into his tale cultural uses of the color blue.... A
delightful and informative read." -- "Science"
" If only Tyndall could have put his hands on an advance copy of
science historian Peter Pesic's luminous new book, "Sky in a
Bottle," In 10 cleanly written, well-paced chapters, Pesic traces
the progression of our understanding of atmospheric hue through
dozens of scientists, philosophers, and artists. His smartest move
was to structure "Sky in a Bottle" like a mystery story, coaxing us
puzzle by puzzle through the (very) uneven advances of knowledge
over the centuries." -- "The Boston Sunday Globe"
" In tireless pursuit of the mundane mystery of the blue sky, Pesic
takes us on a thrilling 2,000-year scientific treasure hunt,
turning up profound questions, surprising answers, unexpected
connections, and -- always -- more questions. Scholarly,
sophisticated, yet broadly accessible. A little sapphire of a
book!" --Hans Christian von Baeyer, Chancellor Professor of
Physics, College of William and Mary, author of "Information: The
New Language of Science"
" Nimbly stepping from Goethe to Einstein, Peter Pesic takes us to
awesome mountain peaks and into darkened laboratories to see where
the blue in the sky comes from. This is an adventure of the mind,
using observation, inspiration, and measurement to show how simple
things come from subtle sources." --Robert P. Kirshner, Clowes
Professor of Science, Harvard University, author of "The
Extravagant Universe"
" Pesic provides an elegant synopsis of the scientific
investigation into the sky's color as well as an appendix of
experiments for readers seeking to explain some of the sky's
mystery for themselves." -- "Science News"
" Pesic, a musician who holds a doctorate in physics, sets out on
an enthralling and entertaining journey.... I commend this book to
those who want to read about truly significant discoveries linked
together through the need to answer what seems to be a simple
question. Unlike many other attempts to popularize science, this
book has managed not to garble the facts or sensationalize them. It
is well worth reading." -- "Nature"
" The question explored by this truly delightful book is 'Why is
the sky blue?'.... The genius of this book, apart from the fact
that Pesic writes like an angel, is that it actually brings the
question alive.... The scholarship is remarkable and the long
journey of discovery is really a sublime study of the endlessly
inquisitive nature of the human mind." -- "The Age"
" There be mysteries in the simple air above us. Not the least of
them is the color of the sky, the color of hope. Peter Pesic, a
master expositor of science, here recounts (with experiments!) the
lively story of how we came to know why the sky, our sky, is blue."
--Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1981), author of
"The Same and Not the Same"
" Why is the daytime sky blue? Why isn't it violet? Why is the
nighttime sky black? Here is a surprising romp through history,
art, and physics, replete with beguiling twists and turns. A
fascinating, well-focused investigation!" --Owen Gingerich,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, author of "The Book
Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus"
" With the simple question 'Why is the sky blue?' Peter Pesic opens
the door to observations and thoughts about light, color, vision,
and atmosphere, from earliest times to the present. He decorates
his account with biographical sketches and suggests experiments for
readers, and at the end he even comes up with the answer." --David
Park, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Williams College, author of
"The Fire within the Eye" and "The Grand Contraption"
--David Park, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Williams College,
author of "The Fire within the Eye" and "The Grand Contraption"
--Hans Christian von Baeyer, Chancellor Professor of Physics,
College of William and Mary, author of "Information: The New
Language of Science"
--Oliver Sacks, author of "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a
Hat"
--Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1981), author of
"The Same and Not the Same"
--Robert P. Kirshner, Clowes Professor of Science, Harvard
University, author of "The Extravagant Universe"
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