Vaclav Smil
Author
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
"An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist's investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our...
Author
Pub. Date
2021.
Language
English
Formats
Description
"Vaclav Smil's mission is to make facts matter. An environmental scientist, policy analyst, and a hugely prolific author, he is Bill Gates' go-to guy for making sense of our world. In Numbers Don't Lie, Smil answers questions such as: What's worse for the environment--your car or your phone? How much do the world's cows weigh (and what does it matter)? And what makes people happy?"--
Author
Language
English
Description
Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows -- ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity -- for their civilized existence....
Author
Series
Language
English
Formats
Description
Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of microorganisms and galaxies; it shapes the capabilities of our extraordinarily large brains and the fortunes of our economies. Growth is manifested in annual increments of continental crust, a rising gross domestic product, a child's growth chart, the spread of cancerous cells. In this magisterial book, Vaclav Smil offers systematic...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
What makes a human society too big? What about a human being? Which alternative energy sources have the best chance of scaling and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels? Why do tall people make more money? What makes a face beautiful? How about a cathedral? How can changing the size of your plates help you lose weight?
To answer the most important questions of our age, we must understand size. Neither bacteria nor empires are immune to its laws....
Author
Publisher
The MIT Press
Pub. Date
[2023]
Language
English
Description
"Smil presents the long history and modern infatuation with invention and innovation. Meticulous as always, these vast realms of human ingenuity are organized into sensible categories: inventions that went from welcome to undesirable, inventions that dominate and missed the mark, inventions we still dream about, and lastly, the exaggerations, myths, and wise expectations for innovations we need most"--
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
In Made in the USA, Vaclav Smil powerfully rebuts the notion that manufacturing is a relic of predigital history, and that the loss of American manufacturing is a desirable evolutionary step toward a pure service economy. Smil argues that no advanced economy can prosper without a strong, innovative manufacturing sector and the jobs it creates.
Smil explains how manufacturing became a fundamental force behind America's economic, strategic, and social...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
"The modern world was created through the combination and complex interactions of five grand transitions. First, the demographic transition changed the total numbers, dynamics, structure, and residential pattern of populations. The agricultural and dietary transition led to the emergence of highly productive cropping and animal husbandry (subsidized by fossil energies and electricity), which eliminated famines, reduced malnutrition, and improved the...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
In this book, Vaclav Smil argues that power density is a key determinant of the nature and dynamics of energy systems. Any understanding of complex energy systems must rely on quantitative measures of many fundamental variables. Power density - the rate of energy flux per unit of area - is an important but largely overlooked measure. Smil provides the first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of the power...
Author
Language
English
Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of How the World Really Works, a wide-ranging look at the most fundamental governing principle of our world: size, whose laws, limits, and peculiarities offer the key to understanding health, wealth, and even happiness
To answer the most important questions of our age, we must understand size. Neither bacteria nor empires are immune to its laws. Measuring it is challenging, especially where complex systems...
Author
Language
English
Description
Energy expert Vaclav Smil presents a sharp-witted and approachable guide to oil's origins, exploration, extraction and use. This book is the perfect starting point for readers who wish to understand the science and culture behind our oil-driven world. Energy expert Vaclav Smil presents a sharp-witted and approachable guide to oil's origins, exploration, extraction and use. This book is the perfect starting point for readers who wish to understand...
Author
Language
Español
Description
La energía es la única moneda de cambio universal. Sin transformación de energía, no hay nada. La vida en la Tierra depende de la conversión de la energía solar en biomasa vegetal, mientras que los seres humanos hemos aprendido a utilizar otros flujos de energía, como los combustibles fósiles o la generación fotovoltaica de electricidad. En esta monumental historia, Vaclav Smil ofrece una impresionante panorámica de cómo la energía ha...
Author
Publisher
MIT Press
Pub. Date
©2010
Language
English
Description
"America's post-Cold War strategic dominance and its pre-recession affluence inspired pundits to make celebratory comparisons to ancient Rome at its most powerful. Now, with America no longer perceived as invulnerable, engaged in protracted fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffering the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, comparisons are to the bloated, decadent, ineffectual later Empire. In Why America Is Not a New Rome, Vaclav...
Author
Publisher
Distributed by Rowman & Littlefield
Pub. Date
c2010
Language
English
Description
Myth: New energy sources and technical innovations will eliminate the need for fossil fuels within a few decades. Reality: Comprehensive energy transitions take several generations. Myth: Carbon sequestration is the solution to global climate change. Reality: Because of its costs, technical challenges, and problems with social acceptance, carbon sequestration will not be able to prevent further substantial rise in carbon emissions. Myth: Electric...
Author
Series
Publisher
Oneworld Publications
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Sheds light on the science behind global warming and the efforts to prevent it, and explains how our daily decisions affect energy consumption. Whether you're looking for dinner table conversation or to further your own understanding, this book will amaze and inform, uncovering the truths and exposing the myths behind one of the most important concepts in our universe.
Author
Publisher
MIT Press
Pub. Date
©2010
Language
English
Description
""In Prime Movers, Smil's passion for the Cinderellas of civilization focuses on the diesel engines and gas turbines that power ocean vessels and wide-body jets. These engines have made ocean shipping and intercontinental air travel so cheap that they have changed the face of our planet. Marshall McLuhan's dreams of a Global Village have become true in unimagined ways. Being an engineer myself, I admire the way Smil portrays the human Cinderellas...