Five. The Cosmic Distance Ladder

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Preface ix
4. Introduction. Why Should We Care about the Unity of Science? 1
5. Unveiling the Universe
6. One. Motions Seen in the Sky 15
7. Two. Modeling the Motion of Celestial Bodies 26
8. Three. The Telescope and the Speed of Light 43
9. Four. The Law of Gravitation, the Discovery of Planets, and Special and General Theories of Relativity 54
10. Five. The Cosmic Distance Ladder 76
11. Six. The Cosmic Microwave Background 99
12. Seven. Dark Matter and Dark Energy 110
13. The Earth and Its Fossils
14. Eight. The Origin, Shape, and Size of the Earth 125
15. Nine. The Earth’s Innards 132
16. Ten. The Evolution of the Earth’s Surface 148
17. Eleven. The Structure of Matter 171
18. Twelve. The Age of the Earth 185
19. Thirteen. Fossils 197
20. Fourteen. Sauropods: A Comprehensive, yet Superfi cial, Look 206
21. Fifteen. The Demise of the Dinosaurs 219
22. The Story of Life
23. Sixteen. Story of Life: Darwin’s, Wallace’s, and Mendel’s Contributions 237
24. Seventeen. The Molecular Basis of Heredity 251
25. Eighteen. DNA: The Hereditary Molecule and Its Structure 264
26. Nineteen. Properties and Functions of DNA 275
27. Twenty. The Origin of Life, the Tree of Life, and Samples of Evolution 284
28. Twenty-One. Tardigrades, the Applications of DNA, and the Human Spread across the Globe 300
29. Twenty-Two. The Search for Extraterrestrial Life 316
30. Bibliography 331
31. Index 351