Nature's Third Cycle: A Story of Sunspots Reprint Edition

by Arnab Rai Choudhuri (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0198807643

ISBN-10: 0198807643

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The cycle of day and night and the cycle of seasons are two familiar natural cycles around which many human activities are organized. But is there a third natural cycle of importance for us humans? On 13 March 1989, six million people in Canada went without electricity for many hours: a large
explosion on the sun was discovered as the cause of this blackout. Such explosions occur above sunspots, dark features on the surface of the Sun that have been observed through telescopes since the time of Galileo.

The number of sunspots has been found to wax and wane over a period of 11 years. Although this cycle was discovered less than two centuries ago, it is becoming increasingly important for us as human society becomes more dependent on technology. For nearly a century after its discovery, the cause of
the sunspot cycle remained completely shrouded in mystery. The 1908 discovery of strong magnetic fields in sunspots made it clear that the 11-year cycle is the magnetic cycle of the sun. It is only during the last few decades that major developments in plasma physics have at last given us the clue
to the origins of the cycle and how the large explosions affecting the earth arise.

Nature's Third Cycle discusses the fascinating science behind the sunspot cycle, and gives an insider's perspective of this cutting-edge scientific research from one of the leaders of the field.

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Editorial Reviews

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"Choudhuri gives us a condensed history of the study of the sun and of sunspots over the past few centuries back to Galileo Gailiei, whose discovery of the Sun's 27-day rotation marked the serious start of solar physics... The remarkable tale includes skilled amateurs as well as professional
academics, the rivalries between the main players, and a probable husband-wife murder-suicide thrown into the mix. Yes, there is a lot in the story of studying the sun, and the author does a masterful job of making it a fascinating read." -- Simon Constable, Forbes

"A fascinating, engaging and enjoyable book." -- Contemporary Physics

"This captivating book immerses the readers in the development of solar physics as though they were participating in a theatre play. Many personal memories provide fascinating links to the historical development of solar science. It is a book hard to put down once started!" -- Pascal Demoulin,
Observatoire de Paris

"Going through Nature's Third Cycle - A Story of Sunspots by Arnab Rai Choudhuri is equivalent to having a ringside view of the gradual unveiling of one of the abiding mysteries associated with the Sun ... In the academic community, Rai Choudhuri is known as a wonderful teacher and a brilliant
scientist. He uses his expertise as a teacher to take the readers effortlessly through the complexities of solar physics." -- Sushan Konar, Resonance

"This [book] establishes new (unprecedentedly high) standards of scientific writing ... Already in the beginning, the reviewer has to tell that this book is among the best he has ever taken in his hands ... It should be stressed that reading this book will be easy for geoscientists ... [and] will
attract more young people to science." -- Dmitry A. Ruban, Zentralblatt fuer Geologie und Palaeontologie

About the Author

Arnab Rai Choudhuri, Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

Arnab Rai Choudhuri is a Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science. He received his PhD in 1985 from the University of Chicago under the supervision of Eugene Parker, usually regarded as the most influential solar physicist of our time. Choudhuri has carried on theoretical research on
the formation of sunspots and the 11-year sunspot cycle. He was one of the originators of the flux transport dynamo model, the currently favoured theoretical model of the 11-year sunspot cycle. He is the author of two advanced textbooks, The Physics of Fluids and Plasmas (CUP, 1998) and Astrophysics
for Physicists (CUP, 2010), used in many universities around the world.

Contributors:

Nigel Weiss

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (September 13, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0198807643
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0198807643
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.7 x 5.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,141,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #613 in Star-Gazing (Books)
- #1,206 in Astronomy & Astrophysics
- #3,294 in Astrophysics & Space Science (Books)

Customer Reviews:
21 ratings

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Robert Lee Brown

The best I've seen on sunspots.

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2017

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I've been interested in astronomy for seventy years. The last twenty years have found me making daily sunspot observations so I do have some knowledge on the subject. I judge the level of it's presentation at that of an advanced amateur or college sophomore. The book is a little bit of a autobiography, as it should be, in that the author has contributed more than a little to the subject. The book builds from the early study of the sun to recent developments. Essential concepts are carefully explained and periodically reviewed. Numerous photos and drawings appear throughout. Advanced technical details are placed in the appendices.

5 people found this helpful

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Just another reviewer

The author's enthusiasm for the subject carries this book.

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2021

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Although the book sometimes borders on being a bit too technical, it is nonetheless a fascinating description of solar science.

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Amelia

Interesting Sunspot Book

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2020

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This book was very technical but still quite interesting. I liked the writing style which was like he was talking to you. I also liked his explanation of the 11 year sunspot cycle.

One person found this helpful

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Bill Fletcher

A most fascinating book ... with a human touch

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020

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A fascinating book about the science, touched with personal, human anecdotes. It is brilliantly positioned to stretch the non-physicist to get further into the physics of the sun. What a wonderful career to spend your time ... as Feynman said ... finding things out.

One person found this helpful

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Bill Boverie

Comprehensive Review of Solar Theory

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2019

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While written for non-scientists, it is for the serious reader. It gives a history of solar research that is very interesting, but sometimes he describes theories as fact, only to subsequently disprove it. This in fine as history, but gets in the way of a reader wanting to learn solar theory.

2 people found this helpful

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Laura w

Solar physics

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2019

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To understand what climate is doing now and in the probable future we must get sunspots

One person found this helpful

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Mike Thacher

Spots affect climate and even weather but not clear exactly how.

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018

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Interesting take on sunspots role in human development and life on Earth.

One person found this helpful

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Michael Gorbanyov

Interesting book

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2018

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Interesting book about our sun, how it works, and its impact on earth

One person found this helpful

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K. J. Kilburn

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 15, 2016

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Somewhat autobiographical but a good summary of current solar physics in a very readable form.

Der lesende Achim

Sehr lehrreich

Reviewed in Germany on May 17, 2015

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und dazu spannend geschrieben, eines der besten allgemeinverständlichen Bücher zum Thema Sonnenphysik, das ich gelesen habe. Der Autor ist Professor für theoretische Physik und beschäftigt sich daher auf recht hohem Niveau mit dem magnetohydrodynamischen Dynamo der Sonne und mit dem einhergehenden Sonnenflecken-Zyklus. In diesem Buch wählt er jedoch einen historischen und experimentellen Ansatz, der fast ohne Mathematik auskommt. Ich bin bisher davon ausgegangen, dass man ohne Mathe hier nichts verstehen kann, aber ich habe nun das Gefühl, zumindest einen guten Überblick zu haben. Die Grundelemente des mathematischen Models hat der Autor in einen kleinen Anhang ausgelagert, in dem ich nur die allereinfachsten Sachen (ideales Gasgesetz) verstehe, die komplizierteren Ausdrücke (Maxwell- und Navier-Stokes-Gleichungen) verstehe ich nach wie vor nicht im Geringsten. Trotzdem, die zugrunde liegenden Ideen des aktuellen Models sind sehr anschaulich dargestellt, ich sehe Sonnenflecken und überhaupt den ganzen Stern jetzt mit ganz anderen Augen. Das Buch ist an einigen Stellen sehr persönlich, ohne dabei unsachlich zu sein, ein Umstand, der den Text meiner Ansicht noch interessanter macht. Darüberhinaus versäumt Herr Choudhuri nicht, auf Lücken in der Theorie und auf andere Standpunkte zu verweisen.

Das Buch hat knapp 300 Seiten, etwa im A5 Format, der Umfang ist also überschaubar. Es gibt einige Grafiken und Abbildungen, alle schwarz-weiß, keine großformatigen, farbigen Bilder, die ganze Sache ist eher textlastig und zielt ganz klar auf die Darstellung der physikalischen Zusammenhänge. Ich schreibe das, weil die vielen in den letzten Jahren entstandenen Fotografien in der Astronomie zwar alle wunderschön anzusehen sind, aber in Bildbänden zusammengefasst als "Sachbücher" verkauft werden, die tatsächlich aber nichts weiter als Bilderbücher sind. Das ist hier angenehmerweise nicht der Fall. Weiter hinten gibt es wie gesagt den (kurzen) mathematischen Anhang, Verweise auf die zitierten wissenschaftlichen Artikel sowie ein Literatur- und ein Stichwortverzeichnis.

Das Englisch ist mit B2-Niveau gut zu verstehen, ich schreibe Mal ein Beispiel auf: "... If a liquid is a good conductor of electricity, then it also would have some characteristics of a plasma and would obey the basic equations of MHD. Mercury is one such liquid. ...".

Das Buch ist super geeignet für Hobby-Astronomen, insbesondere wenn sie sich für die Sonne interessieren. Davon ausgehend, dass die sich zunehmend verbessernden Beobachtungsmethoden auch bei anderen Sternen immer mehr Informationen über magnetische Aktivitäten liefern werden, ist es auch für die dann entstehenden Diskussionen eine gute Grundlage. Ganz abgesehen von vielen weiteren astronomischen Phänomenen, die durch die Aktivität der Sonne verursacht werden, wie Flares, CMEs, Sonnenwind, Polarlicht usw.

2 people found this helpful

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Rocky Jamwal

beautifully explained by

Reviewed in India on March 12, 2016

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Its simply a Master Piece, one must buy it. beautifully explained by author

Susanta Ghosh

Five Stars

Reviewed in India on March 31, 2015

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A facinating and personal account of a phenomenon that we do not think much about.

One person found this helpful

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Nature's Third Cycle: A Story of Sunspots Reprint Edition

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