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Arnab Rai Choudhuri
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Nature's Third Cycle: A Story of Sunspots 1st Edition

by Arnab Rai Choudhuri (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 31 ratings
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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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  1. ISBN-10
    0199674752
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199674756
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    March 29, 2015
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    8.5 x 0.9 x 5.6 inches
  8. Print length
    294 pages
  9. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
31 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Robert Lee Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars 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.
4 people found this helpful
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Manisha Mukherjee
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Intersting Story
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2015
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Astrophysics is not my subject. But this book I enjoy reading very much as the writing style is excellent and except for a few core things it is mostly for common readers. Even with little knowledge of science, reader will be able to follow the contents from beginning to end. Of course the beginning is more exciting to me than the end. Arnab is a very good author of many textbooks. This book is a different one, but highly interesting. Cover design is attractive. I shall recommend this book to anyone who loves to read books on science.
3 people found this helpful
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Bill Boverie
5.0 out of 5 stars 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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T2U
3.0 out of 5 stars Sun spots are THE premise of the book.
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2017
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I found the self description innocent and humble at first, but he has something unresolved/requited with an x doctoral student. At very near the end, while reading, I felt like the author must as come to this point and said "Now, at least, she knows my whole side of the story. I did feel mad and used. However I did learn some interesting things:magnetohydrodynamics is a broad topic, it is magnetic properties of plasma under heat/pressure/convection/etc. There is no math, so it makes it easy to see if the concepts make sense. No logic behind why an 11 year solar cycle would propagate at just such periodicity or why 70 straight years of sun spot minimum would not blow up the 11 year hypothesis. ...Sun spots are THE premise of the book.
2 people found this helpful
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Bill Fletcher
5.0 out of 5 stars A most fascinating book ... with a human touch
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 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.
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Just another reviewer
4.0 out of 5 stars 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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Laura w
5.0 out of 5 stars 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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Amelia
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Sunspot Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 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.
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Top reviews from other countries

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K. J. Kilburn
4.0 out of 5 stars 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.
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Rocky Jamwal
5.0 out of 5 stars 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
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Der lesende Achim
5.0 out of 5 stars 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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Susanta Ghosh
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on April 1, 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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