The Chronologers' Quest

The Search for the Age of the Earth

Patrick Wyse Jackson author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:1st Mar '18

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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The Chronologers' Quest cover

Investigates the methods used to determine the Earth's age from those with little scientific background to scientists in Earth sciences.

This book investigates the methods used to determine the Earth's age, from James Ussher and John Lightfoot examining biblical chronologies, to Arthur Holmes and Clair Patterson investigating radioactive dating of rocks. It will be of interest to those with little scientific background, and students and scientists in the Earth sciences.The debate over the age of the Earth has been ongoing for over two thousand years, and has pitted physicists and astronomers against biologists, and religious philosophers against geologists. The Chronologers' Quest tells the fascinating story of our attempts to determine the age of the Earth. This book investigates the many novel methods used in the search for the Earth's age, from James Ussher and John Lightfoot examining biblical chronologies, and from Comte de Buffon and Lord Kelvin determining the length of time for the cooling of the Earth, to the more recent investigations of Arthur Holmes and Clair Patterson into radioactive dating of rocks and meteorites. The Chronologers' Quest is a readable account of the measurement of geological time. It will be of great interest to a wide range of readers, from those with little scientific background to students and scientists in a wide range of the Earth sciences.

"...interesting and accessible to a general audience ... Jackson lays out the information clearly and chronologically, making it an excellent resource for researchers." Sky & Telescope

ISBN: 9781108462532

Dimensions: 230mm x 152mm x 18mm

Weight: 500g

309 pages