John Gribbin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John R. Gribbin (b. 1946) is a British science writer and a visiting Fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex.
[edit] Biography
John Gribbin graduated with a degree in physics from the University of Sussex In 1966. He later completed an MSc in Astronomy, also from Sussex (1967) and a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Cambridge (1971).
As a science writer, he has worked for the science journal Nature, and the magazine New Scientist and has written for The Times, The Guardian and the Independent as well as their Sunday counterparts and BBC radio.
He is best known for his book In Search of Schrödinger's Cat (1984), the definitive bluffer's guide to quantum physics.
In 1974 he published, with Stephen Plagemann, a book with the idea that the massive planet Jupiter would destroy Los Angeles by setting off an earthquake in 1982. This became the infamous The Jupiter Effect, which predicted: "in 1982, when Jupiter aligns with Mars and with the other seven planets of the solar system, Los Angeles will be destroyed" .[1]. Gribbin repudiated it in the July 17, 1980 issue of New Scientist where he stated that he had been "too clever by half." [2] In 1988, in an article in Nature (vol 331 page 570), Gribbin was the first person to suggest that the greenhouse effect might be reduced by adding iron to the oceans as a "fertiliser."
He published his 100th book, The Fellowship, in 2005.
[edit] Bibliography
Partial list
- (2005) Deep Simplicity: Bringing Order to Chaos and Complexity. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6256-X.
- (2005) The Fellowship: The Story of a Revolution. Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-9745-1. (the story of the Royal Society)
- (2005) Annus Mirabilis: 1905, Albert Einstein, and the Theory of Relativity. (coauthor Mary Gribbin) Chamberlain Bros. ISBN 1-59609-144-4 (includes DVD)
- (2004) The Scientists: A History of Science Told Through the Lives of Its Greatest Inventors. Random House. ISBN 0-8129-6788-7.
- (2004) FitzRoy: The Remarkable Story of Darwin's Captain and the Invention of the Weather Forecast. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10361-1
- (2003) Science: A History 1543-2001. Gardners Books. ISBN 0-14-029741-3
- (2003) Get a Grip on Physics. Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-7607-3748-7
- (2003) Big Numbers: A Mind Expanding Trip to Infinity and Back. (coauthor Mary Gribbin) Wizard Books 2005 edition. ISBN 1-84046-661-8
- (2002) How the Brain Works. DK Adult. ISBN 0-7894-8420-X
- (2001) The Birth of Time: How Astronomers Measured the Age of the Universe. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08914-7
- (2001) Stardust: Supernovae and Life | The Cosmic Connection. (coauthor Mary Gribbin) Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09097-8
- (2000) The Case of the Missing Neutrinos (and Other Curious Phenomena of the Universe). Penguin. ISBN 0-14-028734-5.
- (2000) Stardust: Supernovae and Life—The Cosmic Connection. (coauthor Mary Gribbin) Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09097-8
- (2000) Eyewitness: Time & Space. DK Children. ISBN 0-7894-5578-1
- (1999) Q Is for Quantum: An Encyclopedia of Particle Physics. Free Press. ISBN 0-684-85578-X
- (1998) Almost Everyone's Guide to Science: The Universe, Life and Everything. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08460-9
- (1997) Richard Feynman: A Life in Science. (coauthor Mary Gribbin) Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-025334-3
- (1996) Schrödinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality. Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-316-32819-7.
- (1996) Fire on Earth: Doomsday, Dinosaurs, and Humankind. (coauthor Mary Gribbin) St Martins Press. ISBN 0-312-15529-8
- (1994) Einstein : A Life in Science. (coauthor Michael White) Simon & Schuster. Simon & Schuster: ISBN 0-671-01044-1, Gardner's Books: ISBN 0-7432-6389-8
- (1993) Stephen Hawking A Life in Science. (coauthor Michael White) National Academies Press. ISBN 0-452-26988-1, 2002 edition: ISBN 0-309-08410-5
- (1992) In Search of the Edge of Time: Black Holes, White Holes, Worm Holes (US title Unveiling the Edge of Time). Three Rivers Press 1994 reprint: ISBN 0-517-88170-5
- (1990) Gaia. Glassongs
- (1989) Cosmic Coincidences. Bantam paperback: ISBN 0-553-34740-3, New Age paperback: ISBN 0-553-05730-8
- (1987) In Search of the Double Helix. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-34432-3
- (1986) In Search of the Big Bang. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-34617-2.
- (1984) In Search of Schrödinger's Cat: Quantum Physics And Reality. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-34253-3.
- (1983) Beyond the Jupiter Effect. Macdonald. ISBN 0-356-08686-0
- (1982) Jupiter Effect Reconsidered. (coauthor Stephen H. Plageman), Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-70827-X
- (1976) Jupiter Effect: The Planets As Triggers of Devastating Earthquakes. (coauthor Stephen H. Plageman), Random House: ISBN 0-394-72221-3; UK: Fontana 1977 edition (with foreword by Isaac Asimov): ISBN 0-00-634419-4
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