15 Million Degrees: A Journey to the Centre of the Sun
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-13 08:54:03
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Lucie Green
- ISBN：0241963559
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Summary
110 times wider than Earth; 15 million degrees at its core; an atmosphere so huge that Earth is actually within it: come and meet the star of our solar system
Light takes eight minutes to reach Earth from the surface of the Sun。 But its journey within the Sun takes hundreds of thousands of years。 What is going on in there？ What are light and heat？ How does the Sun produce them and how on earth did scientists discover this？
In this astonishing and enlightening adventure， you'll travel millions of miles from inside the Sun to its surface and to Earth， where the light at the end of its journey is allowing you to read right now。 You'll discover how the Sun works （including what it sounds like）， the latest research in solar physics and how a solar storm could threaten everything we know。 And you'll meet the groundbreaking scientists， including the author， who pieced this extraordinary story together。
Light takes eight minutes to reach Earth from the surface of the Sun。 But its journey within the Sun takes hundreds of thousands of years。 What is going on in there？ What are light and heat？ How does the Sun produce them and how on earth did scientists discover this？
In this astonishing and enlightening adventure， you'll travel millions of miles from inside the Sun to its surface and to Earth， where the light at the end of its journey is allowing you to read right now。 You'll discover how the Sun works （including what it sounds like）， the latest research in solar physics and how a solar storm could threaten everything we know。 And you'll meet the groundbreaking scientists， including the author， who pieced this extraordinary story together。
Reviews
Hans
，
This book is an achievement， it's extremely approachable but does not get boring。 It manages to tell an interesting， at points inspiring， story of solar physics。 It's like an undiscovered gem of a book really， and it became so lucrative at points， that I only wished that more time was spent telling the stories and exploring。 It leaves one rather interested and satisfied， but most of all gives a whole new appreciation whenever it is sunny。Also， it's gonna be my go-to gift for my more bookwormy fr This book is an achievement， it's extremely approachable but does not get boring。 It manages to tell an interesting， at points inspiring， story of solar physics。 It's like an undiscovered gem of a book really， and it became so lucrative at points， that I only wished that more time was spent telling the stories and exploring。 It leaves one rather interested and satisfied， but most of all gives a whole new appreciation whenever it is sunny。Also， it's gonna be my go-to gift for my more bookwormy friends。 。。。more
Derek Henderson
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Starts well with enthralling details and an engaging style。 Somewhat loses steam in later parts， when the discussion gets overly technical。 Still an eye-opener， though。
Luke Arnott
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I enjoyed this book。 Lucy's writing style is easy to read。 She managed to discuss complex topics in an informative simple way。 I liked the number of useful diagrams。 The book meandered over many topics relating to the Sun and gave good insight into how science is done。Well worth a read I enjoyed this book。 Lucy's writing style is easy to read。 She managed to discuss complex topics in an informative simple way。 I liked the number of useful diagrams。 The book meandered over many topics relating to the Sun and gave good insight into how science is done。Well worth a read 。。。more
Santosh
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There is a lot to learn about our Star。 This book provides an amazing insight for our Sun。 Highly recommended for everyone who evolved and constantly get nourishing from the prime source of all the form energy on this planet。
Simon
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The authors passion for the subject was clear， and it was mainly easily understood， but got a bit bogged down in magnetic fields， which are a bit unclear to the uninitiated， though an important part given the subject matter， but an interesting read nonetheless， and one that told me things other science books hadn't， which is all you can ask for。 The authors passion for the subject was clear， and it was mainly easily understood， but got a bit bogged down in magnetic fields， which are a bit unclear to the uninitiated， though an important part given the subject matter， but an interesting read nonetheless， and one that told me things other science books hadn't， which is all you can ask for。 。。。more
Anthony
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What a superb book， I couldn’t put it down and feel a little sad that I’ve now finished it。 It’s everything you ever wanted to know about the sun but never dared ask。
Andrew Grenfell
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Our whole world literally revolves around it。 Many religions have worshiped it， probably for 10's of thousands of years。 Any inquiring mind must at some point have wondered how it works， surely？This book delves into the mysteries of our solar system's chief source of power。 A great overview of the topic for those inquiring minds that wanted to scratch the surface a little。 You don't need a knowledge of plasma physics or magnetic interactions。 But， it is pitched at a level where those ideas are Our whole world literally revolves around it。 Many religions have worshiped it， probably for 10's of thousands of years。 Any inquiring mind must at some point have wondered how it works， surely？This book delves into the mysteries of our solar system's chief source of power。 A great overview of the topic for those inquiring minds that wanted to scratch the surface a little。 You don't need a knowledge of plasma physics or magnetic interactions。 But， it is pitched at a level where those ideas are just out of reach。 Thoroughly recommended for any general interest science reader or anyone with an early interest in astronomy or astrophysics。 。。。more
Charlie Keeble
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Very well written with a style that is as bright as the subject itself。 I like the stories that Lucie Green uses to reveal the science behind our star。
Julian Onions
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Pretty good - especially if you like magnetism！ :） The full story of the sun， and all it's bits told in a nice easy way。 I spotted a couple of minor errors， but nothing too upsetting， and I bet no one else would spot them。 Pretty good - especially if you like magnetism！ :） The full story of the sun， and all it's bits told in a nice easy way。 I spotted a couple of minor errors， but nothing too upsetting， and I bet no one else would spot them。 。。。more
Stephen Flanagan
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Very well written， and interesting。 It does what it says on the cover。 It is about the sun， and the history of our understanding of it。
Amy
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Isn't the sun just fascinating？ We only exist on this planet because we happen to be the perfect distance away from the sun。 I've never really known vast amounts about our star， but I do now。 Green's book can be hard to follow at times simply because the things she's describing are so difficult to visualise and comprehend that it fails to make sense。 However， this book is well written enough that after rereading some chapters several times， I finally got there and I feel I can understand a bit o Isn't the sun just fascinating？ We only exist on this planet because we happen to be the perfect distance away from the sun。 I've never really known vast amounts about our star， but I do now。 Green's book can be hard to follow at times simply because the things she's describing are so difficult to visualise and comprehend that it fails to make sense。 However， this book is well written enough that after rereading some chapters several times， I finally got there and I feel I can understand a bit of Green's love for the sun。 I can certainly see why someone might devote their entire career to trying to unlock its secrets。 Definitely a book worth persevering through！ 。。。more
Dan Cohen
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An entertaining and informative read。 I found the tone a bit too light overall， although， conversely， the sections where the author gets into details of how the magnetic field of the sun works were difficult。 For me， I'd have liked a bit more on the fusion processes， especially on how these are expected to progress through the later stages of the sun's life。 An entertaining and informative read。 I found the tone a bit too light overall， although， conversely， the sections where the author gets into details of how the magnetic field of the sun works were difficult。 For me， I'd have liked a bit more on the fusion processes， especially on how these are expected to progress through the later stages of the sun's life。 。。。more
Nicky
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If you want to know all the things we know or guess about the sun， this is definitely the book for you。 Lucie Green isn’t just a science communicator — she’s actually doing the research， so she knows what the current questions are， what the latest research is， and all the history of how we came to know what we know。 Her enthusiasm is plain throughout， and she does a good job of describing both the actual physical events of the sun， and the sensation of observing and understanding them。If you’re If you want to know all the things we know or guess about the sun， this is definitely the book for you。 Lucie Green isn’t just a science communicator — she’s actually doing the research， so she knows what the current questions are， what the latest research is， and all the history of how we came to know what we know。 Her enthusiasm is plain throughout， and she does a good job of describing both the actual physical events of the sun， and the sensation of observing and understanding them。If you’re not hugely into physics， you might find that a few chapters do start to drag。 But for the most part， it’s a fascinating book — and there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t know。Reviewed for The Bibliophibian。 。。。more
Pete daPixie
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'15 Million Degrees' is a cool book on a red hot subject。 As an amateur astronomer with a large computer controlled astro scope， Lucie Green's book has inspired me to utilise my optics to view our star in hydrogen alpha wavelengths。 Living on the misty twisty moors of northern England where the night sky is often obscured by clouds， turning my observing to day time may well be productive。For the casual reader who wishes to take Lucie's 'journey to the centre of the sun' I'm sure that they will n '15 Million Degrees' is a cool book on a red hot subject。 As an amateur astronomer with a large computer controlled astro scope， Lucie Green's book has inspired me to utilise my optics to view our star in hydrogen alpha wavelengths。 Living on the misty twisty moors of northern England where the night sky is often obscured by clouds， turning my observing to day time may well be productive。For the casual reader who wishes to take Lucie's 'journey to the centre of the sun' I'm sure that they will not be totally blinded by science。 Admittedly there are sections of this book that cover magnetic helicity and flux ropes that I had to take in small bites， but generally for all things solar this book provides a fully comprehensive， fact packed， and intelligently explained up to date study of the complex dynamics of our sun。 。。。more
Justin
，
This was a really interesting and accessible guide to the Sun and its workings。 I've found the clear scientific explanations to be a really helpful complement to my undergraduate astronomy course。 Green also weaves in the history of discoveries about the Sun。 This was a really interesting and accessible guide to the Sun and its workings。 I've found the clear scientific explanations to be a really helpful complement to my undergraduate astronomy course。 Green also weaves in the history of discoveries about the Sun。 。。。more
Madhav
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Want to Know your Sun - Read this book， you won't find anything betterThis book covers every aspect of knowledge/information about the Sun。 From the first tentative steps taken by humans to fathom it's own star to the details of inner workings and the tremendous reach of the solar atmosphere has been covered in easy conversational style。 The description of difficult concepts like magnetic field reconnection have been deftly handled using easy to understand analogies。The tale has many a personal Want to Know your Sun - Read this book， you won't find anything betterThis book covers every aspect of knowledge/information about the Sun。 From the first tentative steps taken by humans to fathom it's own star to the details of inner workings and the tremendous reach of the solar atmosphere has been covered in easy conversational style。 The description of difficult concepts like magnetic field reconnection have been deftly handled using easy to understand analogies。The tale has many a personal touches and the author has been able to communicate her enthusiasm for this very specialised subject strongly。It is probably the only non-academic book dealing exclusively with the Sun。 A must read for everybody interested in science writings and the state of knowledge about solar physics。However， this book shouldn't be read on b/w ebook reader。 Lots of details are lost without colour。 I'd to switch to my android tablet from Kindle paperwhite midway。 。。。more
John Kaye
，
In the end I found this book becoming too full of 'what I did next'， and it began to feel less of a popular science approach than a piece of self-publicity。 A shame， because the early chapters were clear and useful。 In the end I found this book becoming too full of 'what I did next'， and it began to feel less of a popular science approach than a piece of self-publicity。 A shame， because the early chapters were clear and useful。 。。。more
Richard Flude
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A must read for anyone interested in how the sun works。 Written in everyday language with only 2 equations this should appeal to everyone。
BS
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Explained some key concepts that I had struggled to get my head around for many years。 Also included many 'no way！' Moments where you just want to find someone to explain the amazing thing you have just learnt about an object that nearly everyone takes for granted。 Well written science。 Explained some key concepts that I had struggled to get my head around for many years。 Also included many 'no way！' Moments where you just want to find someone to explain the amazing thing you have just learnt about an object that nearly everyone takes for granted。 Well written science。 。。。more
Stefan Vucak
，
Ever since I pointed my telescope at the Sun， projecting an image onto a piece of paper and saw the sunspots for myself - they were actually there！ - I have always been fascinated by the star that gave us life。 I have seen documentaries that showed blazing flares， coronal mass ejections， images taken using different frequency ‘light’， effects on Earth's magnetic field， which were all fascinating， but they did not fully explain what was really going on inside the Sun to cause all these effects。Pr Ever since I pointed my telescope at the Sun， projecting an image onto a piece of paper and saw the sunspots for myself - they were actually there！ - I have always been fascinated by the star that gave us life。 I have seen documentaries that showed blazing flares， coronal mass ejections， images taken using different frequency ‘light’， effects on Earth's magnetic field， which were all fascinating， but they did not fully explain what was really going on inside the Sun to cause all these effects。Professor Lucie Green's '15 Million Degrees' finally answered all my questions， and much more。 I read the book in one session， which took me late into the night， but it was worth the trip。 Professor Green has a writing style that is easy to read， yet she is able to impart highly technical information that is readily understood - the reader does need at least an entry level university education in nuclear physics， chemistry and astronomy to absorb everything。The book smoothly traces the history of astronomy and Solar observation， development of quantum theory and understanding of the atom， which over time helped scientists understand what the Sun was， what powers it， and its behavior。 Professor Green sprinkles her work with fascinating snippets of research done over the last 150 years and eureka moments that has led to our understanding of not only our own star， but stars throughout the universe。 When it came to explaining some tough processes that go on inside the Sun - how light escapes， what are sunspots， flares， threats to Earth - Professor Green tackled these with skill without resorting to highly technical explanations。 The book left me with a much deeper understanding of our Sun， the journey immensely satisfying and rewarding。 。。。more
Stephen
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