The Science of Discworld Revised Edition

306
    Jeffreys, Sir Harold 147–8
    Jerison, Harry 317
    Johnson Space Center, Houston 172
    junk DNA 218
    Jupiter 93, 117–8, 120, 122, 125, 129, 133, 157, 159, 177, 253, 255, 257, 305, 364, 381
    Jurassic Park
282–3, 289, 302–4, 310, 379
    Jurassic period 291
    K
    Kaloper, Nemanja 94
    kangaroos 38–9, 283, 319–20
    Kant, Immanuel 119–21
    Kant-Laplace theories on formation of solar system 119–21
    Kauffman, Stuart 62
    Kennedy, John F. 293
    Kennedy, Martin 230
    Kennett, James 232
    Kepler, Johannes 90
    kevlar 371
    Khurana, K.K 133
    King, Stephen 329
    Knauth, Paul 165
    Knoll, Andrew 200
    knowledge 16, 34, 40, 44*, 86, 124, 160, 183, 203, 205
    koala ‘bear’ 320
    krypton 23
    K/T boundary extinction 304–7, 309–10
    meteorite 308
    Kuiper belt 117, 257
    Object (KBO) 117–8
    Kumar, Sudhir 324
    Kyte, Frank 306
    L
    Lagrange point L2 131
    Lake Victoria 310
    Langevin, Paul 92
    Langton’s Ant system 104–6
    Laplace, Pierre-Simon de 119–121
    laser propulsion 368
    Laskar, Jaques 124, 177, 179
    lava 167, 172, 279, 307–8
    Lavoisier Antoine 73
    law, effect of on human society 354
    Law of Conservation of Energy 37, 201
    lead 72, 76, 80–1, 113
    Leggett, Anthony 110
    Leonids 257
    Leonov, Alexei 370
    levitation (magnetic) 372
    Lewis, Roy 197*
    library-space (L-space) 203, 348
    ‘lies-to-children’ 43, 44*, 51, 80*, 109, 143,173, 215, 282, 290, 352
    life
    alien 134, 380–1
    as a rarity 250
    as a robust phenomenon 250
    on Europa 133–5
    and catastrophes 300
    diversity of 209, 226, 232, 241–2, 301, 317, 322
    and non-life 37, 196, 215
    on other planets 380–1
    repetitiousness of 300
    resilience 279, 300, 364
    rules about 295, 300
    and space elevators 39, 201–2
    Life Finder (project) 131
    life sciences 36–7
    Life of the Universe, The
(Smolin) 62
    light
    bending (gravitational lensing) 92
    and dark 180, 182–4, 186–7
    emitted by quasars 26
    speed of 13, 23, 25–6, 91–2, 182, 259
    in relativity theory 91–2
    from stars 57, 125–6
    waves 130
    lime 73
    Linnaean Society 210
    liquids 71–2, 156, 184
    lithium 79
    atomic weight of 74
    lizards 276–7, 279, 281, 295–8, 309, 314–5, 332, 342, 374, 384
    and birds 207
    and dinosaurs 302, 303*, 304
    Loch Ness monster 309–10
    Lorentz, Hendrik 91
    Lost World, The
(Doyle) 282
    Lovelock, James 252
    Lucy (Australopithecine fossil) 294, 337
    Lugmair, G.W. 306
    Lunar Curatorial Facility, Houston 172
    lunar eclipses 35
    M
    McCord, T.B. 134
    machine, intelligent 348–50
    macroscopic systems 109
    madness, Moon and 171
    Magaritz, Mordeckai 232
    magic
    and alchemy 72
    and science 32–44
    spells 72
    and symbols 42
    and technology 40
    and television 41–2
    Magical Event Horizon 41, 78
    magic numbers 81–3
    magnesium 165
    magnetic monopoles 78
    magnetism
    of Earth 44,127,143–5
    of Europa 133
    of pulsars 127
    magnetopause 145
    magnetotail 145
    main sequence (of stars) 259
    Make-a-Human-Being-Kit 352–4
    malaria 311
    Malthus, Thomas 100
    mammals 160, 164, 241, 243, 283, 304, 316–29, 335, 378, 384
    Manicouagan 253
    mantis shrimp, mind of 350–1
    mantle, Earth’s 142, 146–8, 172
    Maoris 312
    Marcy, Geoffrey 129
    maria 172, 175
    Mariana Trench 142, 306
    Mars 117–8, 125,132–3,174, 178, 252, 305, 372
    ocean on 133
    Mars Global Surveyor 133
    Marsh, David 336
    marsupials 319–21
    Martin, Michael 93
    Mass (of elementary particles) 60
    mass extinctions 287
    of dinosaurs 301, 305–12
    mastodons 312
    mathematics 12, 56, 89, 91, 103–5, 119, 124, 145, 147, 208, 214, 240, 271, 275, 338, 340
    rules of 100
    matter into energy by nuclear fission 23–4
    Mayor, Michel 129
    mechanics, Newtonian 91
    Mediterranean sea 323
    meerkats 340
    Meitner, Lise 23–4
    melting points 73, 82
    Mendeleev, Dimitri 75–7, 82
    menstrual cycle 170, 179
    mercury (metal) 75
    Mercury (planet) 90, 117, 124, 171, 252, 259, 307
    mesosaur 285–7
    Mesosaurus
147
    metals 39, 69, 75,114, 141
    meteor 254
    meteorites 118, 132, 159, 172, 238, 254, 305–8, 328, 365
    shower 256
    meteoroid 255–6
    meteorology 146
    methane 118, 123, 157, 162, 164, 229, 232
    methane hydrates 232
    microscopes 182
    microtome 182
    microwaves to launch spacecraft 368
    Middle Ages 71–2, 327–8
    mid-Eocene period 323
    migration 321, 323, 326
    mild glacial ice age 229
    Milankovitch, Milutin 228
    Milgrom, Mordehai 94
    Milgrom’s modification of Newton’s law of motion 94
    Milky Way 258
    mind(s) 73,108,110, 303, 327–8, 339–40, 347–52, 355
    as process 351–2
    minerals 165, 192, 197
    mirrors in radio astronomical telescopes