The Science of Discworld Revised Edition

130–1
    Mitchell, Joni 79
    mitochondria 196
    mixture vs compound 72
    modules, of the brain 339
    molecules 53, 77, 79, 101–3, 133–4, 157–8, 163, 197, 215 , 217, 272
    vibration of 163
    weight of 157–8
    monsters, dinosaurs as 303, 309
    Moon 32–5, 37, 39, 116–8, 167–179, 181, 189, 252, 262, 301, 367, 369, 380
    formation of 174–5
    gravity of 37
    movement of 35
    rock 172–3
    rotation of 173
    as satellite 117, 170
    theories about origin 172–5
    travelling to 37, 367, 380
    moons 132–3
    Morgan, Elaine 336
    morganucodontids 284, 318–9
    Morris, Simon Conway 240
    mosasaurs 285–6, 309–10
    mosquitoes 311
    Motion, Law(s) of (Newton’s) 94,119
    mountains 58, 142
    Mount St Helens volcano 141
    multi-celled creatures 231
    multiplex minds 355–6
    mutations 218, 239*, 336
    Myrabo, Leik 368
    N
    Namibia 366
    narrative imperative 10, 11, 41, 58, 267, 270, 302
    narrativium 10, 11, 18, 55, 73, 77, 79*, 99, 107, 113, 138, 152–3, 188, 218, 221, 236, 246, 265, 267–8, 272, 274, 295, 374
    NASA 131,132,171–2, 367, 370–1
    national cultures 352
    natural disasters 301, 365, 379
    natural selection 211–4
    Nature
23
    nature, living in harmony with 312
    nautilus 309
    neap tides 177
    Nectocaris
241
    negative electrical charge 76
    neon, atomic weight of 74
    Neptune 117–8, 157
    nerve cells 338–9, 349
    nests 340
    neural networks of the brain 339, 349
    neurophysiology and culture 347
    neutrons 22–4, 60, 76–9, 81–2
    slow 22–4
    neutron stars 82, 126–7, 258–9, 373
    Newlands, John 75
    Newton, Isaac 40, 56, 77, 90–4, 100,107, 119, 123, 176
    Law of Gravity 40, 90, 92, 176
    Law(s) of Motion 94, 119
    Newtonian mechanics 91
    newts 325
    New Zealand 148, 321
    Next Generation Space Telescope 130
    nickel 117
    Nile Perch 310
    Nilsson, Daniel 214, 336
    nitric acid 162
    nitrogen 73–4, 79, 157, 162, 231
    atomic weight of 74
    Noah’s ark 35
    North America 147, 312, 320
    novas 80, 83, 258
    Novell, Mark 292
    nuclear chain reaction 22
    nuclear fission 23–4
    nuclear forces 27
    nuclear fusion 79
    nuclear power 22, 32
    nuclear reactions 24, 76, 79–81, 122, 157, 259
    nuclear warfare 158, 364–5
    nuclear weapons 80
    nuclear winter 158, 307
    nucleus 76–7, 195, 198, 215
    solar system as model for 76–7
    O
    oceanography 370
    oceans
    on Earth 36, 118, 140, 142, 147–8, 156, 158, 162, 164–5, 175–6, 197–8, 227–9, 231–2, 243, 306, 316, 321, 323
    in Europa 133–5
    on Mars 133
    see also
seas
    octopuses 310
    oil 229
    Oklo’s ‘natural reactor’ 24–6
    olivine 142
    Omnès, Roland 110
    One Million Years BC
285
    Oort, Jan Hendrik 255–6
    Oort cloud 117,129, 255–7
    opossums 320
    optical astronomy 130–1
    optical interferometer arrays (aka flocks) 131
    optical telescopes 130–1
    oral cultures 353
    orangutans 336
    orbital tower 370
    orbits, planetary, as elliptical 90, 117
    organic life on Europa 133–5
    Origin of Species, The
(Darwin) 210
    origin of universe 52–62
    Ornithomimus
291
    orreries 124
    Oscar II, King of Sweden 12
    Outline of History
(Wells) 282–3
    overpopulation 365
    oxygen 72–4, 76, 79, 118, 122, 140 , 157–65, 184, 230, 232, 251, 284, 307
    atomic weight of 74, 76
    oxygen-18 (radioactive isotope of oxygen) 230
    P
    Pacific Ocean 142, 148, 306
    Paillard, Didier 229
    Palaeocene/Eocene extinction 232
    palaeontology 200, 241, 303–4, 307, 324
    Pangea 146–7
    Pan paniscus
334
    Pan troglodytes
334
    parasite 286
    Parameciums 134
    parental relationships and sex 341
    parochials (features of organisms) 243
    pattern-recognition device, brain as 338
    Pearson, Jerome 370
    Pegasi (51 Pegasi star) 129
    Pelger, Susanne 214, 336
    Penrose, Roger 23†
    periodic charts (Mendeleev) 75–6
    periodicity 77
    Periodic Table of the Elements 75
    Perlmutter, Saul 94
    Permian era 284–5, 287
    Permian/Triassic extinction 232, 308
    perovskite 142
    Perseids 257
    petrification 200
    phase space 106, 269, 301, 340, 350, 367
    phase transitions 102, 163
    phlogiston 10, 184
    Phobos 117
    phosphorus 231
    photon 104
    photosynthesis 158, 164, 179, 202
    physical sciences 36
    physics 22, 25, 37–9, 44*, 62, 74, 76–8, 80, 102, 109–10, 156, 169, 181, 201, 207, 342
    Pikaia
241
    Pioneer 10 and 11 space probes 93–4
    Pisanosaurus
283
    placental mammals 319–22
    Planck’s constant 25, 26*
    Planet Imager 132
    planets 116–129
    chemical composition of 117
    colonization of 372–3
    extrasolar 123
    formation of 119–22
    isolated 123
    life on other 41
    magnetic fields of 145
    mapping alien (Planet Imager) 132
    as model for electrons