George Michael Was 23 When He Sat For This Interview, Which Has Never Been Broadcast Before.

List of Free Science Books

Here’s an alphabetical list of all available free books. Note that many of the links will bring you to an external page, usually with more info about the book and the download links. Also, the links are updated as frequently as possible, however some of them might be broken. Broken links are constantly being fixed. In case you want to report a broken link, or a link that violates copyrights, use the contact form.

A

A Beginner’s Guide to Mathematica

A Brief Introduction to Particle Physics

A First Course in General Relativity

A New Astronomy

A No-Nonsense Introduction to General Relativity

A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century, Fourth Edition

A Review of General Chemistry

A Simple Guide to Backyard Astronomy

A Text Book for High School Students Studying Physics

A Tour of Triangle Geometry

About Life: Concepts in Modern Biology

Acoustic Emission

Adaptive Control

Advanced Calculus

Advanced Learning

Advanced Mathematics for Engineers

Advanced Microwave Circuits and Systems

Advanced Technologies

Advances in Computer Science and IT

Advances in Evolutionary Algorithms

Advances in Geoscience and Remote Sensing

Advances in Haptics

Advances in Human Computer Interaction

Age of Einstein

Aging by Design

AMPL:  A Modeling Language for Mathematical Programming

An Introduction to Elementary Particles

An Introduction to Higher Mathematics

An Introduction to Many Worlds in Quantum Computation

An Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning

An Introduction to Mathematics

An Introduction to Proofs and the Mathematical Vernacular

An Introduction to Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

Analysis 1 (Tao T)

Analysis 2 (Tao T)

Analytic Functions

Astronomical Discovery

Astronomy for Amateurs

Astronomy Today

Astronomy with an Opera-Glass

Automation and Robotics

B

Basic Algebra, Topology and Differential Calculus

Basic Concepts of Mathematics

Basic Concepts of Thermodynamics

Basic Concepts of Thermodynamics Chapter 1

Basic Ideas in Chemistry

Basic Math: Quick Reference eBook

Basic Mathematics for Astronomy

Basic Physics

Basic Positional Astronomy

Basic Principles of Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics

Basic Principles of Physics

Basics of Physics

Beginner’s Botany

Biochemistry

Biochemistry (practice book)

Biology

Board Notes for Particle Physics

Book of Proof

C

Calculus

Calculus Based Physics

Celestial Navigation, Elementary Astronomy, Piloting

Circuit QED — Lecture Notes

Classical Dynamics

Classical Geometry

Classical Mechanics

Climate Models

Collaborative Statistics

College Algebra

Complex Analysis

Computational Geometry

Computational Introduction to Number Theory and Algebra

Computational Physics with Python

Conceptual Physics

Consistent Quantum Theory

Cook-Book Of Mathematics

College Physics

Crude Oil Emulsions- Composition Stability and Characterization

Curiosities of the Sky

D

Decoherence: Basic Concepts and Their Interpretation

Do We Really Understand Quantum Mechanics?

Differential Equations

Diophantine Analysis

Discover Physics

Dr. Donald Luttermoser’s Physics Notes

Dynamics and Relativity

E

Earthquake Research and Analysis

Earthquake-Resistant Structures – Design, Assessment and Rehabilitation

Einstein for Everyone

Electromagnetic Field Theory

Elementary Mathematical Astronomy

Elementary Linear Algebra

Elementary Particle Physics in a Nutshell

Elementary Particles in Physics

Elements of Astrophysics

Embedded Systems – Theory and Design Methodology

Encyclopaedia of Mathematics

Encyclopedia of Astrophysics

Engineering Mathematics 1

Engineering Mathematics with Tables

Essential Engineering Mathematics

Essential Physics

Exoplanet Observing for Amateurs

Experimental Particle Physics

F

Fields

Foundations of Nonstandard Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions about Calendars

Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics

Fundamentals of Analysis (Chen W.W.L)

Further Mathematical Methods

Fusion Physics

G

General Chemistry

General Relativity

General Relativity

Geometric Asymptotics

Geometry and Group Theory

Geometry and Topology

Geometry Formulas and Facts

Geometry Study Guide

Geometry, Topology and Physics

Geometry, Topology, Localization and Galois Symmetry

Great Astronomers

H

Handbook of Formulae and Physical Constants

High School Mathematics Extensions

Higher Mathematics for Engineers and Physicists

History of Astronomy

Homeomorphisms in Analysis

How to Use Experimental Data to Compute the Probability of Your Theory

I

Intelligent Systems

Intrinsic Geometry of Surfaces

Introduction to Astronomy and Cosmology

Introduction to Cancer Biology

Introduction to Chemistry

Introduction to Cosmology

Introduction to Elementary Particles

Introduction to General Relativity

Introduction To Finite Mathematics

Introduction to Particle Physics Notes

Introduction to PID Controllers

Introduction to Quantum Mechanics with Applications to Chemistry

Introduction to Quantum Noise, Measurement and Amplification

Introduction to Social Network Methods

Introduction to String Field Theory

Introduction to the Time Evolution of Open Quantum Systems

Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

Introductory Computational Physics

Introductory Physics 1

Introductory Physics 2

K

Kinetic Theory

L

Laboratory Manual for Introductory Physics

Laws of Physics

Learn Physics Today

Lecture Notes in Discrete Mathematics

Lecture Notes in Quantum Mechanics

Lecture Notes in Nuclear and Particle Physics

Lecture Notes in Particle Physics

Lecture Notes on General Relativity

Lectures on Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology

Lectures on Particle Physics

Lectures on Riemann Zeta-Function

Light and Matter

M

Mag 7 Star Atlas Project

Many Particle Physics

Math Alive

Mathematical Analysis I(Zakon E)

Mathematical Biology

Mathematical Methods

Mathematical Methods 1

Mathematical Methods for Physical Sciences

Mathematical Methods of Engineering Analysis

Mathematics, Basic Math and Algebra

Mathematics for Computer Science

Mathematics for Computer Science

Mathematics for Computer Scientists

Mathematics For Engineering Students

Mathematics Formulary

Motion Mountain

Music: A Mathematical Offering

Mysteries of the Sun

N

Natural Disasters

New Frontiers in Graph Theory

Noise Control, Reduction and Cancellation Solutions in Engineering

Nondestructive Testing Methods and New Applications

Nonlinear Optics

Notes on Coarse Geometry

Notes on Elementary Particle Physics

Notes on Quantum Mechanics

O

Observing the Sky from 30S

On Particle Physics

Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces

P

Particle Physics Course Univ. Cape Town

Particle Physics Lecture Notes

People’s Physics Book

Perspectives in Quantum Physics: Epistemological, Ontological and Pedagogical

Photons, Schmotons

Physics Lectures

Physics Tutorials

Physics Study Guides

Pioneers of Science

Practical Astronomy

Practical Astronomy for Engineers

Preparing for College Physics

Primer Of Celestial Navigation

Principal Component Analysis – Multidisciplinary Applications

Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Volume 1

Q

Quantum Dissipative Systems

Quantum Field Theory

Quantum Fluctuations

Quantum Information Theory

Quantum Magnetism

Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics: A Graduate Course

Quantum Mechanics: An Intermediate Level Course

Quantum Notes

Quantum Physics Notes

Quantum Theory of Many-Particle Systems

Quantum Transients

R

Recreations in Astronomy

Relativistic Quantum Dynamics

Relativity: The Special and General Theory

Review of Basic Mathematics

Riemann Surfaces, Dynamics and Geometry Course Notes

S

Short History of Astronomy

Sintering of Ceramics – New Emerging Techniques

Solitons

Some Basic Principles from Astronomy

Special Relativity

Spherical Astronomy

Star-Gazer’s Hand-Book

Statistical Physics

Street-Fighting Mathematics

String Theory

Structures of Life

Supernova Remnants: The X-ray Perspective

Superspace: One Thousand and One Lessons in Supersymmetry

System of Systems

T

The Astrobiology Primer: An Outline of General Knowledge

The Astronomy and the Bible

The Astronomy of the Bible: An Elementary Commentary on the Astronomical References of Holy Scripture

The Basic Paradoxes of Statistical Classical Physics and Quantum Mechanics

The Beginning and the End

The Beginning and the End of the Universe

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Sun

The Convenient Setting of Global Analysis

The Eightfold Way: The Beauty of Klein’s Quartic Curve

The General Theory of Relativity

The Geology of Terrestrial Planets

The Geometry of the Sphere

The Handbook of Essential Mathematics

The Moon: A Full Description and Map of its Principal Physical Features

The Open Agenda

The Origin of Mass in Particle Physics

The Particle Detector Brief Book

The Physics Hypertextbook

The Physics of Quantum Mechanics

The Planet Mars

The Small n Problem in High Energy Physics

The Story of Eclipses

The Story of the Heavens

The Structure of Life

The Wonder Book of Knowledge

The World According to the Hubble Space Telescope

The Zij as-Sanjari of Gregory Chioniades (June 27, 2009)

Three Dimensional Geometry

U

Understanding Physics

Unfolding the Labyrinth

Utility of Quaternions in Physics

Uses of Astronomy

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Neuro chip records brain cell activity at higher resolution

Brain functions are controlled by millions of brain cells. However, in order to understand how the brain controls functions, such as simple reflexes or learning and memory, we must be able to record the activity of large networks and groups of neurons. Conventional methods have allowed scientists to record the activity of neurons for minutes, but a new technology, developed by University of Calgary researchers, known as a bionic hybrid neuro chip, is able to record activity in animal brain cells for weeks at a much higher resolution. The technological advancement was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“These chips are 15 times more sensitive than conventional neuro chips,” says Naweed Syed, PhD, scientific director of the University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine’s Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and senior author on the study. “This allows brain cell signals to be amplified more easily and to see real time recordings of brain cell activity at a resolution that has never been achieved before.”

The development of this technology will allow researchers to investigate and understand in greater depth, in animal models, the origins of neurological diseases and conditions such as epilepsy, as well as other cognitive functions such as learning and memory.

“Recording this activity over a long period of time allows you to see changes that occur over time, in the activity itself,” says Pierre Wijdenes, a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program and the study’s first author. “This helps to understand why certain neurons form connections with each other and why others won’t.”

The cross-faculty team created the chip to mimic the natural biological contact between brain cells, essentially tricking the brain cells into believing that they are connecting with other brain cells. As a result, the cells immediately connect with the chip, thereby allowing researchers to view and record the two-way communication that would go on between two normal functioning brain cells.

“We simulated what Mother Nature does in nature and provided brain cells with an environment where they feel as if they are at home,” says Syed. “This has allowed us to increase the sensitivity of our readings and help neurons build a long-term relationship with our electronic chip.”

While the chip is currently used to analyze animal brain cells, this increased resolution and the ability to make long-term recordings is bringing the technology one step closer to being effective in the recording of human brain cell activity.

“Human brain cell signals are smaller and therefore require more sensitive electronic tools to be designed to pick up the signals,” says Colin Dalton, adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Schulich School of Engineering and a co-author on this study. Dalton is also the facility manager of the University of Calgary’s Advanced Micro/nanosystems Integration Facility (AMIF), where the chips were designed and fabricated.

Researchers hope the technology will one day be used as a tool to bring personalized therapeutic options to patients facing neurological disease.

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CHAUVET CAVE: 

THE  Chauvet Cave (also known as the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave) is a Palaeolithic cave situated near Vallon-Pont-d’Arc in the Ardèche region of southern France that houses impeccably preserved, exquisite examples of prehistoric art. 

Now reliably dated to between c. 33,000 and c. 30,000 years ago, the numerous and diverse animals that dot the interior walls of the cave – both painted and engraved – show such high artistic quality that they were initially thought to have been closer in age to the similarly stunning, but much younger art in caves such as the Lascaux Cave. Its age and artistry have made us reconsider the story of art as well as the capabilities of these humans. The cave has been granted UNESCO World Heritage status.

Read More 

Article by Emma Groeneveld on AHE

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Your pocket Constitution

The amazing Khizr Khan was onto something with his pocket U.S. Constitution - and our Labs team went ahead and made an app for that. Understanding the U.S. Constitution is an app that allows you to view the articles and amendments of the Constitution, and then links you to scholarship relating to each specific section. It’s free for iOS and Android. Keep fighting the good fight against “alternative facts.” 

More here: http://labs.jstor.org/constitution/

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In one of the most hostile regions known to humankind, conservationists unearthed an ice-covered fruitcake they believe once belonged to the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, the New Zealand-based Antarctic Heritage Trust said this past week.

The age of the fruitcake: 106 years old.

A program manager said it was in “excellent condition.”

And the trust said it smelled “almost” edible.

The cake, dating to the Cape Adare-based Northern Party of Scott’s Terra Nova expedition (1910-13), was found in Antarctica’s oldest building, which was constructed by a Norwegian explorer’s team in 1899 and used by Scott’s team in 1911, the trust said.

(Read more at NYT)

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For you military history enthusiasts out there!

World War II in Southeast Asia as shown by this map, titled Japanese Centrifugal Offensive (offense?) and its clashes with other European forces occupying the region, December 1941 - April 1942.

In blue are notable major battles such as the Battles of Sunda Strait (February 28), Java Sea (February 27), Balikpapan (January 23 - 24), Lombok Straits (February 18 - 19). After the surprising Pearl Harbor attack the Japanese managed to curb the European defense over Southeast Asia, also in a surprising manner due to unpreparedness. 

[Larger view] - [more photos]

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+heroes of nusantara: multatuli

YES, I, Multatuli, “who have suffered much,”—I take the pen. I do not make any excuses for the form of my book,—that form was thought proper to obtain my object…. I will be read! Yes, I will be read. I will be read by statesmen who are obliged to pay attention to the signs of the times; by men of letters, who must also look into the book of which so many bad things are said; by merchants, who have an interest in the coffee auctions; by lady’s-maids, who read me for a few farthings; by governors-general in retirement; by ministers who have something to do; by the lackeys of these Excellencies; by mutes, who, more majorum, will say that I attack God Almighty, when I attack only the god which they made according to their own image; by the members of the representative chambers, who must know what happens in the extensive possessions over the sea which belong to Holland….  

Ay, I shall be read!

Eduard Douwes Dekker was born in Amsterdam, March 2nd 1820. His father was a ship’s captain and intended for his son to have a career in trade. This humdrum prospect disgusted Douwes Dekker and in 1838 he obtained a post as a civil servant on the island of Java. During the period between 1848 and 1851 Douwes Dekker eventually rose to serve as assistant resident in various regencies in the Indonesian archipelago including Natal, North Sumatra, Manado in Sulawesi and Ambon in the Moluccas. In 1857 he was transferred to Lebak, in the Bantam residency of Java (now Banten province). By this time, however, all the secrets of Dutch administration were known to him, and he had begun to openly protest about the abuses of the colonial system. Consequently, he was threatened with dismissal from his office for his openness of speech. Douwes Dekker resigned his appointment and returned to the Netherlands.

He was determined to expose in detail the scandals he had witnessed, and he began to do so in newspaper articles and pamphlets. Little notice, however, was taken of his protestations until, in 1860, he published his novel Max Havelaar under the pseudonym of Multatuli. Douwes Dekker’s new pseudonym, which is derived from Latin, means, “I have suffered much”, or, more literally “I have borne much” referring to himself, as well as, it is thought, to the victims of the injustices he saw. An attempt was made to suppress the inflammatory book, but in vain; it was read all over Europe. Apologists for colonialism accused Douwes Dekker’s horrific depictions of being exaggerated.

[ his statue in amsterdam ]

Although it was translated into English in 1868, the text wasn’t available in the author’s home country until over a century later in 1972. Collectively, Multatuli’s Max Havelaar has been translated into 34 different languages worldwide since its initial publication. Credited as the stirring initiation of the nationalist movement responsible for the termination of Dutch colonization of Indonesia following World War II, Max Havelaar’s legacy is not confined to literary accomplishment, but can be considered a work of great political success and inspired social liberation. Max Havelaar’s influence on the national movement ultimately culminated in the passionate command to end decolonization worldwide. The story of Max Havelaar illuminates the inhumane and political injustices brutally imposed upon the native peoples of the region.

Sigmund Freud listed Multatuli as one of his favorite writers. Multatuli’s brother, Jan Douwes Dekker, was the grandfather of Ernest Douwes Dekker (also known as Danudirja Setiabudi, a National Hero of Indonesia). There is a museum for him in Amsterdam. Multatuli is also known as the person who coined the term emerald of equator, a poetic nickname of Indonesia.

This book is an introduction….  I shall increase in strength and sharpness of weapons, according as it may be necessary.    Heaven grant that it may not be necessary!…    No, it will not be necessary! For it is to thee I dedicate my book: WILLIAM THE THIRD, King, Grand Duke, Prince,… more than Prince, Grand Duke, and King,… EMPEROR of the magnificent empire of INSULIND, which winds about the equator like a garland of emeralds!…    I ask THEE if it be thine IMPERIAL will that the Havelaars should be bespattered with the mud of Slymerings and Drystubbles; and that thy more than thirty millions of SUBJECTS far away should be ill treated and should suffer extortion in THY name!

source: wikipedia; culture trip

quotes from bartleby, excerpt of max havelaar

further reading: paper on multatuli

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Top image via The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre

Happy Roald Dahl Day, everyone!  

Here’s a selection of some of our favorite stories about the man behind Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG and all the other books that traumatized us so delightfully as kids (Vermicious Knids, eeeeeggghhh).

Roald Dahl Wanted His Magical ‘Matilda’ To Keep Books Alive

Roald Dahl, A Bottle Of Dreams And A 'Letter Of Note’

'Where Am I Now?’ Mara Wilson Explains What Happened When Matilda Grew Up

Roald Dahl: The Story Of The 'Storyteller’

And lest we forget – Dahl’s memoirs and fiction for adults are great too. Just don’t  give Someone Like You to a kid.

Wicked And Delicious: Devouring Roald Dahl

– Petra

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A Cry for Help.

I seek the Word of @cranquis and the Word of @wayfaringmd on proper tick removal technique. Where I live we’re being warned that populations will be high this summer and that 50% of the ticks are testing positive for Lyme disease. Between the cat, the dog, and three kids I know I’m going to have to deal with them soon.

I’m hearing so many conflicting things, even from MDs. Burn them with a match? Pour olive oil on them? I thought we weren’t supposed to do that stuff? Should I buy that fancy tick remover thing? Or does each one require a trip to the office? Help me Crayfaring, you’re my only hope! 😩

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My boyfriend, @inlove-with-a-spine, is very uninformed about Southeast Asian fruits (he only knows durian) which inspired me to find these online.

I’m pretty sure the names are different in other Southeast Asian countries, though.

From left to right (in Indonesian):

Duku

Jambu monyet

Jeruk

Lengkeng

Kedondong

Manggis

Rambutan

Nangka

Salak

Sawo

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