Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World

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Helen Czerski, urging us to see the ocean as a presence, not an absence, has done a remarkable job of shoehorning an overview of the whole shebang into a single, very readable volume." Arts Desk - Jon Turney Helen Czerski's fascinating new book casts the ocean as an extraordinary giant engine, and helps us grasp its complex physicsand its key role in climate change Graham Lawton, New Scientist In this captivating and urgently-needed book, Czerski weaves a wonderful, watery spell, entwining spectacular science with poetic awe as she expertly guides readers through the workings of a vast, unfamiliar world. Moving and thrilling, The Blue Machine tells us about the seas but also makes us care: an epic love story that captures the ocean's beating heart."

Czerski is a wonderful writer. Most scientists could give you a handful of fascinating facts about their subject, no doubt, but few can string them together into such a compelling and elegantly written story, or convey complex ideas and novel perspectives with a few vivid phrases. Blue Machine really does change the way you see the world.' Christopher Hart, Daily MailFor me the most important thing to take from this book besides immense respect for the ocean is the realization that ocean is more than “absence of land” and something that is “not there”. It cannot be ignored, and there are limits to the abuse it can take without it altering the life as we know it.

What happened with the advent of fossil fuels: “This great synthesis of human and nature was about to be jettisoned by economics, technology and the demands of convenience. The most fundamental aspect of this upheaval wasn’t the shift from wood to metal, or from free wind to expensive coal, or from the irregularity of weather to timetabled reliability, although those were important. It was the change from voyaging with nature to voyaging despite nature. For a steamship is just a mechanism. Apart from the need to keep shoveling coal into its boilers, you could pretty much switch a steamship on, point it in any direction and walk away while your ship moved itself around. The centuries of collaboration between humans and nature were over.” You could really conclude that this just didn’t apply to ships. The advent of mass utilization of fossil fuels severed the connections between humans and nature allowing us the illusion that we could impose our will, our insatiable quest for material abundance, to bulldoze, air condition the earth into submission to suit our needs and comfort without considering the repercussions on the earth’s natural systems. That illusion is now coming to an end.HELEN CZERSKI E MARCO MALVALDI VINCONO EX AEQUO IL PREMIO ASIMOV 2018". Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. A fascinating dive into the essential engine that drives our world. Czerski brings the oceans alive with compelling stories that masterfully navigate this most complex system. Gaia Vince Helen Czerski weaves together physics and biology, history and science, in a beautifully poetic way. Fascinating, funny and deeply moving. From vast currents and tides to the smallest creatures that inhabit our oceans she reveals the spellbinding wonder of the oceans. From the opening paragraph, I was entranced. Professor Alice Roberts In 2018 Czerski won the William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics for her contributions to championing the physics of everyday life to a worldwide audience of millions through TV programmes, a popular science book, newspaper columns, and public talks. [28] Czerski was made an Honorary Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge in 2020. [29] She received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from University of East Anglia in 2023. [30] Research [ edit ] In a book that will re-calibrate our view of this defining feature of our planet, physicist Helen Czerski dives deep to illuminate the murky depths of the ocean engine, examining the messengers, passengers and voyagers that live in it, travel over it, and survive because of it. From the Ancient Polynesians who navigated the Pacific by reading the waves, to permanent residents of the deep like the Greenland shark that can live for hundreds of years, she explains by way of vast currents, invisible ocean walls and underwater waterfalls how all have their place in the oceans' complex interlinked system.

Helen Czerski is a British physicist and oceanographer and television presenter. She is an associate professor in the department of mechanical engineering at University College London. [4] [5] [6] She was previously at the Institute for Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton. [7] Early life and education [ edit ] We try to upload our events to our YouTube channel within a couple months’ time. Here, it is free for everyone to view. Twardowski, M.; Zhang, X.; Vagle, S.; Sullivan, J.; Freeman, S.; Czerski, H.; You, Y.; Bi, L.; Kattawar, G. (2012). "The optical volume scattering function in a surf zone inverted to derive sediment and bubble particle subpopulations". Journal of Geophysical Research. 117 (C7): n/a. Bibcode: 2012JGRC..117.0H17T. doi: 10.1029/2011JC007347. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Czerski warned that critical ocean currents may slow down or change course as surface waters continue to warm. Oxygen levels in the sea have been declining, she said, potentially turning some parts of the sea into biological deserts. However, she remains skeptical of ambitious ocean geoengineering schemes designed to mitigate the effects of climate change, which she said risk further destabilizing a natural system that we imperfectly understand. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

Media Reviews

All of Earth's ocean, from the equator to the poles, is a single engine powered by sunlight - a blue machine. The world needs a 'David Attenborough for physics' and Helen Czerski is a prime contender - she's brilliant, clear, passionate, modern and inspiring. Emma Freud, BBC Radio 4 Loose Ends The Blue Machine is quite simply one of the best books I have ever read. Helen Czerski is a consummate storyteller…In places you’ll drift serenely among corals or dense kelp forests, in others you’ll ride Atlantic breakers or fear for your life in a tropical storm…When you resurface, you will be bursting with enthusiasm and wonder and you’ll understand how the ocean works and more besides.

Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life. Bantam Press, 2016. ISBN 0593075420 whose version in Italian translation won the third edition (2018) of Premio ASIMOV [44] (Asimov award) for the best book in scientific dissemination published in Italy. Chambers, Chris (10 June 2014). "Physics envy: Do 'hard' sciences hold the solution to the replication crisis in psychology? | Chris Chambers | Science". theguardian.com . Retrieved 16 June 2014. A scientist’s exploration of the "ocean engine"—the physics behind the ocean’s systems—and why it matters. Online booking for Royal Institution events is run by a third-party service, Eventbrite ( www.eventbrite.co.uk). Czerski’s] profound, sparkling global ocean voyage mingles history and culture, natural history, geography, animals and people.Czerski’s fascinating new book casts the ocean as an extraordinary giant engine, and helps us grasp its complex physics and its key role in climate change. Czerski, Helen (2006). Ignition of HMX and RDX. cam.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. OCLC 500335888. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.442574. The blue of Earth is a gigantic engine, a dynamic liquid power- house that stretches around our planet and is connected to every part of our lives. It has components on every scale, from the mighty Gulf Stream gliding across the Atlantic to the tiny bub- bles bursting at the top of a breaking wave. This is a beautiful, elegant, tightly woven system, full of surprising connections and profound consequences. The complexity can seem over- whelming, but at the largest scale, the logic is straightforward.” Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial?