This biography conveys the life and accomplishments of a Norwegian hero to the English speaking world, illustrating the beginnings of collaboration between science and industry. It shows how work in a small country laid the foundation for the green revolution.

Just over one hundred years ago Kristian Birkeland looked into the night sky of his native Norway and saw in the beautiful Northern Lights a mystery waiting to be solved. Determined to prove to the world his bold theory about the heavens above, this misunderstood genius began a quest that would take him from Norway's ice mountains to the deserts of Africa, and across a continent ravaged by war. It was a quest that alienated friends and family, ruined his health and sanity, and ended in his mysterious death in a Japanese hotel in 1917. Lucy Jago brilliantly tells the fascinating and tragic story of Kristian Birkeland, the man who saw in the night sky a secret that no one else could see, but who died trying to convince the world of his vision.

Science, biography, and arctic exploration coverage in this extraordinary true story of the life and work of Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland, the troubled genius who solved the mysteries of one of nature’s most spectacular displays. Captivated by the otherworldly lights of the aurora borealis, Birkeland embarked on a lifelong quest to discover their cause. His pursuit took him to some of the most forbidding landscapes on earth, from the remote snowcapped mountains of Norway to the war-torn deserts of Africa. In the face of rebuke by the scientific establishment, sabotage by a jealous rival, and his own battles with depression and paranoia, Birkeland remained steadfast. Although ultimately vindicated, his theories were unheralded—and his hopes for the Nobel Prize scuttled—at the time of his suspicious death in 1917. The Northern Lights offers a brilliant account of the physics behind the aurora borealis and a rare look inside the mind of one of history's most visionary scientists.

Science, biography, and arctic exploration coverage in this extraordinary true story of the life and work of Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland, the troubled genius who solved the mysteries of one of nature’s most spectacular displays. Captivated by the otherworldly lights of the aurora borealis, Birkeland embarked on a lifelong quest to discover their cause. His pursuit took him to some of the most forbidding landscapes on earth, from the remote snowcapped mountains of Norway to the war-torn deserts of Africa. In the face of rebuke by the scientific establishment, sabotage by a jealous rival, and his own battles with depression and paranoia, Birkeland remained steadfast. Although ultimately vindicated, his theories were unheralded—and his hopes for the Nobel Prize scuttled—at the time of his suspicious death in 1917. The Northern Lights offers a brilliant account of the physics behind the aurora borealis and a rare look inside the mind of one of history's most visionary scientists.

Forfatterne gir i denne boken svar på alt du ønsker å vite om nordlyset: Når kan man se det? Hvor bør man reise? Hva slags utstyr trenger man? Og hvordan tar man egne bilder av dette spektakulære lysshowet? Pål Brekke er astrofysiker og arbeider som forsker ved Norsk romsenter. Fredrik Broms har spesialisert seg på å fotografere nordlyset.

All aspects of space plasmas in the Solar System are introduced and explored in this text for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Introduction to Space Physics provides a broad, yet selective, treatment of the complex interactions of the ionized gases of the solar terrestrial environment. The book includes extensive discussion of the Sun and solar wind, the magnetized and unmagnetized planets, and the fundamental processes of space plasmas including shocks, plasma waves, ULF waves, wave particle interactions, and auroral processes. The text devotes particular attention to space plasma observations and integrates these with phenomenological and theoretical interpretations. Highly coordinated chapters, written by experts in their fields, combine to provide a comprehensive introduction to space physics. Based on an advanced undergraduate and graduate course presented in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, the text will be valuable to both students and professionals in the field.