Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Jastrow, R..
The genesis of lunar exploration programs is described. The idea that the dead moon could give important clues about the origin of the solar system germinated into plans for a soft landing on the moon and then into the Apollo program. The exchanges between NASA scientists and other astronomers that led to these plans are recounted.
The evolution of intelligence began with the movement of Crossopterygian fish onto land. The eventual appearance of large dinosaurs eliminated all but the smallest of mammalian creatures, with the survivors forced to move only nocturnally, when enhanced olfactory and aural faculties were favored and involved a larger grey matter/body mass ratio than possessed by the dinosaurs. Additionally, the mammals made comparisons between the inputs of various senses, implying the presence of significant memory capacity and an ability to abstract survival information. More complex behavior occurred with the advent of tree dwellers (forward-looking eyes), hands, color vision, and the ability to grip and manipulate objects. An extra pound of brain evolved in the human skull in less than a million years. The neural processes that can lead to an action by a creature with a brain are mimicked by the basic AND and OR gates in computers, which are rapidly approaching the circuit density of the human brain. It is suggested that humans will eventually produce computers of higher intelligence than people possess, and computer spacecraft, alive in an electronic sense, will travel outward to explore the universe.
This book gives a popular account of the forces that have shaped human beings into their present form and created the power of human intelligence, and considers the prospects for intelligent life on other planets in the solar system and elsewhere in the universe. The chain of events leading from the big bang to the origin of life on earth is reviewed together with the observations that established the expansion of the universe. Philosophical difficulties with the concept of a universe that has both a beginning and an end are pondered, steady-state cosmology is briefly explained, and the discovery of the relict microwave background is discussed. The formation of the solar system is recounted along with the scientific view of the origin of terrestrial life. Attention is given to the origin of cells and the evolution of oxygen-breathing life, multicelled creatures, armored animals, fishes, amphibians, early reptiles, dinosaurs, and mammals. The development of mammalian intelligence is traced from the early tree dwellers through monkeys, apes, ape men, humanoid tool makers, and primitive members of the genus Homo, to Homo sapiens. Possible evidence for the existence of life on Mars is evaluated together with prospects for communication or other contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.
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Review of the simulation studies intended to provide information to planners of the First Garp Global Experiment (FGGE) on the capabilities of alternative systems for meeting specific FGGE requirements. Following a description of the method and of the FGGE observing system the objectives of, and the limitations on, the FGGE simulation studies are defined. A discussion of data insertion procedures, specific experiments, and recent and future studies concludes the review.
Simulation studies have played an increasingly important role in planning for the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE) during the last two years by providing information on the meteorological impact of various untested or incompletely tested elements of the GARP observing system. The studies are intended to provide information to FGGE planners on the capabilities of alternature systems for meeting a specific FGGE requirement. The simulation studies also provide a valuable input to cost-effectiveness studies by indicating tradeoffs of one possible type of observing platform against another, such as constant-level balloons vs buoys. These tradeoffs can lead to major gains in research yield per dollar of expenditure on the observing system.
Simulation studies for first GARP global experiment, discussing data redundancy, measured and derived data, sampling, etc
Global atmospheric research program data requirements analysis based on two level numerical model
Computerized simulation of wind velocity using Nimbus 3 infrared sounding data
Evolutional aspects and geological interpretations in lunar science
Incomplete historical data to infer state of atmosphere based on global circulation model, noting tradeoff of temperature for wind and time for space
Planet Venus, discussing Mariner 5 and Venera 4 space probes, solar wind, upper atmosphere, ionosphere, atmospheric temperature and pressure and water detection
Jupiter atmosphere, interior and surface properties, speculating on possibility of life in spite of presence of noxious gases
Book on red giants and white dwarfs covering stellar evolution, planets and life, solar system origin, etc
Venus atmosphere, surface temperature and radiation characteristics
Comparison of surface and atmospheric characteristics of Earth and Venus
High speed computer applications for atmospheric and space science research