Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Usage of an Astonishing Substance.ICE: The Nature, the History, and the Usage of an Astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. Substance MARIANA GOSNELL As a material, ice is a study in contradictions. It is at once as fragile as glass and stronger than steel, both solid and liquid, easily melted melt v. melt·ed, melt·ing, melts v.intr. 1. To be changed from a solid to a liquid state especially by the application of heat. 2. yet persistent in glaciers This is a list of glaciers. Due to somewhat sparse information, some glaciers, especially those in the tropics, may no longer exist as listed. This is especially true for glaciers in Africa and New Guinea. and ice flows that cover 7 percent of Earth. Gosnell, a former reporter, explores the many faceted nature of the frozen form of Earth's most valuable substance. She explains the formation of ice in our atmosphere, from a single, perfect snow crystal to a large, destructive hailstone hail·stone n. A pellet of hail. hailstone Noun a pellet of hail Noun 1. hailstone - small pellet of ice that falls during a hailstorm . She reveals what extracted ice cores can tell scientists about ancient atmospheric conditions. And she examines the nature of icebergs, including the most famous one of all, the killer that doomed the Titanic Titanic (tītăn`ĭk), British liner that sank on the night of Apr. 14–15, 1912, after crashing into an iceberg in the N Atlantic S of Newfoundland. More than 1,500 lives were lost. . Gosnell finds a remarkable variety of ways to look at frozen water, from detailing dangerous breakups of frozen rivers to explaining how seals and emperor penguins make their homes on solid ice. The author offers a poetic picture of this strange material. Knopf, 2005, 576 p., hardcover, b&w plates, $30.00. |
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