Book contents
- The Climate Demon
- Reviews
- The Climate Demon
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Past
- 1 Deducing Weather
- 2 Predicting Weather
- 3 The Greenhouse Effect
- 4 Deducing Climate
- 5 Predicting Climate
- 6 The Ozone Hole
- 7 Global Warming
- Part II The Present
- Part III The Future
- Glossary
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
- References
- Index
1 - Deducing Weather
The Dawn of Computing
from Part I - The Past
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 November 2021
- The Climate Demon
- Reviews
- The Climate Demon
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Past
- 1 Deducing Weather
- 2 Predicting Weather
- 3 The Greenhouse Effect
- 4 Deducing Climate
- 5 Predicting Climate
- 6 The Ozone Hole
- 7 Global Warming
- Part II The Present
- Part III The Future
- Glossary
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
- References
- Index
Summary
Modern weather and climate prediction originated at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey. Mathematician John von Neumann, a member of the IAS faculty, interacted with computing pioneer Alan Turing in the late 1930s and became involved in the construction of the first general-purpose digital computer, ENIAC, in the early 1940s. One of his goals was to use the computer to forecast weather using the equations of physics. He formed the Princeton Meteorology Group by hiring scientists with expertise in weather. In 1950, this group made the world’s first digital weather forecast. Two basic concepts from the philosophy of science – inductivism and deductivism – are introduced in the chapter to provide the context for the scientific developments being discussed. Von Neumann’s (thwarted) ambition of going beyond weather prediction to weather control is also discussed.
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- Information
- The Climate DemonPast, Present, and Future of Climate Prediction, pp. 11 - 26Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021