Cosmology is the study of the origin, size, and evolution of the entire universe. Every culture has developed a cosmology, whether it be based on religious, philosophical, or scientific principles. In this book, the evolution of the scientific understanding of the Universe in Western tradition is traced from the early Greek philosophers to the most modern 21st century view. After a brief introduction to the concept of the scientific method, the first part of the book describes the way in which detailed observations of the Universe, first with the naked eye and later with increasingly complex modern instruments, ultimately led to the development of the "Big Bang" theory. The second part of the book traces the evolution of the Big Bang including the very recent observation that the expansion of the Universe is itself accelerating with time.

Stacy Palen knows that introductory astronomy may be the only science course some students take in their college careers, so it's their best chance to develop scientific literacy. Education research shows that the best way to attain scientific literacy is through active learning. Understanding Our Universe, Fourth Edition makes it easier for instructors to help students understand the concepts and learn to value science by providing activities that can be used before, during and after class. By expanding her pedagogy to include What If scenarios and What an Astronomer Sees figure captions, Stacy helps students build scientific literacy and to think critically about science in the media.

This book covers some fundamental aspects and frontiers in non-equilibrium physics and soft matter research. Apart from the basic knowledge on nonlinear statistic physics, dynamics, computer simulations, and main approaches and emerging systems in soft matter research, particular attention is devoted to new conceptual flexible functional materials and the enriching areas, such as silk meso-molecular materials, molecular gels, liquid crystals, flexible electronics and new types of catalysis, etc. One of the main characteristics of this book is to start with the structure formation dynamics and the correlation between the structures and macroscopic performance. This lays down the foundation for the mesoscopic materials design and functionalization. The book is intended for upper undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers who are interested in soft matter researches. As one of main references, the basic principles and technologies of computer simulations and experimental methods adopted in soft matter research are also explained. Illustrations and tables are included in this book to improve the readability, and examples and exercises are added to help understanding.

For the past decade or more, much of cell biology research has been focused on determining the key molecules involved in different cellular processes, an analytical problem that has been amenable to biochemical and genetic approaches. Now, we face an integrative problem of understanding how all of these molecules work together to produce living cells, a challenge that requires using quantitative approaches to model the complex interactions within a cell, and testing those models with careful quantitative measurements. This book is an introductory overview of the various approaches, methods, techniques, and models employed in quantitative cell biology, which are reviewed in greater detail in the other volumes in this e-book series. Particular emphasis is placed on the goals and purpose of quantitative analysis and modeling, and the special challenges that cell biology holds for understanding life at the physical level.

Visual Astronomy introduces the basics of observational astronomy, a fundamentally limitless opportunity to learn about the universe with your unaided eyes or with tools such as binoculars, telescopes, or cameras.

This volume provides a detailed description of some of the most active areas in astrophysics from the largest scales probed by the Planck satellite to massive black holes that lie at the heart of galaxies and up to the much awaited but stunning discovery of thousands of exoplanets. It contains the following chapters: * Jean-Philippe UZAN, The Big-Bang Theory: Construction, Evolution and Status * Jean-Loup PUGET, The Planck Mission and the Cosmic Microwave Background * Reinhard GENZEL, Massive Black Holes: Evidence, Demographics and Cosmic Evolution * Arnaud CASSAN, New Worlds Ahead: The Discovery of Exoplanets Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy'", alongside Roger Penrose "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity". The book corresponds to the twentieth Poincare Seminar, held on November 21, 2015, at Institut Henri Poincare in Paris. Originally written as lectures to a broad scientific audience, these four chapters are of high value and will be of general interest to astrophysicists, physicists, mathematicians and historians.

Electric glow discharges (glows) can be found almost everywhere, from atmospheric electricity to modern plasma technologies, and have long been the object of research. The main purpose of this book is to provide simple illustrations of the basic physical mechanisms and principles that determine the properties of electric glow discharges. It should enable readers to successfully participate in scientific and technical progress.

This book is about algebraic and differential methods, as well as fractional calculus, applied to diagnose and reject faults in nonlinear systems, which are of integer or fractional order. This represents an extension of a very important and widely studied problem in control theory, namely fault diagnosis and rejection (using differential algebraic approaches), to systems presenting fractional dynamics, i.e. systems whose dynamics are represented by derivatives and integrals of non-integer order. The authors offer a thorough overview devoted to fault diagnosis and fault-tolerant control applied to fractional-order and integer-order dynamical systems, and they introduce new methodologies for control and observation described by fractional and integer models, together with successful simulations and real-time applications. The basic concepts and tools of mathematics required to understand the methodologies proposed are all clearly introduced and explained. Consequently, the book is useful as supplementary reading in courses of applied mathematics and nonlinear control theory. This book is meant for engineers, mathematicians, physicists and, in general, to researchers and postgraduate students in diverse areas who have a minimum knowledge of calculus. It also contains advanced topics for researchers and professionals interested in the area of states and faults estimation.

Structure and Evolution of Single Stars: An introduction is intended for upper-level undergraduates and beginning graduates with a background in physics. Following a brief overview of the background observational material, the basic equations describing the structure and evolution of single stars are derived. The relevant physical processes, which include the equation of state, opacity, nuclear reactions and neutrino losses are then reviewed. Subsequent chapters describe the evolution of low-mass stars from formation to the final white dwarf phase. The final chapter deals with the evolution of massive stars.

This is an in-depth look at baryon number violation in the Standard Model including the necessary background in finite temperature field theory, plasma dynamics and how to calculate the out of equilibrium evolution of particle number densities throughout a phase transition. It is a self-contained pedagogical review of the theoretical background to electroweak baryogenesis as well as a summary of the other prevailing mechanisms for producing the asymmetry between matter and antimatter using the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model as a pedagogical tool whenever appropriate.

This book presents a brief compilation of results from nearly a century of research on the globular star clusters in the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). It explores the techniques and limitations of the observations, the successes and challenges of the models, and the paradigm for the formation of M31 that has gradually emerged. These results will eventually be superseded by new data, better analysis techniques, and more complex models. However, the emphasis of this book is on the techniques, thought processes, and connections with other studies.

This textbook serves as an introduction to nonlinear dynamics and fractals for physiological modeling. Examples and demonstrations from current research in cardiopulmonary engineering and neuro-systems engineering are provided, as well as lab and computer exercises that encourage readers to apply the course material. This is an ideal textbook for graduate students in biomedical engineering departments, researchers who analyze physiological data, and researchers interested in physiological modeling.

This book provides readers with a 360-degree perspective on the Internet of Things (IoT) design and M2M communication process. It is intended to be used as a design guide for the development of IoT solutions, covering architecture, design, and development methods. This book examines applications such as industry automation for Industry 4.0, Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), and Internet of Services (IoS) as it is unfolding. Discussions on engineering fundamentals are limited to what is required for the realization of IoT solutions. Internet of Things and M2M Communication Technologies: Architecture and Practical Design Approach to IoT in Industry 4.0 is written by an industry veteran with more than 30 years of hands-on experience. It is an invaluable guide for electrical, electronic, computer science, and information science engineers who aspire to be IoT designers and an authoritative reference for practicing designers working on IoT device development. Provides complete design approach to develop IoT solutions; Includes reference designs and guidance on relevant standards compliance; Addresses design for manufacturability and business models.

In this book we will look at what planetary nebulae are, where they come from and where they go. We will discuss what mechanisms cause these beautiful markers of stellar demise as well as what causes them to form their variety of shapes. How we measure various aspects of planetary nebulae such as what they are made of will also be explored. Though we will give some aspects of planetary nebulae mathematical treatment, the main points should be accessible to people with only a limited background in mathematics. A short glossary of some of the more arcane astronomical terms is at the end of the book to help in understanding. Included at the end of each chapter is an extensive bibliography to the peer reviewed research on these objects and I would encourage the reader interested in an even deeper understanding to read these articles.