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Books > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy, space & time > General
One of the questions about which humanity has often wondered is the
arrow of time. Why does temporal evolution seem irreversible? That
is, we often see objects break into pieces, but we never see them
reconstitute spontaneously. This observation was first put into
scientific terms by the so-called second law of thermodynamics:
entropy never decreases. However, this law does not explain the
origin of irreversibly; it only quantifies it. Kinetic theory gives
a consistent explanation of irreversibility based on a statistical
description of the motion of electrons, atoms, and molecules. The
concepts of kinetic theory have been applied to innumerable
situations including electronics, the production of particles in
the early universe, the dynamics of astrophysical plasmas, quantum
gases or the motion of small microorganisms in water, with
excellent quantitative agreement. This book presents the
fundamentals of kinetic theory, considering classical paradigmatic
examples as well as modern applications. It covers the most
important systems where kinetic theory is applied, explaining their
major features. The text is balanced between exploring the
fundamental concepts of kinetic theory (irreversibility, transport
processes, separation of time scales, conservations, coarse
graining, distribution functions, etc.) and the results and
predictions of the theory, where the relevant properties of
different systems are computed.
Attilio Ferrari I want to recall here the basic points I raised at
the beginning of the Workshop as the main targets of discussion (in
the name of the Scientific Committee). I attempted to focus the
attention of participants on the fact that, in many instances, we
tend to discuss jets in terms of simple physics, more or less as
one did at the time extragalactic radio sources were discovered:
for instance, we still use equipartition arguments. However, we
must realize that processes in jets, leading to their morphologies
and energetics clearly depend on complex plasma phenomena.
Therefore, the same standard arguments used to derive
characteristic parameters should be questioned; some of the
speakers were invited to attempt a critical analysis of this point,
an~ in fact I believe that this "inquisitive attitude" was actually
present all along the Workshop. Observers were asked to choose the
parameters to be used in a statistical sample of jets. For this
they were urged, first of all, to distinguish between primary and
secondary features. For instance, are knots and wiggles common to
all jets? Are relativistic flow velocities expected in all active
nuclei? Are jets denser or lighter than the external medium? On the
theoretical side I asked to discuss whether or not existing models
are in accordance with the limited statistical sample that we have
today. And which should be the lines of development to be pursued
first, and to what extent.
This peer-reviewed book provides detailed insights into how space
and its applications are, and can be used to support the
development of the full range and diversity of African societies,
as encapsulated in the African Union's Agenda 2063. Following on
from Part 1 and 2, which were highly acclaimed by the space
community, it focuses on the role of space in supporting the UN
Sustainable Development Goals in Africa, but covers an even more
extensive array of relevant and timely topics addressing all facets
of African development. It demonstrates that, while there have been
significant achievements in recent years in terms of economic and
social development, which have lifted many of Africa's people out
of poverty, there is still a great deal that needs to be done to
fulfill the basic needs of Africa's citizens and afford them the
dignity they deserve. To this end, space is already being employed
in diverse fields of human endeavor to serve Africa's goals for its
future, but there is much room for further incorporation of space
systems and data. Providing a comprehensive overview of the role
space is playing in helping Africa achieve its developmental
aspirations, the book will appeal to both students and
professionals in fields such as space studies, international
relations, governance, and social and rural development.
Three eminent scientists, each well known for the clarity of their writing, present for students and researchers what is known about the internal structure, origin and evolution of White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes, all objects at the final stage of stellar evolution. They cover fascinating topics such as pulsation of white dwarfs, millisecond pulsars or the dynamics around black holes. The book is written for graduate students in astrophysics, but is also of interest to professional astronomers and physicists.
This book gives an in-depth analysis of the physical phenomena of
thrust production by laser radiation, as well as laser propulsion
engines, and laser-propelled vehicles. It brings together into a
unified context accumulated up-to-date information on laser
propulsion research, considering propulsion phenomena, laser
propulsion techniques, design of vehicles with laser propulsion
engines, and high-power laser systems to provide movement for space
vehicles. In particular, the reader will find detailed coverage of:
designs of laser propulsion engines, operating as both
air-breathing and ramjet engines to launch vehicles into LEOs;
Assembly of vehicles whereby laser power from a remote laser is
collected and directed into a propulsion engine; and, the
laser-adaptive systems that control a laser beam to propel vehicles
into orbits by delivering laser power through the Earth's
atmosphere. This book is essential reading for researchers and
professionals involved in laser propulsion.
Habent sua Jata colloquia. The present volume has its ongms in a
spring 1984 international workshop held, under the auspices of the
Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, by The Institute for the
History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas of Tel-Aviv University
in cooperation with The Van Leer Jerusalem Foundation. It contains
twelve of the twenty papers presented at the workshop by the
twenty-six participants. As Proceedings of conferences go, it is a
good representative of the genre, sharing in the main
characteristics of its ilk. It may even be one of the rare
instances of a book of Proceed ings whose descriptive title applies
equally well to the workshop's topic and to the interrelations
between. the various papers it includes. Tension and Accommodation
are the key words. Thus, while John Glucker's paper, 'Images of
Plato in Late Antiqu ity, ' raises, by means of the Platonic
example, the problem of interpreta tion of ancient texts,
suggesting the assignment of proper weight to the creator of the
tradition and not only to his many later interpreters in assessing
the proper relationship between originator and commentators,
Abraham Wasserstein's 'Hunches that did not come off: Some Prob
lems in Greek Science' illustrates the long-lived Whiggish
tradition in the history of science and mathematics. As those
familiar with my work will undoubtedly note, Wasserstein's position
is far removed from my stance on ancient Greek mathematics."
With full color illustrations. This TR is actually a textbook on
atmospheric entry for several classes at AFIT. It teaches from an
analytical perspective, with finding closed-form solutions being
the preferred approach. The over-arching goal is to instill and
understand how families of solutions behave as well as the general
trends, trade-offs, and the nature of atmospheric entry before
picking point designs to study in detail. By thoroughly
understanding the classic analytic analyses first, we can better
use the computer to solve the hard problems. The book's approach is
to use easily visualized variables to solve the analytical problems
first and keep them (more-or-less) consistent as we move to the
computer. This is a back to the basics approach for a new
generation of students who've become more comfortable with
numerical solutions than analytical ones. The pages are loaded with
equations because the details of many of the derivations are
included. This book pulls together many classical analyses and
presents them in a consistent notation for the first time. It
provides a convenient starting point for an analytical
understanding of atmospheric entry, with plenty of references to
those original works. It ties together results that were originally
published years apart by different authors. And, peppered
throughout, you'll find some new approaches and results.
This book provides a guide to engineering successful and reliable
products for the NewSpace industry. By discussing both the
challenges involved in designing technical artefacts, and the
challenges of growing an organisation, the book presents a unique
approach to the topic. New Space Systems Engineering explores
numerous difficulties encountered when designing a space system
from scratch on limited budgets, non-existing processes, and great
deal of organizational fluidity and emergence. It combines
technical topics related to design, such as system requirements,
modular architectures, and system integration, with topics related
to organizational design, complexity, systems thinking, design
thinking and a model based systems engineering. Its integrated
approach mean this book will be of interest to researchers,
engineers, investors, and early-stage space companies alike. It
will help New Space founders and professionals develop their
technologies and business practices, leading to more robust
companies and engineering development.
This monograph develops an innovative approach that utilizes the
Birman-Schwinger principle from quantum mechanics to investigate
stability properties of steady state solutions in galactic
dynamics. The opening chapters lay the framework for the main
result through detailed treatments of nonrelativistic galactic
dynamics and the Vlasov-Poisson system, the Antonov stability
estimate, and the period function $T_1$. Then, as the main
application, the Birman-Schwinger type principle is used to
characterize in which cases the "best constant" in the Antonov
stability estimate is attained. The final two chapters consider the
relation to the Guo-Lin operator and invariance properties for the
Vlasov-Poisson system, respectively. Several appendices are also
included that cover necessary background material, such as
spherically symmetric models, action-angle variables, relevant
function spaces and operators, and some aspects of Kato-Rellich
perturbation theory. A Birman-Schwinger Principle in Galactic
Dynamics will be of interest to researchers in galactic dynamics,
kinetic theory, and various aspects of quantum mechanics, as well
as those in related areas of mathematical physics and applied
mathematics.
Owing to the increased accuracy requirements in fields such as
astrometry and geodesy the general theory of relativity must be
taken into account for any mission requiring highly accurate orbit
information and for practically all observation and measurement
techniques. This book highlights the confluence of Applied
Mathematics, Physics and Space Science as seen from Einstein's
general theory of relativity and aims to bridge the gap between
theoretical and applied domains. The book investigates three
distinct areas of general relativity: Exact solutions of the
Einstein field equations of gravitation. Dynamics of near-Earth
objects and solar system bodies. Relativistic orbitography. This
book is an updated and expanded version of the author's PhD thesis
which was awarded the International Astronomical Union PhD prize in
Division A: Fundamental Astronomy. Included is a new introduction
aimed at graduate students of General Relativity and extended
discussions and results on topics in post-Newtonian dynamics and
general relativistic spacecraft propagation.
This book presents the cold side of the Universe illustrated by the
rest-frame, far-infrared emission with Atacama Large
Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The author constructed the
largest-ever ALMA sample and dataset, which enables them to
identify very faint, rest-frame, far-infrared dust continuums as
well as the carbon fine-structure line emission from distant
galaxies that have been missed in previous surveys. The
observational findings described in this book reveal for the first
time where and how much of the star formation, traced by the
rest-frame far-infrared emission, is ongoing, from inter-stellar
and circum-galactic media to cosmic structures. Moreover, since
some of the findings are unexpected and as such challenge the
current galaxy formation models, the book provides exciting
questions that should be addressed in the next decades.
This book deals with the rise of mathematics in physical sciences,
beginning with Galileo and Newton and extending to the present day.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part gives a brief
history of how mathematics was introduced into physics-despite its
"unreasonable effectiveness" as famously pointed out by a
distinguished physicist-and the criticisms it received from earlier
thinkers. The second part takes a more philosophical approach and
is intended to shed some light on that mysterious effectiveness.
For this purpose, the author reviews the debate between classical
philosophers on the existence of innate ideas that allow us to
understand the world and also the philosophically based arguments
for and against the use of mathematics in physical sciences. In
this context, Schopenhauer's conceptions of causality and matter
are very pertinent, and their validity is revisited in light of
modern physics. The final question addressed is whether the
effectiveness of mathematics can be explained by its "existence" in
an independent platonic realm, as Goedel believed. The book aims at
readers interested in the history and philosophy of physics. It is
accessible to those with only a very basic (not professional)
knowledge of physics.
This book is intended as an overview at an undergraduate or early
university level and describes the effects of spaceflight at
cellular and organism levels. Past, current, and future research on
the effects of gravity - or its absence - and ionizing radiation on
the evolution, development, and function of living organisms is
presented in layman's terms by researchers who have been active in
this field. The purpose is to enlighten science and non-science
readers to the benefits of space biology research for conducting
basic and applied research to support human exploration of space
and to take advantage of the space environment as a laboratory for
scientific, technological, and commercial research. The first
chapters present an overview of the major focuses of space research
in biology, as well as the history and the list of animals and
plants that have flown in space to date.
Professor Zdenek Kopal is sixty-seven this year even though his
scientific activity, enthusiasm and springy step hardly betray the
ad- vancement in years. He carne to Manchester as Professor of
Astronomy thirty years ago after a very fruitful association of
fourteen years with the Harvard Observatory. Much impressed with
the young man, Harlow Shapley, who with characteristic insight had
recognised in Kopal the qualities that have since made him an
outstanding leader in ec1ipsing binary research, had invited him
over as a Research Associate. In the subsequent decade Kopal set
about the task of introducing analytical rigour in the solution of
orbit al elements that hitherto had depended ex- c1usively on the
semigraphical procedures introduced by Russell and exploited fully
by Shapley. These first efforts stimulated publication of the first
of his many books on ec1ipsing variables; the Introductian ta the
Study of Ec/ipsing Variables summarized these iterative methods and
remains a c1assic in this field. Soon after the appearance of this
volume in print, Kopal gave a course on this subject for the
graduate students at Harvard. I was one of those who had the
opportunity to attend it and learn much on the need of care and
precision in the practice of photoelectric photometry and the
importance of exploiting such data to the fullest extent with
methods of increasing resolving power.
This thesis represents a breakthrough in our understanding of the
noise processes in Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs).
While the detection of ultraviolet to near-infrared light is useful
for a variety of applications from dark matter searches to
biological imaging and astronomy, the performance of these
detectors often limits the achievable science. The author's work
explains the limits on spectral resolution broadening, and uses
this knowledge to more than double the world record spectral
resolution for an MKID suitable for optical and near-IR
astrophysics, with emphasis on developing detectors for exoplanet
detection. The techniques developed have implication for phonon
control in many different devices, particularly in limiting cosmic
ray-induced decoherence in superconducting qubits. In addition,
this thesis is highly accessible, with a thorough, pedagogical
approach that will benefit generations of students in this area.
How the public image of the Soviet cosmonaut was designed and
reimagined over timeIn this book, Cathleen Lewis discusses how the
public image of the Soviet cosmonaut developed beginning in the
1950s and the ways this icon has been reinterpreted throughout the
years and in contemporary Russia. Compiling material and cultural
representations of the cosmonaut program, Lewis provides a new
perspective on the story of Soviet spaceflight, highlighting how
the government has celebrated figures such as Yuri Gagarin and
Valentina Tereshkova through newspapers, radio, parades, monuments,
museums, films, and even postage stamps and lapel pins. Lewis's
analysis shows that during the Space Race, Nikita Khrushchev
mobilized cosmonaut stories and images to symbolize the
forward-looking Soviet state and distract from the costs of the
Cold War. Public perceptions shifted after the first Soviet
spaceflight fatality and failure to reach the Moon, yet cosmonaut
imagery was still effective propaganda, evolving through the USSR's
collapse in 1991 and seen today in Vladimir Putin's government
cooperation for a film on the 1985 rescue of the Salyut 7 space
station. Looking closely at the process through which Russians
continue to reexamine their past, Lewis argues that the cultural
memory of spaceflight remains especially potent among other
collective Soviet memories.
This book tells the story of the evolution of the Satellite Center
which started from a small Satellite Systems Division in 1967 with
a handful of engineers to a vibrant R&D center which is playing
the lead role in the Indian Satellite Program. India's space
program is unique as it is driven by societal applications. The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has centers dedicated to
various space applications. The ISRO Satellite Centre, now known as
the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), has evolved as lead center for
Satellite Technology over five decades and has developed
state-of-the-art satellites for applications such as remote
sensing, satellite communication and space science. Through the
story of URSC, the book describes the challenges of putting
together new research and development centers and programs and
conveys the importance of leadership and project management skills
required to undertake such a task. This book is of interest to
researchers, professionals, and administrators involved in the
development of new R&D facilities and also to space scientists
and space enthusiasts across the world.
While there are many biographies of JFK and accounts of the early
years of US space efforts, this book uses primary source material
and interviews with key participants to provide a comprehensive
account of how the actions taken by JFK's administration have
shaped the course of the US space program over the last 45 years.
This volume contains papers presented at the US/European Celestial
Mecha nics Workshop organized by the Astronomical Observatory of
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland and held in Poznan,
from 3 to 7 July 2000. The purpose of the workshop was to identify
future research in celestial mech anics and encourage collaboration
among scientists from eastem and westem coun tries. There was a
full program of invited and contributed presentations on selected
subjects and each day ended with a discussion period on a general
subject in celestial mechanics. The discussion topics and the
leaders were: Resonances and Chaos-A. Morbidelli; Artificial
Satellite Orbits-K. T. Alfriend; Near Earth Ob jects - K. Muinonen;
Small Solar System Bodies - I. Williams; and Summary - P. K.
Seidelmann. The goal of the discussions was to identify what we did
not know and how we might further our knowledge. The size of the
meeting and the language differences somewhat limited the real
discussion, but, due to the excellence of the different discussion
leaders, each of these sessions was very interesting and
productive. Celestial Mechanics and Astrometry are both small
fields within the general subject of Astronomy. There is also an
overlap and relationship between these fields and Astrodynamics.
The amount of interaction depends on the interest and efforts of
individual scientists."
The XIXth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union
was held in New Delhi, India, from November 19 to 28, 1985. It was
dedicated to the memory of a former IAU President, Professor M. K.
V. Bappu, who tragically passed away on August 19, 1982. On the
occasion of the Delhi General Assembly, the IAU Minor Planet Center
announced that Minor Planet (asteroid) No. 2596 henceforth will
carry the name Vainu Sappu. The full text of the announcement
reads: "(2596) VAINU BAPPU = 1979 KN (diameter about 8 kilometers,
period 5 years 4 months, mean distance from the Sun around 450
million kilometers) Discovered 1979, May 19, by R. M. West at the
European Southern Observatory. Named in memory of Manali f
This book is the highly anticipated sequel to the previous volume
under the same title, dedicated to presenting a diverse range of
timely and valuable contributions on the legal and policy related
questions evoked by satellite constellations, including emerging
mega-constellations. Given the proliferation of activities in the
field of satellite constellations, and the critical roles they play
in supporting and enabling communication, navigation, disaster
monitoring, Earth observation, security and scientific activities,
the insights of legal and policy experts from around the world have
been gathered in this second volume to help expand the scientific
literature in this precious field. Topics range from legal
obstacles and opportunities facilitating small satellite enterprise
for emerging space actors, international cooperation in the
compatibility and interoperability of navigation systems, the
designation of satellite constellations as critical space
infrastructure, to an analysis of the paradigm shift which has
occurred over the last decade to make the proliferation of small
satellite constellations possible, and more.
The International Conference on the History of Original Ideas and
Basic Discoveries, held at the "Ettore Majorana" Centre for
Scientific Culture in Erice, Sicily, July 27-August 4, 1994,
brought together sixty of the leading scientists including many
Nobel Laureates in high energy physics, principal contributors in
other fields of physics such as high Tc superconductivity, particle
accelerators and detector instrumentation, and thirty-six talented
younger physicists selected from candidates throughout the world.
The scientific program, including 49 lectures and a discussion
session on the "Status and Future Directions in High Energy
Physics" was inspired by the conference theme: The key experimental
discoveries and theoretical breakthroughs of the last 50 years, in
particle physics and related fields, have led us to a powerful
description of matter in terms of three quark and three lepton
families and four fundamental interactions. The most recent
generation of experiments at e+e- and proton-proton colliders, and
corresponding advances in theoretical calculations, have given us
remarkably precise determinations of the basic parameters of the
electroweak and strong interactions. These developments, while
showing the striking internal consistency of the Standard Model,
have also sharpened our view of the many unanswered questions which
remain for the next generation: the origin and pattern of particle
masses and families, the unification of the interactions including
gravity, and the relation between the laws of physics and the
initial conditions of the universe.
This volume is the outgrowth of several international meetings to
discuss a vision for the future of solar radio physics: the
development of a new radio instrument. From these discussions, the
concept for the Frequency Agile Solar Radiotelescope (FASR) was
born. Most of the chapters of this book are based
oninvitedtalksattheFASRScienceWorkshop, heldinGreenbank, WVinMay
2002, and a special session on Solar and Space Weather Radiophysics
held at the 200th American Astronomical Society meeting held in
Albuquerque, NM in June 2002. Although many of the chapters deal
with topics of interest in planning for FASR, other topics in Solar
and Space Weather Radiophysics, such as solar radar and
interplanetary scintillation, are covered to round out the
discipline. The authors have been asked to write with a tutorial
approach, to make the book useful to graduate students and
scientists new to radio physics. This book is more than a
compilation of FASR science topics. The FASR instrument concept is
so revolutionary-by extending capability by an order of magnitude
in several dimensions at once (frequency coverage, spatial reso-
tion, dynamicrange, timeresolution,
polarizationprecision)-thatitchallenges scientiststothinkinnewways.
Theauthorsofthefollowingchaptershavebeen
taskednotonlywithreviewingthecurrentstateofthe?eld,
butalsowithlooking to the future and imagining what is possible.
Radio emission is extremely complex because it is generated so
readily, and every imaginable plasma parameter affects it. This is
both its great strength and its wea
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