This easy accessible textbook provides an overview of solar to electric energy conversion, followed by a detailed look at one aspect, namely photovoltaics, including the underlying principles and fabrication methods. Professor Wolf, an experienced author and teacher, reviews such green technologies as solar-heated-steam power, hydrogen, and "artificial leaf" approaches, as well as nuclear fusion. Throughout the book, carefully chosen, up-to-date examples are used to illustrate important concepts and research tools.
The opening chapters give a broad and exhaustive survey of long term energy resources, reviewing current and potential types of solar driven energy sources. The core part of the text on solar energy conversion discusses different concepts for generating electric power, followed by a profound presentation of the underlying semiconductor physics and rounded off by a look at efficiency and third-generation concepts. The concluding section offers a rough analysis of the economics relevant to the large-scale adoption of photovoltaic conversion with a discussion of such issues as durability, manufacturability and cost, as well as the importance of storage.
The book is self-contained so as to be suitable for students with introductory calculus-based courses in physics, chemistry, or engineering. It introduces concepts in quantum mechanics, atomic and molecular physics, plus the solid state and semiconductor junction physics needed to attain a quantitative understanding of the current status of this field. With its comments on economic aspects, it is also a useful tool for those readers interested in a career in alternative energy.

This book presents a systematic introduction, practical meaning, and measurement of thermo-physical properties (i.e. viscosity, density, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and thermal diffusivity) associated with the Prandtl number. The method of slope linear regression through the data points is presented in this textbook as a methodology for a deeper and insightful scrutinization. The book serves as a reference book for scientific investigators, Teachers of Fluid Mechanics, Experts on Heat and Mass Transfer, Researchers on Boundary layer flows, Mechanical and Chemical Engineers, Physicists, and Postgraduate Students working on transport phenomena who need theoretical and empirical reviews on the impact of increasing the ratio of momentum diffusivity to thermal diffusivity. Features: A systematic overview of the state-of-the-art in statistical methodology for understanding changes between dependent and independent variables. Pointers to some theoretical and empirical reviews on Prandtl number. Presents in-depth analysis of various self-similar flows, emphasizing stretching induced flows, nanofluid dynamics, suction, injection, free convection, mixed convection, and forced convection. Insightful study on thermal radiation, heat sour, heat sink, energy flux due to concentration gradient, mass flux due to temperature gradient, thermo-capillary convection flow, Joule heating, viscous dissipation, thermal stratification, thermophoresis, and Brownian motion of particles.

For the millions who remain curious about the world around them, but gained little from science at school, this book offers a way forward. Based on live discussions with adults from all walks of life, each chapter begins with an everyday experience, like swallowing a pill or watching a bee on a flower. The main scientific ideas underlying each topic are then explored, so that understanding of a set of fundamental concepts builds up gradually throughout the book. In contrast to more traditional approaches to science learning, topics range freely across the subject areas. The story of Covid, for example includes aspects of biology, chemistry, mathematics and social behaviour. Plain English is used throughout and mathematical expressions are avoided. Key points are illustrated with clear diagrams and photographs. By drawing on questions and perspectives of ordinary people, the book offers an introduction to basic ideas in science as a whole, rather than any one particular subject. For the adult wishing to make good a gap in their understanding it provides a starting point for entering the rich world of popular science.

THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER One of TIME's Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade 'Captivating, fascinating, profoundly beautiful. . . Rovelli is a wonderfully humane, gentle and witty guide for he is as much philosopher and poet as he is a scientist' John Banville 'We are time. We are this space, this clearing opened by the traces of memory inside the connections between our neurons. We are memory. We are nostalgia. We are longing for a future that will not come' Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long explored its meaning while scientists have found that its structure is different from the simple intuition we have of it. From Boltzmann to quantum theory, from Einstein to loop quantum gravity, our understanding of time has been undergoing radical transformations. Time flows at a different speed in different places, the past and the future differ far less than we might think, and the very notion of the present evaporates in the vast universe. With his extraordinary charm and sense of wonder, bringing together science, philosophy and art, Carlo Rovelli unravels this mystery. Enlightening and consoling, The Order of Time shows that to understand ourselves we need to reflect on time -- and to understand time we need to reflect on ourselves. Translated by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre

- Offers an abundance of explanations in a simple and clear manner without requiring mathematical knowledge above high school level - Presents thorough and detailed explanations of both General Relativity and Special Relativity - Presents simple demonstrations that are physically oriented and include complete explanations - Gives demonstrations of Special Relativity, including E=mc(2), and General Relativity, including the covariant derivative, the geodesic equation and the relativistic Maxwell laws

- Offers an abundance of explanations in a simple and clear manner without requiring mathematical knowledge above high school level - Presents thorough and detailed explanations of both General Relativity and Special Relativity - Presents simple demonstrations that are physically oriented and include complete explanations - Gives demonstrations of Special Relativity, including E=mc(2), and General Relativity, including the covariant derivative, the geodesic equation and the relativistic Maxwell laws

The international bestseller: an introduction to the theory of relativity by the eminent physicists Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw What does E=mc2 actually mean? Dr. Brian Cox and Professor Jeff Forshaw go on a journey to the frontier of twenty-first century science to unpack Einstein's famous equation. Explaining and simplifying notions of energy, mass, and light-while exploding commonly held misconceptions-they demonstrate how the structure of nature itself is contained within this equation. Along the way, we visit the site of one of the largest scientific experiments ever conducted: the now-famous Large Hadron Collider, a gigantic particle accelerator capable of re-creating conditions that existed fractions of a second after the Big Bang. A collaboration between one of the youngest professors in the United Kingdom and a distinguished popular physicist, Why Does E=mc2? is one of the most exciting and accessible explanations of the theory of relativity.

Students are naturally drawn to quantum science by the intriguing behaviors of small particles. However, they can also be intimidated by the lengthy and complicated treatment found in the classroom. Understanding Quantum Science: A Concise Primer for Students of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics is a highly accessible book that offers students an opportunity to grasp the most fascinating of quantum topics, without the intimidation. To be sure, math is necessary, but it is introduced as needed and kept concise. The emphasis is on the science: a certain differential equation can be solved, and when it is, we find the energies that hydrogen atom electrons are allowed to have. Each concept is developed in this manner, keeping focus on how and why it arises, and on the intriguing consequences. This book provides a brief tour of some of the wonders of quantum science. But it is more than that, it is designed to be the most concise tour possible that truly explains how these wonders arise so that you can develop a working understanding of quantum concepts. If your goal is loftier and you wish to become a quantum specialist, the conceptual groundwork presented here, along with rationalization of the mathematics required, will position you well for higher level classes.

When it comes to filmmaking, the rules of physics are flexible
The companion book to the hit website, Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics is a hilarious and fascinating guide to the biggest mistakes, the most outrageous assumptions and the outright lunacy of Hollywood films. Author Tom Rogers uses basic scientific principles, such as Newton's First Law, along with a little common sense to examine and expose Hollywood's absolute worst physics offenders, including The Matrix, Speed and Star Wars. Find out how your favorite films measure up!
--Would the bus in Speed really have made that jump?
--Could a Star Wars ship actually explode in space?
--Can you really ignite gasoline with the flick of a cigarette?
--What really would have happened if you said ?Honey, I shrunk the kids??

Submanifolds and Holonomy, Second Edition explores recent progress in the submanifold geometry of space forms, including new methods based on the holonomy of the normal connection. This second edition reflects many developments that have occurred since the publication of its popular predecessor. New to the Second Edition New chapter on normal holonomy of complex submanifolds New chapter on the Berger-Simons holonomy theorem New chapter on the skew-torsion holonomy system New chapter on polar actions on symmetric spaces of compact type New chapter on polar actions on symmetric spaces of noncompact type New section on the existence of slices and principal orbits for isometric actions New subsection on maximal totally geodesic submanifolds New subsection on the index of symmetric spaces The book uses the reduction of codimension, Moore's lemma for local splitting, and the normal holonomy theorem to address the geometry of submanifolds. It presents a unified treatment of new proofs and main results of homogeneous submanifolds, isoparametric submanifolds, and their generalizations to Riemannian manifolds, particularly Riemannian symmetric spaces.

Written in accessible language without mathematical formulas, this short book provides an overview of the wide and varied applications of artificial intelligence (AI) across the spectrum of physical sciences. Focusing in particular on AI's ability to extract patterns from data, known as machine learning (ML), the book includes a chapter on important machine learning algorithms and their respective applications in physics. It then explores the use of ML across a number of important sub-fields in more detail, ranging from particle, molecular and condensed matter physics, to astrophysics, cosmology and the theory of everything. The book covers such applications as the search for new particles and the detection of gravitational waves from the merging of black holes, and concludes by discussing what the future may hold.

The book discusses basic concepts of functional analysis, measure and integration theory, calculus of variations and duality and its applications to variational problems of non-convex nature, such as the Ginzburg-Landau system in superconductivity, shape optimization models, dual variational formulations for micro-magnetism and others. Numerical Methods for such and similar problems, such as models in flight mechanics and the Navier-Stokes system in fluid mechanics have been developed through the generalized method of lines, including their matrix finite dimensional approximations. It concludes with a review of recent research on Riemannian geometry applied to Quantum Mechanics and Relativity. The book will be of interest to applied mathematicians and graduate students in applied mathematics. Physicists, engineers and researchers in related fields will also find the book useful in providing a mathematical background applicable to their respective professional areas.

Reveals that the last major electrical discovery occurred in 1938 Identifies five scientific fundamentals that all the major discoveries were based on Shows how all five of those basics were abandoned in the mid-1930s, leaving us stuck with 19th century energy sources Steps on some pretty big toes as it traces back how this all occurred and details two plans (technical and administrative) the world can use to find a new, clean, cheap, and reliable source of electrical energy with which to combat global warming Is written in clear non-technical language

Applies concepts and theorems from real and complex analysis (e.g. Fourier series; implicit function theorem) and topology in the framework of this key theorem from mathematical physics. Covers all aspects of Arnold's proof, including those often left out in more general or simplified presentations. Discusses, in detail, the ideas used in the proof of the KAM theorem and puts them in historical context (e.g. mapping degree from algebraic topology).

Carbon Nanotubes for a Green Environment: Balancing the Risks and Rewards describes the synthesis, characterization, and unique applications of undoped/doped carbon nanotubes as well as hybrids of them with grapheme or nanocomposites, focusing on green aspects of carbon nanotube applications. The volume shows new approaches used for tapping the potential and promise of key materials in isolation or combined with other materials. The research-oriented chapters highlight a spectrum of applications of carbon nanotubes as novel materials for energy storage as well as for environmental remediation, wastewater treatment, green health care products, and more. Chapters explore the use of carbon nanotubes for remediation methods for wastewater treatment such as by using graphene oxide-carbon nanotube composites and by applying undoped and doped carbon nanotubes for removing contaminates. The book also looks at the application of carbon nanotubes for enhanced oil recovery and for heavy metal separation. Other chapters look at the rheological behavior of carbon nanotubes-based materials and their role in processing for various products, the thermal and electrical transport in carbon nanotubes composites, carbon nanotubes-based composite materials for electromagnetic shielding applications. The biomedical applications of carbon nanotube-based nanomaterials also explored, such as FTIR spectroscopy.

This book is the first of its kind to bring basic notions of contemporary physics to bear on African cine-scapes. In this book, renowned African cinema scholar Kenneth W. Harrow presents unique new ways to think about space and time in film, with a specific focus on African and African diasporic cinema. Through a series of case studies, he explores how cinema creates and represents time and space and, more specifically, how a cinema centered in African landscapes and figures accomplishes this. He reflects on the issues and problems posed by scientists when faced with the basic questions of what space and time are and their solutions or conclusions, giving both film studies and African studies scholars access to new ways to formulate their thinking about African cine-scapes. Working beyond the limits of a framework based in a postcolonial and cultural understanding of time and space, Harrow demonstrates how a scientific understanding of time and space can open up new approaches to African cinema and cinema in general. A unique, interdisciplinary book that encourages brand new ways to approach cinematic texts and, specifically, African cine-scapes.

The student's companion website and the instructor manual can be accessed here. This textbook provides the knowledge and skills needed for thorough understanding of the most important methods and ways of thinking in experimental physics. The reader learns to design, assemble, and debug apparatus, to use it to take meaningful data, and to think carefully about the story told by the data. Key Features: Efficiently helps students grow into independent experimentalists through a combination of structured yet thought-provoking and challenging exercises, student-designed experiments, and guided but open-ended exploration. Provides solid coverage of fundamental background information, explained clearly for undergraduates, such as ground loops, optical alignment techniques, scientific communication, and data acquisition using LabVIEW, Python, or Arduino. Features carefully designed lab experiences to teach fundamentals, including analog electronics and low noise measurements, digital electronics, microcontrollers, FPGAs, computer interfacing, optics, vacuum techniques, and particle detection methods. Offers a broad range of advanced experiments for each major area of physics, from condensed matter to particle physics. Also provides clear guidance for student development of projects not included here. Provides a detailed Instructor's Manual for every lab, so that the instructor can confidently teach labs outside their own research area. The manual can be accessed here.

Differential geometry and topology have become essential tools for many theoretical physicists. In particular, they are indispensable in theoretical studies of condensed matter physics, gravity, and particle physics. Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition introduces the ideas and techniques of differential geometry and topology at a level suitable for postgraduate students and researchers in these fields. The second edition of this popular and established text incorporates a number of changes designed to meet the needs of the reader and reflect the development of the subject. The book features a considerably expanded first chapter, reviewing aspects of path integral quantization and gauge theories. Chapter 2 introduces the mathematical concepts of maps, vector spaces, and topology. The following chapters focus on more elaborate concepts in geometry and topology and discuss the application of these concepts to liquid crystals, superfluid helium, general relativity, and bosonic string theory. Later chapters unify geometry and topology, exploring fiber bundles, characteristic classes, and index theorems. New to this second edition is the proof of the index theorem in terms of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. The final two chapters are devoted to the most fascinating applications of geometry and topology in contemporary physics, namely the study of anomalies in gauge field theories and the analysis of Polakov's bosonic string theory from the geometrical point of view. Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition is an ideal introduction to differential geometry and topology for postgraduate students and researchers in theoretical and mathematical physics.

This book provides an introduction to functional analysis for non-experts in mathematics. As such, it is distinct from most other books on the subject that are intended for mathematicians. Concepts are explained concisely with visual materials, making it accessible for those unfamiliar with graduate-level mathematics. Topics include topology, vector spaces, tensor spaces, Lebesgue integrals, and operators, to name a few. Each chapter explains, concisely, the purpose of the specific topic and the benefit of understanding it. Researchers and graduate students in physics, mechanical engineering, and information science will benefit from this view of functional analysis.

For the engineering and scientific professional, A Physicist's Guide to Mathematica, 2/e provides an updated reference guide based on the 2007 new 6.0 release, providing an organized and integrated desk reference with step by step instructions for the most often used features of the software as it applies to research in physics.
For Professors teaching physics and other science courses using the Mathematica software, A Physicist's Guide to Mathematica, 2/e is the only fully compatible (new software release) Mathematica text that engages students by providing complete topic coverage, new applications, exercises and examples that enable the user to solve a wide range of physics problems.
- Does not require prior knowledge of Mathematica or computer programming
- Can be used as either a primary or supplemental text for upper-division physics majors and an Instructor's Solutions Manual is available
- Provides over 450 end-of-section exercises and end-of-chapter problems
- Serves as a reference suitable for chemists, physical scientists, and engineers
- Compatible with Mathematica Version 6, a recent major release
- Compact disk contains all of the Mathematica input and output in this book

* Inclusion of realistic 3D simulations that behave very much like the real thing. This isn't just setting a value and reading something off the screen. These incorporate the physicality of the experiments, which might mean positioning yourself so that a moving needle can be seen accurately by using your position to remove parallax. * Based on academic research into teaching online. * Coverage of all of the required practicals (AQA). * Inclusion of background information on each experiment. * Detailed accounts of how to perform the experiment for real or with the simulation. * The simulations have the Association for Science's Green Tick of approval.

Albert Einstein is an icon of the twentieth century. Born in Ulm, Germany, in 1879, he is most famous for his theory of relativity, which is considered the founding principle of modern physics. He also made enormous contributions to quantum mechanics and cosmology, and for his work he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921. A self-pronounced pacifist, humanist, and, late in his life, democratic socialist, Einstein was also deeply concerned with the social impact of his discoveries. Much of Einstein's life is shrouded in legend. From popular images and advertisements to various works of theater and fiction, he has come to signify so many things: the quintessential absent-minded professor; the gentle eccentric; the pacifist; the super-human genius. In Einstein: A Biography, Jurgen Neffe presents a clear and probing portrait of the man behind the myth. He recounts Einstein's life with detail and accuracy, presenting a comprehensive account of the educational, religious, psychological and historical conditions that enabled Einstein to become the ber-physicist of all time. Unearthing new documents, including a series of previously unknown letters from Einstein to his sons, which shed a new light on his role as a father, Neffe also paints a rich portrait of the tumultuous years in which Einstein lived and worked. With a background in the sciences, Neffe describes and contextualizes Einstein's enormous contributions to our scientific legacy. He leads his readers through today's institutes and laboratories worldwide, where Einstein's work continues to thrill researchers and scholars. A bestseller in Germany, Einstein is sure to be a classic biography of the man and proverbial genius who has been called the brain of the [twentieth] century.

Integrated Science is a straightforward, easy-to-read, but substantial introduction to the fundamental behavior of matter and energy in living and nonliving systems. It is intended to serve the needs of non-science majors who must complete one or more science courses as part of a general or basic studies requirement. Integrated Science provides an introduction to a scientific way of thinking as it introduces fundamental scientific concepts, often in historical context. Several features of the text provide opportunities for students to experience the methods of science by evaluating situations from a scientific point of view. While technical language and mathematics are important in developing an understanding of science, only the language and mathematics needed to develop central concepts are used. No prior work in science is assumed.

Materials for Energy offers a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in materials for efficient and sustainable energy applications, including energy conversion, storage, and smart applications. Discusses a wide range of material types, such as nanomaterials, carbonaceous electrocatalysts and electrolytes, thin films, phase change materials, 2D energy materials, triboelectric materials, and membrane materials Describes applications that include flexible energy storage devices, sensors, energy storage batteries, fuel and solar cells, photocatalytic wastewater treatment, and more Highlights current developments in energy conversion, storage, and applications from a materials angle Aimed at researchers, engineers, and technologists working to solve alternative energy issues, this work illustrates the state of the art and latest technologies in this important field.

This book addresses graduate students and researchers wishing to better understand the liquid and supercritical fluid states of matter, presenting a single cohesive treatment of the liquid and supercritical fluid states using the gas-like and solid-like approaches. Bringing this information together into one comprehensive text, this book outlines how our understanding of the liquid and supercritical fluid states is applied and explores the use of supercritical fluids in daily life and in research, for example in power generation, and their existence in planetary interiors. Presents a single coherent treatment of the key knowledge about the liquid and supercritical fluid states Provides comprehensive survey of key fluid properties from the latest experiments and applies our theoretical knowledge to understand the behaviour of these real fluids Explores the consequences of recent advances in the field on our understanding in industry, nature, and in interdisciplinary research, including planetary science