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Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > General
Particle physics studies highly complex processes which cannot be directly observed. Scientific realism claims that we are nevertheless warranted in believing that these processes really occur and that the objects involved in them really exist. This book defends a version of scientific realism, called causal realism, in the context of particle physics. The first part of the book introduces the central theses and arguments in the recent philosophical debate on scientific realism and discusses entity realism, which is the most important precursor of causal realism. It also argues against the view that the very debate on scientific realism is not worth pursuing at all. In the second part, causal realism is developed and the key distinction between two kinds of warrant for scientific claims is clarified. This distinction proves its usefulness in a case study analyzing the discovery of the neutrino. It is also shown to be effective against an influential kind of pessimism, according to which even our best present theories are likely to be replaced some day by radically distinct alternatives. The final part discusses some specific challenges posed to realism by quantum physics, such as non-locality, delayed choice and the absence of particles in relativistic quantum theories.
This biography explores the life and career of the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, which is also the story of thirty years that transformed physics and forever changed our understanding of matter and the universe: nuclear physics and elementary particle physics were born, nuclear fission was discovered, the Manhattan Project was developed, the atomic bombs were dropped, and the era of "big science" began.It would be impossible to capture the full essence of this revolutionary period without first understanding Fermi, without whom it would not have been possible. Enrico Fermi: The Obedient Genius attempts to shed light on all aspects of Fermi's life - his work, motivation, influences, achievements, and personal thoughts - beginning with the publication of his first paper in 1921 through his death in 1954. During this time, Fermi demonstrated that he was indeed following in the footsteps of Galileo, excelling in his work both theoretically and experimentally by deepening our understanding of the Pauli exclusion principle, winning the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the fundamental properties of slow neutrons, developing the theory of beta decay, building the first nuclear reactor, and playing a central role in the development of the atomic bomb. Interwoven with this fascinating story, the book details the major developments in physics and provides the necessary background material to fully appreciate the dramatic changes that were taking place. Also included are appendices that provide a timeline of Fermi's life, several primary source documents from the period, and an extensive bibliography. This book will enlighten anyone interested in Fermi's work or the scientific events that led to the physics revolution of the first half of the twentieth century.
The Symposium .Symmetries in Science VI: From the Rotation Group to Quantum Algebras. was held at the Cloister Mehrerau, Bregenz, Austria, during the period August 2-7, 1992. The Symposium was held in honor of Professor Lawrence C. Biedenharn on the occasion of his 70th birthday. During the academic year 1966/67 I worked as research associate with Larry at Duke University and we have ever since maintained close contact. It was thus natural for me to take the initiative and to organize this Symposium in honor of Larry as a great scientist and friend. The response which the Symposium received showed the favorable reaction by the scientific community to the opportunity provided by the Symposium to honor our colleague, teacher and friend. Equally, the scientific contributions contained in this volume illustrate the high esteem in which he is held. I wish to thank all the scientists who participated in the Symposium and who contributed to this volume. It is due to their commitment that the Symposium was successful. Finally I need to thank those who provided financial and logistical assistance to the Symposium: Dr. John H. Guyon, President of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Dr. Russell R. Dutcher, Dean, College of Science at SIUC, Dr. Maurice A. Wright, Chairman, Department of Physics, SIUC, Dr. Victoria J. Molfese, Office of Research Developement and Administration, SIUC, as well as Dr. Martin Purtscher, Landeshauptmann, Land Vorarlberg Dr. Guntram Lins, Landesrat, Land Vorarlberg."
In the past decades now a famous class of evolution equations has been discovered and intensively studied, a class including the nowadays celebrated Korteweg-de Vries equation, sine-Gordon equation, nonlinear Schr] odinger equation, etc. The equations from this class are known also as the soliton equations or equations solvable by the so- called Inverse Scattering Tra- form Method. They possess a number of interesting properties, probably the most interesting from the geometric point of view of being that most of them are Liouville integrable Hamiltonian systems. Because of the importance of the soliton equations, a dozen monographs have been devoted to them. H- ever, the great variety of approaches to the soliton equations has led to the paradoxical situation that specialists in the same ?eld sometimes understand eachotherwithdi?culties. Wediscovereditourselvesseveralyearsagoduring a number of discussions the three of us had. Even though by friendship binds us, we could not collaborate as well as we wanted to, since our individual approach to the ?eld of integrable systems (?nite and in?nite dimensional) is quite di?erent. We have become aware that things natural in one approach are di?cult to understand for people using other approaches, though the - jects are the same, in our case - the Recursion (generating) Operators and theirapplicationsto?niteandin?nitedimensional(notnecessarilyintegrable) Hamiltonian systems."
Over the past decade, the use of Renewable Energy Technology (RET) has significantly increased around the globe. Technologies that once were considered experimental are now being deployed on commercial scales at phenomenal rates, delivering cost-effective substitutions for conventional, fossil fuel-based systems that cause problems including greenhouse gas emissions, expensive operating costs, and global pollution. But these new systems come at a costly rate, and because of this, officials must review their overall efficiency and effectiveness. Global Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy Systems pushes through the boundaries of current research to introduce the concept of an energy management information system, exploring the role of energy for sustainable development. This book goes into great detail describing the benefits of these systems for organizations, focusing on corporate sustainability initiatives and activities to combat climate change. Research presented in this publication includes modeling techniques, software applications, and case studies that reveal how renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass fuel can have a significant implications for both operating costs and environmental impacts.
During the last few years, considerable interest has been focused on the phase that waves accumulate when the equations governing the waves vary slowly. The recent flurry of activity was set off by a paper by Michael Berry, where it was found that the adiabatic evolution of energy eigenfunctions in quantum mechanics contains a phase of geometric origin (now known as 'Berry's phase') in addition to the usual dynamical phase derived from Schrodinger's equation. This observation, though basically elementary, seems to be quite profound. Phases with similar mathematical origins have been identified and found to be important in a startling variety of physical contexts, ranging from nuclear magnetic resonance and low-Reynolds number hydrodynamics to quantum field theory. This volume is a collection of original papers and reprints, with commentary, on the subject.
This book tackles the question of the symbolic structure of physics, a topic which is implicit in any theory of knowledge, but one that often seems to be ignored as an explicit and central element in today's epistemological debates. The elucidation of this problem should benefit a number of ongoing discussions and can help to avoid much recurring confusion. The contributions to the book have been chosen so as to provide a coherent view, ultimately addressing the relation between the concepts used in science and the real world. The first part provides an introduction to the problem as it arises in physics, and to the modern history of symbols. The subject of the second part is the epistemological discussion taking place between physicists and philosophers about the role of symbols in our knowledge of Nature. The third part addresses key issues related to the methodology of physics and the character of its symbolic structures. The aim of this book is to provide a consistent,
This book covers all basic areas of mechanical engineering, such as fluid mechanics, heat conduction, beams and elasticity with detailed derivations for the mass, stiffness and force matrices. It is especially designed to give physical feeling to the reader for finite element approximation by the introduction of finite elements to the elevation of elastic membrane. A detailed treatment of computer methods with numerical examples are provided. In the fluid mechanics chapter, the conventional and vorticity transport formulations for viscous incompressible fluid flow with discussion on the method of solution are presented. The variational and Galerkin formulations of the heat conduction, beams and elasticity problems are also discussed in detail. Three computer codes are provided to solve the elastic membrane problem. One of them solves the Poisson s equation. The second computer program handles the two dimensional elasticity problems and the third one presents the three dimensional transient heat conduction problems. The programs are written in C++ environment."
This is the first volume in a series of books on the general theme of Supersymmetric Mechanics; the series is based on lectures and discussions held in 2005 and 2006 at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati. This volume supplies a pedagogical introduction, at the non-expert level, to the attractor mechanism in space-time singularities. After a qualitative overview, explicit examples realizing the attractor mechanism are treated at length.
The present volume on Methods and Applications of Nonlinear Dynamics arose mainly from lectures given at the First International Course on Nonlinear Dynamics, which took place in Medellin, Colombia, on 1-5 September 1986. The aims of the Course were to discuss some of the fundamental theoretical ideas of modem nonlinear dynamics and their application to selected areas of physics, and also to help the participants to bridge the gap between textbook presentations and the contemporary research literature. The lectures were intended for and delivered to a PhD-level audience composed of physicists and mathematicians. They were not primarily intended for experts, but rather for scientists interested in performing experimental or theoretical research on nonlinear dynamical phenomena occurring in real physical systems.
This book is intended to be self-contained, giving the theory of absolute (equivalent to Lebesgue) and non-absolute (equivalent to Denjoy-Perron) integration by using a simple extension of the Riemann integral. A useful tool for mathematicians and scientists needing advanced integration theory would be a method combining the ideas of the calculus of indefinite integral and Riemann definite integral in such a way that Lebesgue properties can be proved easily.Three important results that have not appeared in any other book distinguish this book from the rest. First a result on limits of sequences under the integral sign, secondly the necessary and sufficient conditions for the various limits under the integral sign and thirdly the application of these results to ordinary differential equations. The present book will give non-absolute integration theory just as easily as the absolute theory, and Stieltjes-type integration too.
This book is intended to be self-contained, giving the theory of absolute (equivalent to Lebesgue) and non-absolute (equivalent to Denjoy-Perron) integration by using a simple extension of the Riemann integral. A useful tool for mathematicians and scientists needing advanced integration theory would be a method combining the ideas of the calculus of indefinite integral and Riemann definite integral in such a way that Lebesgue properties can be proved easily.Three important results that have not appeared in any other book distinguish this book from the rest. First a result on limits of sequences under the integral sign, secondly the necessary and sufficient conditions for the various limits under the integral sign and thirdly the application of these results to ordinary differential equations. The present book will give non-absolute integration theory just as easily as the absolute theory, and Stieltjes-type integration too.
This book discusses the geometrical aspects of Kaluza-Klein theories. The ten chapters cover topics from the differential and Riemannian manifolds to the reduction of Einstein-Yang-Mills action. It would definitely prove interesting reading to physicists and mathematicians, theoretical and experimental.
Heavy atoms and their compounds are important in many areas of modern technology. Their versatility in the reactions they undergo is the reason that they can be found in most homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Their magnetism is the decisive property that qualifies them as materials for modern storage devices. The phenomena observed in compounds of heavy atoms such as phosphorescence, magnetism or the tendency for high valency in chemical reactions can to a large extent be traced back to relativistic effects in their electronic structure. Thus, in many respects relativistic effects dominate the physics and chemistry of heavy atoms and their compounds. Chemists are usually aware of these phenomena. However, the theory behind them is not part of the standard chemistry curriculum and thus not widely known among experimentalists. Whilst the relativistic quantum theory of electronic structure is well established in physics, applications of the theory to chemical systems and materials have been feasible only in the last decade and their practical applications in connection with chemical experiment is somewhat out of sight of modern theoretical physics. Relativistic Effects in Heavy Element Chemistry and Physics intends to bridge the gap between chemistry and physics on the one hand and theory and experiment on the other. Topics covered include: - A broad range from quantum electrodynamics to the phenomenology of the compounds of heavy and superheavy elements; - A state-of-the-art survey of the most important theoretical developments and applications in the field of relativistic effects in heavy-element chemistry and physics in the last decade; - Special emphasis on the work of researchers in Europe and Germany in the framework of research programmes of the European Science Foundation and the German Science Foundation.
Building on the author's previous edition on the subject (Introduction to Linear Algebra, Jones & Bartlett, 1996), this book offers a refreshingly concise text suitable for a standard course in linear algebra, presenting a carefully selected array of essential topics that can be thoroughly covered in a single semester. Although the exposition generally falls in line with the material recommended by the Linear Algebra Curriculum Study Group, it notably deviates in providing an early emphasis on the geometric foundations of linear algebra. This gives students a more intuitive understanding of the subject and enables an easier grasp of more abstract concepts covered later in the course. The focus throughout is rooted in the mathematical fundamentals, but the text also investigates a number of interesting applications, including a section on computer graphics, a chapter on numerical methods, and many exercises and examples using MATLAB. Meanwhile, many visuals and problems (a complete solutions manual is available to instructors) are included to enhance and reinforce understanding throughout the book. Brief yet precise and rigorous, this work is an ideal choice for a one-semester course in linear algebra targeted primarily at math or physics majors. It is a valuable tool for any professor who teaches the subject.
All with an interest in physics and related technologies; those interested in the history of modern physics.
The expression of uncertainty in measurement poses a challenge since it involves physical, mathematical, and philosophical issues. This problem is intensified by the limitations of the probabilistic approach used by the current standard (the GUM Instrumentation Standard). This text presents an alternative approach. It makes full use of the mathematical theory of evidence to express the uncertainty in measurements. Coverage provides an overview of the current standard, then pinpoints and constructively resolves its limitations. Numerous examples throughout help explain the book 's unique approach.
This book is a snapshot of current research in multiscale modeling, computations and applications. It covers fundamental mathematical theory, numerical algorithms as well as practical computational advice for analysing single and multiphysics models containing a variety of scales in time and space. Complex fluids, porous media flow and oscillatory dynamical systems are treated in some extra depth, as well as tools like analytical and numerical homogenization, and fast multipole method.
A Levy process is a continuous-time analogue of a random walk, and as such, is at the cradle of modern theories of stochastic processes. Martingales, Markov processes, and diffusions are extensions and generalizations of these processes. In the past, representatives of the Levy class were considered most useful for applications to either Brownian motion or the Poisson process. Nowadays the need for modeling jumps, bursts, extremes and other irregular behavior of phenomena in nature and society has led to a renaissance of the theory of general Levy processes. Researchers and practitioners in fields as diverse as physics, meteorology, statistics, insurance, and finance have rediscovered the simplicity of Levy processes and their enormous flexibility in modeling tails, dependence and path behavior. This volume, with an excellent introductory preface, describes the state-of-the-art of this rapidly evolving subject with special emphasis on the non-Brownian world. Leading experts present surveys of recent developments, or focus on some most promising applications. Despite its special character, every topic is aimed at the non- specialist, keen on learning about the new exciting face of a rather aged class of processes. An extensive bibliography at the end of each article makes this an invaluable comprehensive reference text. For the researcher and graduate student, every article contains open problems and points out directions for futurearch. The accessible nature of the work makes this an ideal introductory text for graduate seminars in applied probability, stochastic processes, physics, finance, and telecommunications, and a unique guide to the world of Levy processes. "
The general concept of information is here, for the first time, defined mathematically by adding one single axiom to the probability theory. This Mathematical Theory of Information is explored in fourteen chapters: 1. Information can be measured in different units, in anything from bits to dollars. We will here argue that any measure is acceptable if it does not violate the Law of Diminishing Information. This law is supported by two independent arguments: one derived from the Bar-Hillel ideal receiver, the other is based on Shannon's noisy channel. The entropy in the 'classical information theory' is one of the measures conforming to the Law of Diminishing Information, but it has, however, properties such as being symmetric, which makes it unsuitable for some applications. The measure reliability is found to be a universal information measure. 2. For discrete and finite signals, the Law of Diminishing Information is defined mathematically, using probability theory and matrix algebra. 3. The Law of Diminishing Information is used as an axiom to derive essential properties of information. Byron's law: there is more information in a lie than in gibberish. Preservation: no information is lost in a reversible channel. Etc. The Mathematical Theory of Information supports colligation, i. e. the property to bind facts together making 'two plus two greater than four'. Colligation is a must when the information carries knowledge, or is a base for decisions. In such cases, reliability is always a useful information measure. Entropy does not allow colligation.
The third edition of Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity has been carefully updated to reflect significant developments, including a new chapter covering important recent work in the foundations of physics. * A new edition of the premier philosophical study of Bell s Theorem and its implication for the relativistic account of space and time * Discusses Roderich Tumiulka s explicit, relativistic theory that can reproduce the quantum mechanical violation of Bell s inequality. * Discusses the "Free Will Theorem" of John Conway and Simon Kochen * Introduces philosophers to the relevant physics and demonstrates how philosophical analysis can help inform physics |
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Notices of the Proceedings at the…
Royal Institution of Great Britain
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