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Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > Thermodynamics & statistical physics
In this monograph Prof. Pramanick explicates the law of motive force, a fundamental law of nature that can be observed and appreciated as an addition to the existing laws of thermodynamics. This unmistakable and remarkable tendency of nature is equally applicable to all other branches of studies. He first conceptualized the law of motive force in 1989, when he was an undergraduate student. Here he reports various applications of the law in the area of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics and solid mechanics, and shows how it is possible to solve analytically century-old unsolved problems through its application. This book offers a comprehensive account of the law and its relation to other laws and principles, such as the generalized conservation principle, variational formulation, Fermat's principle, Bejan's constructal law, entropy generation minimization, Bejan's method of intersecting asymptotes and equipartition principle. Furthermore, the author addresses some interrelated fundamental problems of contemporary interest, especially to thermodynamicists, by combining analytical methods, physical reasoning and the proposed law of motive force. This foundational work is a valuable reading for both students and researchers in exact as well as non-exact sciences and, at the same time, a pleasant learning experience for the novice.
While we all live our lives in designed landscapes of various types, only on occasion do we consider what these landscapes mean to us and how they have acquired that significance. Can a landscape architect or garden designer really imbue new settings with meaning, or does meaning evolve over time, created by those who perceive and use these landscapes? What role does the selection and arrangement of plants and hard materials play in this process and just where does the passage of time enter into the equation? These questions collectively provide the core material for Meaning in Landscape Architecture and Gardens, a compendium of four landmark essays written over a period of twenty years by leading scholars in the field of landscape architecture. New commentaries by the authors accompany each of the essays and reflect on the thinking behind them as well as the evolution of the author s thoughts since their original publication. Although the central theme of these writings is landscape architecture broadly taken, the principal subject of several essays and commentaries is the garden, a subject historically plentiful in allusions and metaphors. As a whole Meaning in Landscape Architecture and Gardens offers the general reader as well as the professional a rich source of ideas about the designed landscape and the ways by which we perceive, consider, react, and dwell within them and what they mean to us. The essays have been perennial favorites in landscape courses since their original publication in Landscape Journal. Bringing them together bolstered by the new commentaries creates a book valuable to all those creating gardens and landscapes, as well as those teaching and studying these subjects.
This brief discusses the mechanism of functional expression of a protein or protein complex utilizing the ATP hydrolysis cycle or proton-motive force from a unique point of view focused on the roles of water. A variety of processes are considered such as the unidirectional movement of a linear-motor protein along a filament, insertion of an unfolded protein into a chaperonin and release of the folded protein from it, transport of diverse substrates across the membrane by a transporter, and directed rotation of the central subunit within a rotatory motor protein complex. These topics are discussed in a unified manner within the same theoretical framework. The author argues that water plays imperative roles in the functional expression of these molecular machines. A pivotal factor is the entropic force or potential originating from the translational displacement of water molecules coexisting with the molecular machines in the entire system.
The study of thermodynamics is often limited to classical thermodynamics where minimal laws and concepts lead to a wealth of equations and applications. The resultant equations best describe systems at equilibrium with no temporal or s- tial parameters. The equations do, however, often provide accurate descriptions for systems close to equilibrium. . Statistical thermodynamics produces the same equilibrium information starting with the microscopic properties of the atoms or molecules in the system that correlates with the results from macroscopic classical thermodynamics. Because both these disciplines develop a wealth of information from a few starting postulates, e. g. , the laws of thermodyamics, they are often introduced as independent disciplines. However, the concepts and techniques dev- oped for these disciplines are extremely useful in many other disciplines. This book is intended to provide an introduction to these disciplines while revealing the connections between them. Chemical kinetics uses the statistics and probabilities developed for statistical thermodynamics to explain the evolution of a system to equilibrium. Irreversible thermodynamics, which is developed from the equations of classical thermodyn- ics, centers on distance-dependent forces, and time-dependent ?uxes. The force ?ux equations of irreversible thermodynamics lead are generated from the intensive and extensive variables of classical thermodynamics. These force ?ux equations lead, in turn, to transport equations such as Fick's ?rst law of diffusion and the Nernst Planck equation for electrochemical transport. The book illustrates the concepts using some simple examples.
Learn classical thermodynamics alongside statistical mechanics with this fresh approach to the subjects. Molecular and macroscopic principles are explained in an integrated, side-by-side manner to give students a deep, intuitive understanding of thermodynamics and equip them to tackle future research topics that focus on the nanoscale. Entropy is introduced from the get-go, providing a clear explanation of how the classical laws connect to the molecular principles, and closing the gap between the atomic world and thermodynamics. Notation is streamlined throughout, with a focus on general concepts and simple models, for building basic physical intuition and gaining confidence in problem analysis and model development. Well over 400 guided end-of-chapter problems are included, addressing conceptual, fundamental, and applied skill sets. Numerous worked examples are also provided together with handy shaded boxes to emphasize key concepts, making this the complete teaching package for students in chemical engineering and the chemical sciences.
Gauge/gravity duality creates new links between quantum theory and gravity. It has led to new concepts in mathematics and physics, and provides new tools to solve problems in many areas of theoretical physics. This book is the first textbook on this important topic, enabling graduate students and researchers in string theory and particle, nuclear and condensed matter physics to get acquainted with the subject. Focusing on the fundamental aspects as well as on the applications, this textbook guides readers through a thorough explanation of the central concepts of gauge/gravity duality. For the AdS/CFT correspondence, it explains in detail how string theory provides the conjectured map. Generalisations to less symmetric cases of gauge/gravity duality and their applications are then presented, in particular to finite temperature and density, hydrodynamics, QCD-like theories, the quark-gluon plasma and condensed matter systems. The textbook features a large number of exercises, with solutions available online at www.cambridge.org/9781107010345.
This book covers the major problems of turbulence and turbulent processes, including physical phenomena, their modeling and their simulation. After a general introduction in Chapter 1 illustrating many aspects dealing with turbulent flows, averaged equations and kinetic energy budgets are provided in Chapter 2. The concept of turbulent viscosity as a closure of the Reynolds stress is also introduced. Wall-bounded flows are presented in Chapter 3 and aspects specific to boundary layers and channel or pipe flows are also pointed out. Free shear flows, namely free jets and wakes, are considered in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 deals with vortex dynamics. Homogeneous turbulence, isotropy and dynamics of isotropic turbulence are presented in Chapters 6 and 7. Turbulence is then described both in the physical space and in the wave number space. Time dependent numerical simulations are presented in Chapter 8, where an introduction to large eddy simulation is offered. The last three chapters of the book summarize remarkable digital techniques current and experimental. Many results are presented in a practical way, based on both experiments and numerical simulations. The book is written for a advanced engineering students as well as postgraduate engineers and researchers. For students, it contains the essential results as well as details and demonstrations whose oral transmission is often tedious. At a more advanced level, the text provides numerous references which allow readers to find quickly further study regarding their work and to acquire a deeper knowledge on topics of interest.
Temperature and Humidity Independent Control (THIC) of Air-conditioning System focuses on temperature and humidity independent control (THIC) systems, which represents a new concept and new approach for indoor environmental control. This book presents the main components of the THIC systems, including dehumidification devices, high-temperature cooling devices and indoor terminal devices. Other relevant issues, such as operation and control strategy and case studies, are also included. This book is intended for air-conditioning system designers and engineers as well as researchers working with indoor environments. Xiaohua Liu is an associate professor at the Building Energy Research Center, Tsinghua University, China. Yi Jiang is a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the director of the Building Energy Research Center, Tsinghua University, China and the director of the China-USA Joint Research Center on Clean Energy. Tao Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate at the Building Energy Research Center, Tsinghua University, China.
Written by distinguished physics educator David Goodstein, this fresh introduction to thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and the study of matter is ideal for undergraduate courses. The textbook looks at the behavior of thermodynamic variables and examines partial derivatives - the essential language of thermodynamics. It also explores states of matter and the phase transitions between them, the ideal gas equation, and the behavior of the atmosphere. The origin and meaning of the laws of thermodynamics are then discussed, together with Carnot engines and refrigerators, and the notion of reversibility. Later chapters cover the partition function, the density of states, and energy functions, as well as more advanced topics such as the interactions between particles and equations for the states of gases of varying densities. Favoring intuitive and qualitative descriptions over exhaustive mathematical derivations, the textbook uses numerous problems and worked examples to help readers get to grips with the subject.
The transverse field Ising and XY models (the simplest quantum spin models) provide the organising principle for the rich variety of interconnected subjects which are covered in this book. From a generic introduction to in-depth discussions of the subtleties of the transverse field Ising and related models, it includes the essentials of quantum dynamics and quantum information. A wide range of relevant topics has also been provided: quantum phase transitions, various measures of quantum information, the effects of disorder and frustration, quenching dynamics and the Kibble-Zurek scaling relation, the Kitaev model, topological phases of quantum systems, and bosonisation. In addition, it also discusses the experimental studies of transverse field models (including the first experimental realisation of quantum annealing) and the recent realisation of the transverse field Ising model using tunable Josephson junctions. Further, it points to the obstacles still remaining to develop a successful quantum computer.
The Scottish mathematician and natural philosopher Sir John Leslie (1766-1832) had set out at the end of the eighteenth century to explore the nature of heat radiation, which he felt was a 'dubious and neglected' area of physics. Leslie's inquiry, published in 1804, details his many experiments, notably the use of two self-devised instruments: Leslie's cube and his differential thermometer. Establishing several basic laws of heat radiation and rejuvenating the debate about the physical composition of heat, Leslie's work gained him the Rumford medal of the Royal Society in 1805. Nevertheless, the same publication jeopardised his chances of obtaining an academic position at Edinburgh. A single, allegedly atheistic endnote, supporting David Hume's views on causation, prompted protests by the local clergymen when his candidature for the chair of mathematics was under consideration. Leslie secured the professorship, however, and remained with the university until his death.
Through just a handful of papers, Ettore Majorana left an indelible mark in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science and even economics before his mysterious disappearance in 1938. It is only now that the importance of Majorana's work is being realised: Majorana fermions are intensely studied today, and his work on neutrino physics has provided possible explanations for the existence of dark matter. In this unique volume, Salvatore Esposito explores not only Majorana's known papers but, even more interestingly, unveils his unpublished works as well. These include powerful methods and results, ranging from the atomic two-centre problem, the Thomas-Fermi model and ferromagnetism to quasi-stationary states, n-component relativistic wave equations and quantum scalar electrodynamics. Featuring biographical notes and contributions from leading experts Evgeny Akhmedov and Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek, this fascinating book will captivate graduate students and researchers interested in frontier science as well as in the history of science.
Denise Reichel studies the delicate subject of temperature measurement during lamp-based annealing of semiconductors, in particular during flash lamp annealing. The approach of background-correction using amplitude-modulated light to obtain the sample reflectivity is reinvented from rapid thermal annealing to apply to millisecond annealing. The author presents a new method independent of the lamp operation to obtain this amplitude modulation and derives a formula to describe the process. Further, she investigates the variables of the formula in depth to validate the method's suitability for background-corrected temperature measurement. The experimental results finally proof its power for elevated temperatures.
Originally published in 1936 as the second instalment of McKenzie's School Certificate series, this book explains the physical properties of heat. The text is accompanied by multiple photographs, drawings and diagrams to illustrate key points, and every chapter concludes with several questions for students to reinforce the chapter content. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science education in Britain.
Probability theory has been extraordinarily successful at describing a variety of phenomena, from the behaviour of gases to the transmission of messages, and is, besides, a powerful tool with applications throughout mathematics. At its heart are a number of concepts familiar in one guise or another to many: Gauss' bell-shaped curve, the law of averages, and so on, concepts that crop up in so many settings they are in some sense universal. This universality is predicted by probability theory to a remarkable degree. This book explains that theory and investigates its ramifications. Assuming a good working knowledge of basic analysis, real and complex, the author maps out a route from basic probability, via random walks, Brownian motion, the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem, to aspects of ergodic theorems, equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, communication over a noisy channel, and random matrices. Numerous examples and exercises enrich the text.
Introducing graduate students and researchers to mathematical physics, this book discusses two recent developments: the demonstration that causality can be defined on discrete space-times; and Sewell's measurement theory, in which the wave packet is reduced without recourse to the observer's conscious ego, nonlinearities or interaction with the rest of the universe. The definition of causality on a discrete space-time assumes that space-time is made up of geometrical points. Using Sewell's measurement theory, the author concludes that the notion of geometrical points is as meaningful in quantum mechanics as it is in classical mechanics, and that it is impossible to tell whether the differential calculus is a discovery or an invention. Providing a mathematical discourse on the relation between theoretical and experimental physics, the book gives detailed accounts of the mathematically difficult measurement theories of von Neumann and Sewell.
Probability theory has been extraordinarily successful at describing a variety of phenomena, from the behaviour of gases to the transmission of messages, and is, besides, a powerful tool with applications throughout mathematics. At its heart are a number of concepts familiar in one guise or another to many: Gauss' bell-shaped curve, the law of averages, and so on, concepts that crop up in so many settings they are in some sense universal. This universality is predicted by probability theory to a remarkable degree. This book explains that theory and investigates its ramifications. Assuming a good working knowledge of basic analysis, real and complex, the author maps out a route from basic probability, via random walks, Brownian motion, the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem, to aspects of ergodic theorems, equilibrium and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, communication over a noisy channel, and random matrices. Numerous examples and exercises enrich the text.
Analyzing the phase transition from diffusive to localized behavior in a model of directed polymers in a random environment, this volume places particular emphasis on the localization phenomenon. The main questionis: What does the path of a random walk look like if rewards and penalties are spatially randomly distributed?This model, which provides a simplified version of stretched elastic chains pinned by random impurities, has attracted much research activity, but it (and its relatives) still holds many secrets, especially in high dimensions. It has non-gaussian scaling limits and it belongs to the so-called KPZ universality class when the space is one-dimensional. Adopting a Gibbsian approach, using general and powerful tools from probability theory, the discrete model is studied in full generality. Presenting the state-of-the art from different perspectives, and written in the form of a first course on the subject, this monograph is aimed at researchers in probability or statistical physics, but is also accessible to masters and Ph.D. students.
The book gives an introduction to Weyl non-regular quantization suitable for the description of physically interesting quantum systems, where the traditional Dirac-Heisenberg quantization is not applicable. The latter implicitly assumes that the canonical variables describe observables, entailing necessarily the regularity of their exponentials (Weyl operators). However, in physically interesting cases -- typically in the presence of a gauge symmetry -- non-observable canonical variables are introduced for the description of the states, namely of the relevant representations of the observable algebra. In general, a gauge invariant ground state defines a non-regular representation of the gauge dependent Weyl operators, providing a mathematically consistent treatment of familiar quantum systems -- such as the electron in a periodic potential (Bloch electron), the Quantum Hall electron, or the quantum particle on a circle -- where the gauge transformations are, respectively, the lattice translations, the magnetic translations and the rotations of 2 . Relevant examples are also provided by quantum gauge field theory models, in particular by the temporal gauge of Quantum Electrodynamics, avoiding the conflict between the Gauss law constraint and the Dirac-Heisenberg canonical quantization. The same applies to Quantum Chromodynamics, where the non-regular quantization of the temporal gauge provides a simple solution of the U(1) problem and a simple link between the vacuum structure and the topology of the gauge group. Last but not least, Weyl non-regular quantization is briefly discussed from the perspective of the so-called polymer representations proposed for Loop Quantum Gravity in connection with diffeomorphism invariant vacuum states.
This textbook gives a thorough treatment of engineering thermodynamics with applications to classical and modern energy conversion devices. Some emphasis lies on the description of irreversible processes, such as friction, heat transfer and mixing and the evaluation of the related work losses. Better use of resources requires high efficiencies therefore the reduction of irreversible losses should be seen as one of the main goals of a thermal engineer. This book provides the necessary tools. Topics include: car and aircraft engines, including Otto, Diesel and Atkinson cycles, by-pass turbofan engines, ramjet and scramjet; steam and gas power plants, including advanced regenerative systems, solar tower and compressed air energy storage; mixing and separation, including reverse osmosis, osmotic power plants and carbon sequestration; phase equilibrium and chemical equilibrium, distillation, chemical reactors, combustion processes and fuel cells; the microscopic definition of entropy. The book includes about 300 end-of-chapter problems for homework assignments and exams. The material presented suffices for two or three full-term courses on thermodynamics and energy conversion.
This second volume covers the mechanics of fluids, the principles of thermodynamics and their applications (without reference to the microscopic structure of systems), and the microscopic interpretation of thermodynamics. It is part of a four-volume textbook, which covers electromagnetism, mechanics, fluids and thermodynamics, and waves and light, is designed to reflect the typical syllabus during the first two years of a calculus-based university physics program. Throughout all four volumes, particular attention is paid to in-depth clarification of conceptual aspects, and to this end the historical roots of the principal concepts are traced. Emphasis is also consistently placed on the experimental basis of the concepts, highlighting the experimental nature of physics. Whenever feasible at the elementary level, concepts relevant to more advanced courses in quantum mechanics and atomic, solid state, nuclear, and particle physics are included. Each chapter begins with an introduction that briefly describes the subjects to be discussed and ends with a summary of the main results. A number of "Questions" are included to help readers check their level of understanding. The textbook offers an ideal resource for physics students, lecturers and, last but not least, all those seeking a deeper understanding of the experimental basics of physics.
The Short QT Syndrome (SQTS) is characterized by abbreviated QT intervals on the electrocardiogram, increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. Although several gene mutations have been identified in SQT patients, the role of these mutations in promoting arrhythmogenesis is still not completely understood. Consequently, this thesis employs multidisciplinary approaches to develop a 3D virtual heart, which is then used to elucidate how the short QT syndrome facilitates and maintains ventricular arrhythmias and to determine its effects on ventricular mechanical contraction. The findings in this thesis provide a comprehensive and mechanistic explanation for a number of gene mutations associated with potassium channels in terms of susceptibility to arrhythmia. The multiphysics models developed provide a powerful platform for identifying the root causes of various arrhythmias and investigating therapeutic interventions for these diseases. The thesis was examined by Prof. Chris Huang of the University of Cambridge, the most authoritative figure in cardiac electrophysiology, who has described the work as "outstanding."
This book presents a detailed study of a system of interacting Brownian motions in one dimension. The interaction is point-like such that the n-th Brownian motion is reflected from the Brownian motion with label n-1. This model belongs to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality class. In fact, because of the singular interaction, many universal properties can be established with rigor. They depend on the choice of initial conditions. Discussion addresses packed and periodic initial conditions (Chapter 5), stationary initial conditions (Chapter 6), and mixtures thereof (Chapter 7). The suitably scaled spatial process will be proven to converge to an Airy process in the long time limit. A chapter on determinantal random fields and another one on Airy processes are added to have the notes self-contained. These notes serve as an introduction to the KPZ universality class, illustrating the main concepts by means of a single model only. The notes will be of interest to readers from interacting diffusion processes and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.
The Hierarchy Problem is arguably the most important guiding principle concerning the extension to high-energy scales of the Standard Model (SM) of Fundamental Interactions. Every scenario for addressing this issue unavoidably predicts new physics in the TeV energy range, which is currently being probed directly by the LHC experimental program. Among the possible solutions to the Hierarchy Problem, the scenario of a composite Higgs boson is a very simple idea and a rather plausible picture has emerged over the years by combining the following ingredients: First, the Higgs must be a (pseudo-) Nambu-Goldstone boson, rather than a generic hadron of the new strong sector. Second, through the so-called 'partial compositeness', SM particles mix with strong sector resonances with suitable quantum numbers, so that they become a linear combination of elementary and composite degrees of freedom. Recently, general descriptions of the Composite Higgs Scenario were developed which successfully capture the relevant features of this theoretical framework in a largely model-independent way. The present book provides a concise and illustrative introduction to the subject for a broad audience of graduate students and non-specialist researchers in the fields of particle, nuclear and gravitational physics.
This book treats ensembles of Young diagrams originating from group-theoretical contexts and investigates what statistical properties are observed there in a large-scale limit. The focus is mainly on analyzing the interesting phenomenon that specific curves appear in the appropriate scaling limit for the profiles of Young diagrams. This problem is regarded as an important origin of recent vital studies on harmonic analysis of huge symmetry structures. As mathematics, an asymptotic theory of representations is developed of the symmetric groups of degree n as n goes to infinity. The framework of rigorous limit theorems (especially the law of large numbers) in probability theory is employed as well as combinatorial analysis of group characters of symmetric groups and applications of Voiculescu's free probability. The central destination here is a clear description of the asymptotic behavior of rescaled profiles of Young diagrams in the Plancherel ensemble from both static and dynamic points of view. |
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