The FIRST MEXICAN MEETING ON MATHEMATICAL AND EXPERI MENTAL PHYSICS was held at EL COLEGIO N ACIONAL in Mexico Cit y, Mexico, from September 10 to 14, 2001. This event consisted of the LEOPOLDO GARciA-COLiN SCHERER Medal Lecture, delivered by Prof. Nicholas G. van Kampen, a series of plenary talks by Leopoldo Garcia-Colin, Giinter Nimtz, Luis F. Rodriguez, Ruoon Barrera, and Donald Saari, and of three parallel symposia, namely, Cosmology and Gravitation, Statistical Physics and Beyond, and Hydrodynamics and Dynamical Systems. The response from the Physics community was enthusiastic, with over 200 participants and around 80 speakers, from allover the world: USA, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Holland, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain, and Hungary. The main aim of the conference is to provide a scenario to Mexican researchers on the topics of Mathematical and Experimental Physics in order to keep them in contact with work going on in other parts of the world and at the same time to motivate and support the young and mid career researchers from our country. To achieve this goal, we decided to the most distinguished experts in the subjects of the invite as lecturers conference and to give the opportunity to young scientist to communi cate the results of their work. The plan is to celebrate this international endeavor every three years."

Over the past several decades there has been increasing research interest in thermodynamics as applied to biological systems. This concerns topics such as muscle work and internal energy such as fat and starch. Applications of the first and second laws of thermodynamics to the human body are important to dieticians and health science experts, and applications of these concepts to the animal body are a major concern of animal scientists. This book covers these key topics, which are typically not covered in classic or traditional thermodynamics texts used in mechanical and chemical engineering.

Authored by two highly respected experts in this specialist area, The Fundamentals of Radiation Thermometers is an essential resource for anyone intending to measure the temperature of an object using the radiated energy from that object. This readable, user-friendly book gives important background knowledge for anyone working in the field of non-contact thermometry. The book begins with an accessible account of how temperature scales are set up and defined, and explores the historic development of temperature scales and Planck's radiation law. Through explaining the reliability of both emissivity values and extrapolation to different wavelengths and temperatures, the book provides a foundation for understanding when a valid measurement with realistic uncertainties has been made, or if an inappropriate emissivity value has been used with consequent unknown errors. The book also presents the hardware of radiation thermometers, allowing the reader to specify an appropriate design for a particular measurement problem. It explores multi-wavelength radiation thermometry and its associated pitfalls, and a final chapter suggests strategies to minimise the uncertainties from unreliable emissivity data.

On the job or in the field, when facing a problem with differential equations and boundary conditions, most likely you don't have time to read through several publications in search of a method that may or may not solve your problem. Organized for quick and easy access to practical solutions, Analytical and Approximate Methods in Transport Phenomena is a reference for the day-to-day problems encountered when working with variables in heat, mass, or momentum transfer. This text is organized differently from usual resources on applied mathematics for engineers. First, it introduces a new classification system of the problem based on just three numbers, so locating the appropriate solution method is quick and easy. Second, the author presents mathematical methods with applications in mind, introducing examples, as well as common or possible solutions, before presenting any mathematical theory or method. This allows you to identify the issue you need to resolve, then apply the appropriate method to the problem at hand. The book also includes practical discussions of the consequences and applications of various solutions. The book highlights mathematical methods as tools for solving practical problems, not as a primary objective. Its structure and focus on application, with just the right amount of mathematical rigor, makes it the most effective manual available for easily finding the analytical methods needed to solve transport problems.

Functional integration successfully entered physics as path integrals in the 1942 Ph.D. dissertation of Richard P. Feynman, but it made no sense at all as a mathematical definition. Cartier and DeWitt-Morette have created, in this book, a new approach to functional integration. The book is self-contained: mathematical ideas are introduced, developed generalised and applied. In the authors' hands, functional integration is shown to be a robust, user-friendly and multi-purpose tool that can be applied to a great variety of situations, for example: systems of indistinguishable particles; Aharanov-Bohm systems; supersymmetry; non-gaussian integrals. Problems in quantum field theory are also considered. In the final part the authors outline topics that can be profitably pursued using material already presented.

This book compiles historical notes and a review of the work of the author and his associates on shock compression of condensed matter (SCCM). The work includes such topics as foundational aspects of SCCM, thermodynamics, thermodynamics of defects, and plasticity as they relate to shock compression, shock-induced phase transition, and shock compaction. Also included are synthesis of refractory and hard ceramic compounds such as Ni aluminides, SiC and diamonds, method of characteristics, discrete element methods, the shock compression process at the grain scale, and modeling shock-to-detonation transition in high explosives. The book tells the story of how the author's view of shock physics came to be where it is now. and analytically discusses how the author's appreciation of shock waves has evolved in time. It offers a personal but pedagogical perspective on SCCM for young scientists and engineers who are starting their careers in the field. For experts it offers materials to nudge them reflect on their own stories, with the hope of planting a seed of motivation to write them down to be published.

Statistical mechanics: the bane of many a physics student, and traditionally viewed as a long parade of ensembles, partition functions, and partial derivatives. But the subject needn't be arcane. When pared back to its underlying concepts and built from the ground up, statistical mechanics takes on a charm of its own, and sheds light on all manner of physical phenomena. This book presents a straightforward introduction to the key concepts in statistical mechanics, following the popular style of the author's highly successful textbook "Explorations in Mathematical Physics". Offering a clear, conceptual approach to the subject matter, the book presents a treatment that is mathematically complete, while remaining very accessible to undergraduates. It commences by asking: why does an ink drop spread out in a bathtub of water? This showcases the importance of counting configurations, which leads naturally to ideas of microstates, energy, entropy, thermodynamics, and physical chemistry. With this foundation, the Boltzmann distribution writes itself in its fullest form, and this opens the door to the Maxwell distribution and related areas of thermal conductivity and viscosity. Quantum ideas then appear: bosons via Einstein's and Debye's theories of heat capacity, and fermions via electrical conduction and low-temperature heat capacity of metals. The text ends with a detailed derivation of blackbody radiation, and uses this to discuss the greenhouse effect, lasers, and cosmology. Suitable for use with core undergraduate courses in statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, this book concentrates on using solid mathematics, while avoiding cumbersome notation. All the necessary mathematical steps are included in the body of the text and in the worked examples. Reviews of Explorations in Mathematical Physics by Don Koks, 2006 "With enjoyable and sometimes surprising excursions along the way, the journey provides a fresh look at many familiar topics, as it takes us from basic linear mathematics to general relativity... look forward to having your geometric intuition nourished and expanded by the author's intelligent commentaries." (Eugen Merzbacher, University of North Carolina) "... an interesting supplement to standard texts for teaching mathematical methods in physics, as it will add alternative views that could serve as additional material." (S. Marcelja, Australian Journal of Physics) "... a tour through the main ideas forming the language of modern mathematical physics ...it is a difficult task for the author to decide what is a good balance between the topics and their presentation, but in this case it has been achieved. ...for those physicists who would like to be exposed to clear motivation and careful explanation of the basics of the present-day apparatus of mathematical physics." (Ivailo Mladenov, Mathematical Reviews).

Ideal for one- or two-semester courses that assume elementary knowledge of calculus, This text presents the fundamental concepts of thermodynamics and applies these to problems dealing with properties of materials, phase transformations, chemical reactions, solutions and surfaces. The author utilizes principles of statistical mechanics to illustrate key concepts from a microscopic perspective, as well as develop equations of kinetic theory. The book provides end-of-chapter question and problem sets, some using Mathcad (TM) and Mathematica (TM); a useful glossary containing important symbols, definitions, and units; and appendices covering multivariable calculus and valuable numerical methods.

This book discusses the current direction of the research approach to extreme biomimetics through biological materials-inspired chemistry and its applications in modern technology and medicine. It is a resource covering topics of extreme (psychrophilic and thermopilic) biomineralization, solvothermal and hydrothermal chemistry of metal oxides and nanostructured composites, and bioinspired materials science in a diverse areas. The authors review the current advances in the extreme biomimetics research field and describe various approaches introduced and explored by their respective laboratories. * Details the basic principles of extreme biomimetics approach for design of new materials and applications; * Includes numerous examples of the hierarchical organization of hydrothermally or psychrophilically obtained biocomposites, structural bioscaffolds, biosculpturing, biomimetism, and bioinspiration as tools for the design of innovative materials; * Describes and details the principles of extreme biomimetics with respect to metallization of chemically and thermally stable biopolymers.

This book, Perturbation Theories for the Thermodynamic Properties of Fluids and Solids, provides a comprehensive review of current perturbation theories-as well as integral equation theories and density functional theories-for the equilibrium thermodynamic and structural properties of classical systems. Emphasizing practical applications, the text avoids complex theoretical derivations as much as possible. It begins with discussions of the nature of intermolecular forces and simple potential models. The book also presents a summary of statistical mechanics concepts and formulae. In addition, it reviews simulation techniques, providing background for the performance analyses of theories executed throughout the text using simulation data. Chapters describe integral equation theories, theoretical approaches for hard-sphere fluid or solid systems, and perturbation theories for simple fluids and solids for monocomponent and multicomponent systems. They also cover density functional theories for inhomogeneous systems and perturbative and nonperturbative approaches to describe the structure and thermodynamics of hard-body molecular fluids. The final chapter examines several more challenging systems, such as fluids near the critical point, liquid metals, molten salts, colloids, and aqueous protein solutions. This book offers a thorough account of the available equilibrium theories for the thermodynamic and structural properties of fluids and solids, with special focus on perturbation theories, emphasizing their applications, strengths, and weaknesses. Appropriate for experienced researchers as well as postgraduate students, the text presents a wide-ranging yet detailed view and provides a useful guide to the application of the theories described.

In the past thirty years, the area of spin glasses has experienced rapid growth, including the development of solvable models for glassy systems. Yet these developments have only been recorded in the original research papers, rather than in a single source. Thermodynamics of the Glassy State presents a comprehensive account of the modern theory of glasses, starting from basic principles (thermodynamics) to the experimental analysis of one of the most important consequences of thermodynamics-Maxwell relations. After a brief introduction to general theoretical concepts and historical developments, the book thoroughly describes glassy phenomenology and the established theory. The core of the book surveys the crucial technique of two-temperature thermodynamics, explains the success of this method in resolving previously paradoxical problems in glasses, and presents exactly solvable models, a physically realistic approach to dynamics with advantages over more established mean field methods. The authors also tackle the potential energy landscape approach and discuss more detailed theories of glassy states, including mode coupling, avoided critical point, replica, and random first order transition theories. This reference lucidly explores recent theoretical advances in the thermodynamics of slowing-aging (glassy) systems. It details the general properties of glassy states while also demonstrating how these properties are present in specific models, enabling readers to thoroughly understand this fundamental yet challenging area of study.

The book covers all aspects from the expansion of the Boltzmann transport equation with harmonic functions to application to devices, where transport in the bulk and in inversion layers is considered. The important aspects of stabilization and band structure mapping are discussed in detail. This is done not only for the full band structure of the 3D k-space, but also for the warped band structure of the quasi 2D hole gas. Efficient methods for building the Schrodinger equation for arbitrary surface or strain directions, gridding of the 2D k-space and solving it together with the other two equations are presented."

Statistical thermodynamics and the related domains of statistical physics and quantum mechanics are very important in many fields of research, including plasmas, rarefied gas dynamics, nuclear systems, lasers, semiconductors, superconductivity, ortho- and para-hydrogen, liquid helium, and so on. Statistical Thermodynamics: Understanding the Properties of Macroscopic Systems provides a detailed overview of how to apply statistical principles to obtain the physical and thermodynamic properties of macroscopic systems. Intended for physics, chemistry, and other science students at the graduate level, the book starts with fundamental principles of statistical physics, before diving into thermodynamics. Going further than many advanced textbooks, it includes Bose-Einstein, Fermi-Dirac statistics, and Lattice dynamics as well as applications in polaron theory, electronic gas in a magnetic field, thermodynamics of dielectrics, and magnetic materials in a magnetic field. The book concludes with an examination of statistical thermodynamics using functional integration and Feynman path integrals, and includes a wide range of problems with solutions that explain the theory.

Models for the mechanical behavior of porous media introduced more than 50 years ago are still relied upon today, but more recent work shows that, in some cases, they may violate the laws of thermodynamics. In The Thermophysics of Porous Media, the author shows that physical consistency requires a unique description of dynamic processes that involve porous media, and that new dynamic variables-porosity, saturation, and megascale concentration-naturally enter into the large-scale description of porous media. The new degrees of freedom revealed in this study predict new dynamic processes that are not associated with compressional motions. The book details the construction of a Lorentz invariant thermodynamic lattice gas model and shows how the associated nonrelativistic, Galilean invariant model can be used to describe flow in porous media. The author develops the equations of seismic wave propagation in porous media, the associated boundary conditions, and surface waves. He also constructs the equations for both immiscible and miscible flows in porous media and their related instability problems. The implications of the physical theory presented in this book are significant, particularly in applications in geophysics and the petroleum industry. The Thermophysics of Porous Media offers a unique opportunity to examine the dynamic role that porosity plays in porous materials.

Nonadiabatic transition is a highly multidisciplinary concept and phenomenon, constituting a fundamental mechanism of state and phase changes in various dynamical processes of physics, chemistry and biology, such as molecular dynamics, energy relaxation, chemical reaction, and electron and proton transfer. Control of molecular processes by laser fields is also an example of time-dependent nonadiabatic transition.In this new edition, the original chapters are updated to facilitate enhanced understanding of the concept and applications. Three new chapters - comprehension of nonadiabatic chemical dynamics, control of chemical dynamics, and manifestation of molecular functions - are also added.

STATISTICAL PHYSICS AND ECONOMICS covers systematically and in simple language the physical foundations of evolution equations, stochastic processes, and generalized Master equations applied to complex economic systems. Strong emphasis is placed on concepts, methods, and techniques for modeling, assessment, and solving or estimation of economic problems in an attempt to understand the large variability of financial markets, trading and communication networks, barriers and acceleration of the economic growth as well as the kinetics of product and money flows. The main focus of the book is a clear physical understanding of the self-organizing principles in social and economic systems. This modern introduction will be a useful tool for researchers, engineers, as well as graduate and post-graduate students in econophysics and related topics.

This study is one of the first attempts to bridge the theoretical models of variational dynamics of perfect fluids and some practical approaches worked out in chemical and mechanical engineering in the field newly called thermo-hydrodynamics. In recent years, applied mathematicians and theoretical physicists have made significant progress in formulating analytical tools to describe fluid dynamics through variational methods. These tools are much loved by theoretists, and rightly so, because they are quite powerful and beautiful theoretical tools. Chemists, physicists and engineers, however, are limited in their ability to use these tools, because presently they are applicable only to "perfect fluids" (i. e. those fluids without viscosity, heat transfer, diffusion and chemical reactions). To be useful, a model must take into account important transport and rate phenomena, which are inherent to real fluid behavior and which cannot be ignored. This monograph serves to provide the beginnings of a means by which to extend the mathematical analyses to include the basic effects of thermo-hydrodynamics. In large part a research report, this study uses variational calculus as a basic theoretical tool, without undo compromise to the integrity of the mathematical analyses, while emphasizing the conservation laws of real fluids in the context of underlying thermodynamics --reversible or irreversible. The approach of this monograph is a new generalizing approach, based on Nother's theorem and variational calculus, which leads to the energy-momentum tensor and the related conservation or balance equations in fluids.

"The career structure and funding of the universities [...] currently strongly d- courages academics and faculties from putting any investment into teaching - there are no career or ?nancial rewards in it. This is a great pity, because [...] it is the need toengage indialogue,and to makethings logicaland clear,that istheprimary defence against obscurantism and abstraction. " B. Ward-Perkins, The fall of Rome, Oxford (2005) This is the ?rst volume of a planned two-volume treatise on non-equilibrium phase transitions. While such a topic might sound rather special and a- demic, non-equilibrium critical phenomena occur in much wider contexts than their equilibrium counterparts, and without having to ?ne-tune th- modynamic variables to their 'critical' values in each case. As a matter of fact, most systems in Nature are out of equilibrium. Given that the theme of non-equilibrium phase transitions of second order is wide enough to amount essentially to a treatment of almost all theoretical aspects of non-equilibrium many-body physics, a selection of topics is required to keep such a project within a manageable length. Therefore, Vol. 1 discusses a particular kind of non-equilibrium phase transitions, namely those between an active, ?- tuating state and absorbing states. Volume 2 (to be written by one of us (MH) with M. Pleimling) will be devoted to ageing phenomena.

This is the first book dedicated to the glass transition since this concept became recognized as a distinct and independent field of investigation. The glass transition is a synonym for relaxation and dynamics in complex disordered systems, especially in liquids. It embraces time-scales ranging from picoseconds to years. The book describes and interrelates the following processes: cooperative alpha processes in a cold liquid, structural relaxation in the glass near Tg, the Johari-Goldstein beta process, the Williams-Götze process in a warm liquid, fast nonactivated cage rattling and boson peak, and ultraslow Fischer modes. By describing the salient facts, explaining and discussing the fundamentals, the author attempts to introduce a unifying concept for the entire material. The formulas, diagrams and references are carefully selected to illustrate the main current ideas about the glass transition.

This textbook on thermodynamics is intended primarily for honours and B. Sc students majoring in physical chemistry. However, students of physics, engineering and biochemistry will also find the book relevant to their studies.Its principal features are a much shorter presentation of the laws of thermodynamics than is customary, made possible by the definition of the thermodynamic scale of temperature using only one fixed point (the triple point of water) which immediately follows the Zeroth Law. The author's first exposure to thermodynamics revealed that its usefulness seemed to be mostly confined to the study of gases in equilibrium. Readers of this book will find that applications of thermodynamics to liquids and solids as well as gases are emphasized, and they will learn that thermodynamics can be applied to systems which are not in equilibrium.This book contains three learning aids. Fully worked out examples are included at appropriate places in the text, which also includes numerous exercises. These are designed to help the reader stop and think about what he or she has just read. Answers to the exercises are given at the end of each section and there are also problems at the end of each chapter which readers can work out on their own.

This book is a course in methods and models rooted in physics and used in modelling economic and social phenomena. It covers the discipline of econophysics, which creates an interface between physics and economics. Besides the main theme, it touches on the theory of complex networks and simulations of social phenomena in general.
After a brief historical introduction, the book starts with a list of basic empirical data and proceeds to thorough investigation of mathematical and computer models. Many of the models are based on hypotheses of the behaviour of simplified agents. These comprise strategic thinking, imitation, herding, and the gem of econophysics, the so-called minority game. At the same time, many other models view the economic processes as interactions of inanimate particles. Here, the methods of physics are especially useful. Examples of systems modelled in such a way include books of stock-market orders, and redistribution of wealth among individuals. Network effects are investigated in the interaction of economic agents. The book also describes how to model phenomena like cooperation and emergence of consensus.
The book will be of benefit to graduate students and researchers in both Physics and Economics.

This book, provides a general introduction to the ideas and methods of statistical mechanics with the principal aim of meeting the needs of Master's students in chemical, mechanical, and materials science engineering. Extensive introductory information is presented on many general physics topics in which students in engineering are inadequately trained, ranging from the Hamiltonian formulation of classical mechanics to basic quantum mechanics, electromagnetic fields in matter, intermolecular forces, and transport phenomena. Since engineers should be able to apply physical concepts, the book also focuses on the practical applications of statistical physics to material science and to cutting-edge technologies, with brief but informative sections on, for example, interfacial properties, disperse systems, nucleation, magnetic materials, superfluidity, and ultralow temperature technologies. The book adopts a graded approach to learning, the opening four basic-level chapters being followed by advanced "starred" sections in which special topics are discussed. Its relatively informal style, including the use of musical metaphors to guide the reader through the text, will aid self-learning.

This textbook on thermodynamics is intended primarily for honours and B. Sc students majoring in physical chemistry. However, students of physics, engineering and biochemistry will also find the book relevant to their studies.Its principal features are a much shorter presentation of the laws of thermodynamics than is customary, made possible by the definition of the thermodynamic scale of temperature using only one fixed point (the triple point of water) which immediately follows the Zeroth Law. The author's first exposure to thermodynamics revealed that its usefulness seemed to be mostly confined to the study of gases in equilibrium. Readers of this book will find that applications of thermodynamics to liquids and solids as well as gases are emphasized, and they will learn that thermodynamics can be applied to systems which are not in equilibrium.This book contains three learning aids. Fully worked out examples are included at appropriate places in the text, which also includes numerous exercises. These are designed to help the reader stop and think about what he or she has just read. Answers to the exercises are given at the end of each section and there are also problems at the end of each chapter which readers can work out on their own.

The book aims to explain the basic ideas of thermal physics intuitively and in the simplest possible way. It is aimed at making the reader feel comfortable with the ideas of entropy and free energy. Thermal physics is prone to misunderstanding, confusion and is often being overlooked. However, a good foundation is necessary to prepare the reader for advanced level studies.

This thoroughly revised 5th edition of Zeh's classic text investigates irreversible phenomena and their foundation in classical, quantum and cosmological settings. It includes new sections on the meaning of probabilities in a cosmological context, irreversible aspects of quantum computers, and various consequences of the expansion of the Universe. In particular, the book offers an analysis of the physical concept of time.