This is an introduction to the ideas of randomness that are central
to much of modern physics and have overthrown the `clock-work
universe' conceptions of earlier centuries. The author shows how
the laws of probability and statistics were developed by such
mathematicians as Fermat, Pascal, and Gauss, and how they received
their first major application in physics in the kinetic theory of
gases developed by Maxwell and Boltzmann. Here the use of
statistics is necessary because the number of particles involved is
too great for a deterministic calculation. But soon the
mathematician and physicist Poincare demonstrated the
unpredictability of certain systems containing only a small number
of bodies, because of extreme sensitivity to initial conditions. He
thus became a founder of chaos theory. Finally with the advent of
quantum theory, physics seemed to be based on an essential
randomness, whose reality was debated by Bohr and Einstein till the
end of their lives. Only recently, in the experiments of Alain
Aspect, has a convincing demonstration been given that the
inescapable randomness of quantum theory is a fact of nature.
Professor Ruhla guides the reader skilfully through all these
developments and provides mathematical details in appendices. The
book provides an accessible introduction to the modern physicist's
conception of the world of cause and chance.
General
| Imprint: |
Oxford UniversityPress
|
| Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
| Release date: |
November 1992 |
| Authors: |
Charles Ruhla
(Professor)
|
| Translators: |
G. Barton
(Reader in Theoretical Physics)
|
| Dimensions: |
237 x 163 x 19mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Hardcover
|
| Pages: |
234 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-19-853960-5 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Science & Mathematics >
Physics >
General
Promotions
|
| LSN: |
0-19-853960-6 |
| Barcode: |
9780198539605 |
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