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Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > Philosophy of science
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The Lazy Universe - An Introduction to the Principle of Least Action (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R1,274
Discovery Miles 12 740
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The Lazy Universe - An Introduction to the Principle of Least Action (Hardcover)
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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This is a rare book on a rare topic: it is about 'action' and the
Principle of Least Action. A surprisingly well-kept secret, these
ideas are at the heart of physical science and engineering. Physics
is well known as being concerned with grand conservatory principles
(e.g. the conservation of energy) but equally important is the
optimization principle (such as getting somewhere in the shortest
time or with the least resistance). The book explains: why an
optimization principle underlies physics, what action is, what `the
Hamiltonian' is, and how new insights into energy, space, and time
arise. It assumes some background in the physical sciences, at the
level of undergraduate science, but it is not a textbook. The
requisite derivations and worked examples are given but may be
skim-read if desired. The author draws from Cornelius Lanczos's
book "The Variational Principles of Mechanics" (1949 and 1970).
Lanczos was a brilliant mathematician and educator, but his book
was for a postgraduate audience. The present book is no mere copy
with the difficult bits left out - it is original, and a
popularization. It aims to explain ideas rather than achieve
technical competence, and to show how Least Action leads into the
whole of physics.
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