This book addresses some of the baffling questions encountered at the final frontier of space and time related to particle physics and cosmology in the context of recent iconoclastic observations and developments. When particle physics stagnated in the early seventies, a new development emerged - String Theory.For the past 25 years, String Theory, popularly called the "Theory of Everything", has mesmerized not just scientists, but also the general public. Yet a closer scrutiny today reveals that it is no more than a mathematical marvel. It has neither predicted anything nor has it been anywhere near verification. We are essentially where we were in the early seventies.Another chronic problem that Einstein had abandoned was the unified description of his theory of General Relativity that deals with the Universe at large and Electromagnetism which is to do with particles. Such a description is necessary even if it warrants a radical departure from our time-honoured ideas of space and time. A bright spot has now appeared in Cosmology. Iconoclastic observations in the past years have shown that the Universe is actually accelerating, driven by a mysterious Dark Energy. This book takes the lay reader through these uncharted waters and mind-boggling developments on an unimaginable journey from the ultra small to the farthest stretches conceivable, via such imagination defying concepts as extra dimensions and multiple universes.

One of the ?rst Computer Science sites in Italy, in recent years, the Friuli region has become a very active hub in Computational Physics and other applications of Informatics to Human and Natural Sciences. In particular the University of Udine has developed a tradition in innovative cross-disciplinary research areas involving Computer Science and Physics, providing digital tools for laboratories such as NASA and CERN. The sixth International Symposium "Frontiers of Fundamental and Compu- tional Physics" (FFP6) aimed at providing a platform for a wide range of phy- cists to meet and share thoughts on the latest trends in various research areas including High Energy Physics, Theoretical Physics, Gravitation and Cosmology, Astrophysics, Condensed Matter Physics, Fluid Mechanics. Such frontier lines were uni?ed by the use of computers as an, often primary, research instrument, or dealing with issues related to information theory. The present Sixth International Symposium in the series wasorganizedatthe UniversityofUdine,Italyfrom26thto29th ofSeptember2004. TheUniversity of in the Udine and the B. M. Birla Science Centre in Hyderabad have collaborated organization of this Symposium and the edition of these Proceedings, under the auspices of their joint initiative the International Institute of ApplicableMat- maticsand InformationSciences. ThecontributionsintheProceedingsaregrouped as follows: * Field Theory, Relativity and Cosmology * Foundations of Physics and of Information Sciences * Nuclear and High-Energy Particle Physics and Astrophysics; Astroparticle Physics * Complex Systems; Fluid Mechanics * New Approaches to Physics Teaching ThisSymposiumhadanattendanceofover100participants. Therewere63- pers/presentations, including 4 introductory invited lectures delivered by the - belLaureatesL. CooperandG. 'tHooft,andbytheeminentphysicistsY.

This symposium was organized at the B.M. Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad, India, and provided a platform for frontier physicists to exchange ideas and review the latest work and developments on a variety of interrelated topics. A feature of the symposium, as well as the proceedings, is the B.M. Birla Memorial Lecture by Nobel Laureate Professor Gerard 't Hooft. There were participants from the USA, several European countries, Russia and CIS countries, South Africa, Japan, India and elsewhere, of whom some forty scientists presented papers. Spanning a wide range of contemporary issues in fundamental physics from string theory to cosmology, the proceedings present many of these talks and contributions.

Shortly after its inauguration in 1985 the Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad, India, started a series of lectures by Nobel Laureates and other scientists of international renown, mostly on Physics and Astronomy. The present collection mostly consists of lectures on frontier topics. The transcript of each lecture is preceded by a short biography of the Nobel Laureate/Scientist in question. The lectures are aimed at a wide non-specialist but higher educated audience.

In 1997, contrary to the ruling paradigm which was that of a dark matter ?lled, decelerating universe, my work pointed to a dark energydriven- celerating universe with a small cosmological constant. Moreover, the many supposedly accidental Large Number relations in cosmology, including the mysterious Weinbergformula were now deduced from the theory. Obser- tionalcon?rmationforthisscenariocamein1998, whiledarkenergyitselfwas ?nally recon?rmed in 2003, thanks to the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The 1997, and subsequent work was the consequence of mainly three cons- erations: dark energy or the well known Zero Point Field, fuzzy spacetime and ?uctuations. Indeed String Theory and Quantum Gravity approaches have had to discard the smooth spacetime of General Relativity and Qu- tum Field Theory, in a quest for a uni?ed description of these two pillars of twentieth century physics. This book is the result of some seventy ?ve papers published in international journals, andpartlyanearlierbook,"TheChaoticUniverse: FromthePlanck to the Hubble Scale" (Nova Science, New York, 2001), as also several lectures delivered in Universities and institutes in the United States, Canada and - rope. It describes how, in a simple and somewhat conventional framework, an underpinning of Planck scale oscillators in the ubiquitous Zero Point Field or dark energy leads to a uni?ed description of phenomena involving elementary particles and the cosmos. In particular, apart from the cosmology mentioned above, these considerations lead to a uni?ed description of all interactions, includinggravitation, thoughinanextended gauge ?eld treatment.

One of the ?rst Computer Science sites in Italy, in recent years, the Friuli region has become a very active hub in Computational Physics and other applications of Informatics to Human and Natural Sciences. In particular the University of Udine has developed a tradition in innovative cross-disciplinary research areas involving Computer Science and Physics, providing digital tools for laboratories such as NASA and CERN. The sixth International Symposium "Frontiers of Fundamental and Compu- tional Physics" (FFP6) aimed at providing a platform for a wide range of phy- cists to meet and share thoughts on the latest trends in various research areas including High Energy Physics, Theoretical Physics, Gravitation and Cosmology, Astrophysics, Condensed Matter Physics, Fluid Mechanics. Such frontier lines were uni?ed by the use of computers as an, often primary, research instrument, or dealing with issues related to information theory. The present Sixth International Symposium in the series wasorganizedatthe UniversityofUdine,Italyfrom26thto29th ofSeptember2004. TheUniversity of in the Udine and the B. M. Birla Science Centre in Hyderabad have collaborated organization of this Symposium and the edition of these Proceedings, under the auspices of their joint initiative the International Institute of ApplicableMat- maticsand InformationSciences. ThecontributionsintheProceedingsaregrouped as follows: * Field Theory, Relativity and Cosmology * Foundations of Physics and of Information Sciences * Nuclear and High-Energy Particle Physics and Astrophysics; Astroparticle Physics * Complex Systems; Fluid Mechanics * New Approaches to Physics Teaching ThisSymposiumhadanattendanceofover100participants. Therewere63- pers/presentations, including 4 introductory invited lectures delivered by the - belLaureatesL. CooperandG. 'tHooft,andbytheeminentphysicistsY.

In 1997, contrary to the ruling paradigm which was that of a dark matter ?lled, decelerating universe, my work pointed to a dark energydriven- celerating universe with a small cosmological constant. Moreover, the many supposedly accidental Large Number relations in cosmology, including the mysterious Weinbergformula were now deduced from the theory. Obser- tionalcon?rmationforthisscenariocamein1998, whiledarkenergyitselfwas ?nally recon?rmed in 2003, thanks to the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The 1997, and subsequent work was the consequence of mainly three cons- erations: dark energy or the well known Zero Point Field, fuzzy spacetime and ?uctuations. Indeed String Theory and Quantum Gravity approaches have had to discard the smooth spacetime of General Relativity and Qu- tum Field Theory, in a quest for a uni?ed description of these two pillars of twentieth century physics. This book is the result of some seventy ?ve papers published in international journals, andpartlyanearlierbook,"TheChaoticUniverse: FromthePlanck to the Hubble Scale" (Nova Science, New York, 2001), as also several lectures delivered in Universities and institutes in the United States, Canada and - rope. It describes how, in a simple and somewhat conventional framework, an underpinning of Planck scale oscillators in the ubiquitous Zero Point Field or dark energy leads to a uni?ed description of phenomena involving elementary particles and the cosmos. In particular, apart from the cosmology mentioned above, these considerations lead to a uni?ed description of all interactions, includinggravitation, thoughinanextended gauge ?eld treatment.

This symposium was organized at the B.M. Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad, India, and provided a platform for frontier physicists to exchange ideas and review the latest work and developments on a variety of interrelated topics. A feature of the symposium, as well as the proceedings, is the B.M. Birla Memorial Lecture by Nobel Laureate Professor Gerard 't Hooft. There were participants from the USA, several European countries, Russia and CIS countries, South Africa, Japan, India and elsewhere, of whom some forty scientists presented papers. Spanning a wide range of contemporary issues in fundamental physics from string theory to cosmology, the proceedings present many of these talks and contributions.

Shortly after its inauguration in 1985 the Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad, India, started a series of lectures by Nobel Laureates and other scientists of international renown, mostly on Physics and Astronomy. The present collection mostly consists of lectures on frontier topics. The transcript of each lecture is preceded by a short biography of the Nobel Laureate/Scientist in question. The lectures are aimed at a wide non-specialist but higher educated audience.

The anthology titled "Spacetime Energy: A Twenty First Century Perspective" encompasses novel and avant garde ideas that delineate the intrinsic nature of spacetime and several of its aspects. The collection of papers epitomises the fundamental aspects of the physical world. For instance, the authors have considered the affine connection between gravitation and electromagnetism. The non-commutative nature of spacetime has also been elaborated in connection with gravitation and electromagnetism and also in terms of monopoles. On the other hand, the rudimentary nature of the zero point field or the field of the vacuum has also been considered to describe the 2-state asymmetries that are found in nature. Several interesting models have been considered to get a novel perspective on the nature of the universe we live in; the importance of dark energy has been implied therein. The authors have also considered the phenomenon of photoelectric effect in case of grapheme and other similar crystals. A new formula has also been found for the conductance in case of carbon nano tubes. Ultra-high energy fermionic behaviour has been elaborately discussed from a novel perspective and the anomalous gyromagnetic ratio of the electron has also been elucidated on the pedestal of the noncommutative nature of spacetime. Resorting to an altogether different approach, the nature of symmetry breaking and the details related to the relevant Lie algebras has also been discussed. Essentially, the collection of works provides a broad range of conceptual understanding of the universe, both in the macroscopic and the microscopic scale. Nevertheless, the reader should find the works to broaden their view of the physical world that exists around us.

A leading astronomer proves that India had a thriving civilization capable of sophisticated astronomy long before Greece, Egypt, or any other world culture.

- Provides conclusive evidence that the Rig Veda is 12,000 years old.

- Establishes actual dates and places for many of the events in the Hindu epics.

For more than a century scholars have debated the antiquity of the Vedas and their related literature, the Brahmanas and Puranas. Relying upon a host of assumptions from linguistic theory, anthropology, and archaeology, they have agreed upon 1500 b.c. as the earliest possible date for the Rig Veda, itself the oldest extant example of Indo-European literature. But in this groundbreaking book, astronomer B. G. Sidharth proves conclusively that the earliest portions of the Rig Veda can be dated as far back as 10,000 b.c.

By deciphering the astronomical events and alignments contained in mythical and symbolic form in these ancient texts, Sidharth calls into question many if not all of the assumptions governing Indo-European prehistory. He explores such subjects as the astronomical significance of many Hindu deities and myths, the system of lunar asterisms used to mark time, the identity of the Asvins, and the sophisticated calendar of the ancients that harmonized solar and lunar cycles. Sidharth provides incontrovertible evidence that such "advanced" astronomical concepts as precession, heliocentrism, and the eclipse cycle are encoded in these ancient texts, passages of which make perfect sense only if these astronomical keys are known. Based on internal evidence in the Mahabharata and Ramayana, he also becomes the first to establish likely dates--and even places--for the eventsdescribed in these famous epics. "The Celestial Key to the Vedas" is sure to astonish anyone concerned with astronomy, India, or the roots of civilization.

India has had a very long tradition of path-breaking excellence in science and technology including mathematics, physics and astronomy. Even though the British rulers of India had no enthusiasm for Indians learning and doing science, the rising tide of nationalistic fervour in the first half of the twentieth century gave rise to, what has been called the golden age of Indian physics. There were some physicists, amongst others, who could be ranked with the best in the world. If we are to speak of the Indian Physics, then four names from that period immediately come up: Jadadeesh Chandra Bose who, before Marconi, actually demonstrated the propagation of radio waves. Some years later Sir CV Raman received the Nobel Prize for his celebrated Raman Effect. Then there were Meghnad Saha and Satyen Bose who made seminal contributions to physics. This new and important book offers a window into the backgrounds and achievements of these remarkable scientists.