Model reduction and coarse-graining are important in many areas of science and engineering. How does a system with many degrees of freedom become one with fewer? How can a reversible micro-description be adapted to the dissipative macroscopic model? These crucial questions, as well as many other related problems, are discussed in this book. All contributions are by experts whose specialities span a wide range of fields within science and engineering.

This advanced text presents a unique approach to studying transport phenomena. Bringing together concepts from both chemical engineering and physics, it makes extensive use of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, discusses kinetic theory, and sets out the tools needed to describe the physics of interfaces and boundaries. More traditional topics such as diffusive and convective transport of momentum, energy and mass are also covered. This is an ideal text for advanced courses in transport phenomena, and for researchers looking to expand their knowledge of the subject. The book also includes: * Novel applications such as complex fluids, transport at interfaces and biological systems, * Approximately 250 exercises with solutions (included separately) designed to enhance understanding and reinforce key concepts, * End-of-chapter summaries.

This text presents an intuitive and robust mathematical image of fundamental particle physics based on a novel approach to quantum field theory, which is guided by four carefully motivated metaphysical postulates. In particular, the book explores a dissipative approach to quantum field theory, which is illustrated for scalar field theory and quantum electrodynamics, and proposes an attractive explanation of the Planck scale in quantum gravity. Offering a radically new perspective on this topic, the book focuses on the conceptual foundations of quantum field theory and ontological questions. It also suggests a new stochastic simulation technique in quantum field theory which is complementary to existing ones. Encouraging rigor in a field containing many mathematical subtleties and pitfalls this text is a helpful companion for students of physics and philosophers interested in quantum field theory, and it allows readers to gain an intuitive rather than a formal understanding.

Model reduction and coarse-graining are important in many areas of science and engineering. How does a system with many degrees of freedom become one with fewer? How can a reversible micro-description be adapted to the dissipative macroscopic model? These crucial questions, as well as many other related problems, are discussed in this book. All contributions are by experts whose specialities span a wide range of fields within science and engineering.