Scientists have always attempted to explain the world in terms of a few unifying principles. In the fifth century B.C. Democritus boldly claimed that reality is simply a collection of indivisible and eternal parts or atoms. Over the centuries his doctrine has remained a landmark, and much progress in physics is due to its distinction between subjective perception and objective reality. This book discusses theory reduction in physics, which states that the whole is nothing more than the sum of its parts: the properties of things are directly determined by their constituent parts. Reductionism deals with the relation between different theories that address different levels of reality, and uses extrapolations to apply that relation in different sciences. Reality shows a complex structure of connections, and the dream of a unified interpretation of all phenomena in several simple laws continues to attract anyone with genuine philosophical and scientific interests. If the most radical reductionist point of view is correct, the relationship between disciplines is strictly inclusive: chemistry becomes physics, biology becomes chemistry, and so on. Eventually, only one science, indeed just a single theory, would survive, with all others merging in the Theory of Everything. Is the current coexistence of different sciences a mere historical venture which will end when the Theory of Everything has been established? Can there be a unified description of nature?
Rather than an analysis of full reductionism, this book focuses on aspects of theory reduction in physics and stimulates reflection on related questions: is there any evidence of actual reduction? Are the examples used in the philosophy of science too simplistic? What has been endangered by the search for (the) ultimate truth? Has the dream of reductionist reason created any monsters? Is big science one such monster? What is the point of embedding science Y within science X, if predictions cannot be made on that basis?

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology-and even well beyond. Wherever quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena is required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. his fourth volume concentrates on reviewing further relevant contemporary applications of chaotic and nonlinear dynamics as they apply to the various cuttingedge branches of science and engineering. This encompasses, but is not limited to, topics such as synchronization in complex networks and chaotic circuits, time series analysis, ecological and biological patterns, stochastic control theory and vibrations in mechanical systems. Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference and as a 'recipe book' full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications.

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology-and even well beyond. Wherever the quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena are required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role.
This second volume concentrates on reviewing further relevant, contemporary applications of chaotic nonlinear systems as they apply to the various cutting-edge branches of engineering. This encompasses, but is not limited to, topics such as the spread of epidemics; electronic circuits; chaos control in mechanical devices; secure communication; and digital watermarking.
Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference work and as a 'recipe book' full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications."

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology-and even well beyond. Wherever quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena is required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. This volume concentrates on reviewing the most relevant contemporary applications of chaotic nonlinear systems as they apply to the various cutting-edge branches of engineering. The book covers the theory as applied to robotics, electronic and communication engineering (for example chaos synchronization and cryptography) as well as to civil and mechanical engineering, where its use in damage monitoring and control is explored). Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference and as a 'recipe book' full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology-and even well beyond. Wherever quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena is required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. This third volume concentrates on reviewing further relevant contemporary applications of chaotic nonlinear systems as they apply to the various cutting-edge branches of engineering. This encompasses, but is not limited to, topics such fluctuation relations and chaotic dynamics in physics, fractals and their applications in epileptic seizures, as well as chaos synchronization. Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference and as a 'recipe book' full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications.

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology—and even well beyond. Wherever quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena is required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. his fourth volume concentrates on reviewing further relevant contemporary applications of chaotic and nonlinear dynamics as they apply to the various cuttingedge branches of science and engineering. This encompasses, but is not limited to, topics such as synchronization in complex networks and chaotic circuits, time series analysis, ecological and biological patterns, stochastic control theory and vibrations in mechanical systems. Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference and as a ‘recipe book’ full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications.

Scientists have always attempted to explain the world in terms of a few unifying principles. In the fifth century B.C. Democritus boldly claimed that reality is simply a collection of indivisible and eternal parts or atoms. Over the centuries his doctrine has remained a landmark, and much progress in physics is due to its distinction between subjective perception and objective reality. This book discusses theory reduction in physics, which states that the whole is nothing more than the sum of its parts: the properties of things are directly determined by their constituent parts. Reductionism deals with the relation between different theories that address different levels of reality, and uses extrapolations to apply that relation in different sciences. Reality shows a complex structure of connections, and the dream of a unified interpretation of all phenomena in several simple laws continues to attract anyone with genuine philosophical and scientific interests. If the most radical reductionist point of view is correct, the relationship between disciplines is strictly inclusive: chemistry becomes physics, biology becomes chemistry, and so on. Eventually, only one science, indeed just a single theory, would survive, with all others merging in the Theory of Everything. Is the current coexistence of different sciences a mere historical venture which will end when the Theory of Everything has been established? Can there be a unified description of nature? Rather than an analysis of full reductionism, this book focuses on aspects of theory reduction in physics and stimulates reflection on related questions: is there any evidence of actual reduction? Are the examples used in the philosophy of science too simplistic? What has been endangered by the search for (the) ultimate truth? Has the dream of reductionist reason created any monsters? Is big science one such monster? What is the point of embedding science Y within science X, if predictions cannot be made on that basis?

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology-and even well beyond. Wherever quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena is required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. This third volume concentrates on reviewing further relevant contemporary applications of chaotic nonlinear systems as they apply to the various cutting-edge branches of engineering. This encompasses, but is not limited to, topics such fluctuation relations and chaotic dynamics in physics, fractals and their applications in epileptic seizures, as well as chaos synchronization. Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference and as a 'recipe book' full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications.

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology-and even well beyond. Wherever the quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena are required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. This second volume concentrates on reviewing further relevant, contemporary applications of chaotic nonlinear systems as they apply to the various cutting-edge branches of engineering. This encompasses, but is not limited to, topics such as the spread of epidemics; electronic circuits; chaos control in mechanical devices; secure communication; and digital watermarking. Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference work and as a 'recipe book' full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications.

Chaos and nonlinear dynamics initially developed as a new emergent field with its foundation in physics and applied mathematics. The highly generic, interdisciplinary quality of the insights gained in the last few decades has spawned myriad applications in almost all branches of science and technology-and even well beyond. Wherever quantitative modeling and analysis of complex, nonlinear phenomena is required, chaos theory and its methods can play a key role. This volume concentrates on reviewing the most relevant contemporary applications of chaotic nonlinear systems as they apply to the various cutting-edge branches of engineering. The book covers the theory as applied to robotics, electronic and communication engineering (for example chaos synchronization and cryptography) as well as to civil and mechanical engineering, where its use in damage monitoring and control is explored). Featuring contributions from active and leading research groups, this collection is ideal both as a reference and as a 'recipe book' full of tried and tested, successful engineering applications