A Brief Guide To The Great Equations

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A Brief Guide to the Great Equations

Author : Robert Crease
Publisher : Hachette UK
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2012-06-07
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781472100177

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A Brief Guide to the Great Equations by Robert Crease Pdf

Here are the stories of the ten most popular equations of all time as voted for by readers of Physics World, including - accessibly described here for the first time - the favourite equation of all, Euler's equation. Each is an equation that captures with beautiful simplicity what can only be described clumsily in words. Euler's equation [eip + 1 = 0] was described by respondents as 'the most profound mathematic statement ever written', 'uncanny and sublime', 'filled with cosmic beauty' and 'mind-blowing'. Collectively these equations also amount to the world's most concise and reliable body of knowledge. Many scientists and those with a mathematical bent have a soft spot for equations. This book explains both why these ten equations are so beautiful and significant, and the human stories behind them.

The Great Equations: Breakthroughs in Science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg

Author : Robert P. Crease
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2010-01-18
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780393345766

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The Great Equations: Breakthroughs in Science from Pythagoras to Heisenberg by Robert P. Crease Pdf

"Any reader who aspires to be scientifically literate will find this a good starting place." —Publishers Weekly While we may be familiar with some of science’s greatest equations, we may not know that each and every equation emerged not in "Eureka!" moments but in years of cultural developments and scientific knowledge. With vignettes full of humor, drama, and eccentricity, philosopher and science historian Robert P. Crease shares the stories behind ten of history’s greatest equations, from the "first equation," 1 + 1 = 2, which promises a rational, well-ordered world, to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, which reveals the limitations of human knowledge. For every equation, Crease provides a brief account of who discovered it, what dissatisfactions lay behind its discovery, and what the equation says about the nature of our world.

Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality

Author : Rhodri Evans,Brian Clegg
Publisher : Robinson
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2015-11-05
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781472120380

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Ten Physicists who Transformed our Understanding of Reality by Rhodri Evans,Brian Clegg Pdf

Acclaimed popular-science writer Brian Clegg and popular TV and radio astronomer Rhodri Evans give us a Top Ten list of physicists as the central theme to build an exploration of the most exciting breakthroughs in physics, looking not just at the science, but also the fascinating lives of the scientists themselves. The Top Ten are: 1.Isaac Newton (1642-1727) 2.Niels Bohr (1885-1962) 3.Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) 4.Albert Einstein (1879-1955) 5.James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) 6.Michael Faraday (1791-1867) 7.Marie Curie (1867-1934) 8.Richard Feynman (1918-1988) 9.Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) 10.Paul Dirac (1902-1984) Each of these figures has made a huge contribution to physics. Some are household names, others more of a mystery, but in each case there is an opportunity to combine a better understanding of the way that each of them has advanced our knowledge of the universe with an exploration of their often unusual, always interesting lives. Whether we are with Curie, patiently sorting through tons of pitchblende to isolate radium or feeling Bohr's frustration as once again Einstein attempts to undermine quantum theory, the combination of science and biography humanizes these great figures of history and makes the Physics itself more accessible. In exploring the way the list has been built the authors also put physics in its place amongst the sciences and show how it combines an exploration of the deepest and most profound questions about life and the universe with practical applications that have transformed our lives. The book is structured chronologically, allowing readers to follow the development of scientific knowledge over more than 400 years, showing clearly how this key group of individuals has fundamentally altered our understanding of the world around us.

It Must be Beautiful

Author : Graham Farmelo
Publisher : Granta Books
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 1862075557

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It Must be Beautiful by Graham Farmelo Pdf

A stunning and unique look at the great equations that lie at the heart of many of the most successful scientific theories.

Mass

Author : Jim Baggott
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2017-06-10
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780191077821

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Mass by Jim Baggott Pdf

Everything around us is made of 'stuff', from planets, to books, to our own bodies. Whatever it is, we call it matter or material substance. It is solid; it has mass. But what is matter, exactly? We are taught in school that matter is not continuous, but discrete. As a few of the philosophers of ancient Greece once speculated, nearly two and a half thousand years ago, matter comes in 'lumps', and science has relentlessly peeled away successive layers of matter to reveal its ultimate constituents. Surely, we can't keep doing this indefinitely. We imagine that we should eventually run up against some kind of ultimately fundamental, indivisible type of stuff, the building blocks from which everything in the Universe is made. The English physicist Paul Dirac called this 'the dream of philosophers'. But science has discovered that the foundations of our Universe are not as solid or as certain and dependable as we might have once imagined. They are instead built from ghosts and phantoms, of a peculiar quantum kind. And, at some point on this exciting journey of scientific discovery, we lost our grip on the reassuringly familiar concept of mass. How did this happen? How did the answers to our questions become so complicated and so difficult to comprehend? In Mass Jim Baggott explains how we come to find ourselves here, confronted by a very different understanding of the nature of matter, the origin of mass, and its implications for our understanding of the material world. Ranging from the Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus, and their theories of atoms and void, to the development of quantum field theory and the discovery of a Higgs boson-like particle, he explores our changing understanding of the nature of matter, and the fundamental related concept of mass.

Farewell to Reality

Author : Jim Baggott
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 471 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2021-11-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781639360383

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Farewell to Reality by Jim Baggott Pdf

From acclaimed science author Jim Baggot, a lively, provocative, and “intellectually gratifying” critique of modern theoretical physics (The Economist). In this stunning new volume, Jim Baggott argues that there is no observational or experimental evidence for many of the ideas of modern theoretical physics: super-symmetric particles, superstrings, the multiverse, the holographic principle, or the anthropic cosmological principle. These theories are not only untrue, it is not even science. It is fairy-tale physics: fantastical, bizarre and often outrageous, perhaps even confidence-trickery. This book provides a much-needed antidote. Informed, comprehensive, and balanced, it offers lay readers the latest ideas about the nature of physical reality while clearly distinguishing between fact and fantasy. With its engaging portraits of many central figures of modern physics, including Paul Davies, John Barrow, Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, and Leonard Susskind, it promises to be essential reading for all readers interested in what we know and don''''t know about the nature of the universe and reality itself.

The Quantum Story

Author : J. E. Baggott,Jim Baggott
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 490 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2011-02-24
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780199566846

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The Quantum Story by J. E. Baggott,Jim Baggott Pdf

Utterly beautiful. Profoundly disconcerting. Quantum theory is quite simply the most successful account of the physical universe ever devised. Its concepts underpin much of the twenty-first century technology that we now take for granted. But at the same time it has completely undermined our ability to make sense of the world at its most fundamental level. Niels Bohr claimed that anybody who is not shocked by the theory has not understood it. The American physicist Richard Feynman went further: he claimed that nobody understands it. The Quantum Story begins in 1900, tracing a century of game-changing science. Popular science writer Jim Baggott first shows how, over the space of three decades, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, and others formulated and refined the theory--and opened the floodgates. Indeed, since then, a torrent of ideas has flowed from the world's leading physicists, as they explore and apply the theory's bizarre implications. To take us from the story's beginning to the present day, Baggott organizes his narrative around forty turning-point moments of discovery. Many of these are inextricably bound up with the characters involved--their rivalries and their collaborations, their arguments and, not least, their excitement as they sense that they are redefining what reality means. Through the mix of story and science, we experience their breathtaking leaps of theory and experiment, as they uncover such undreamed of and mind-boggling phenomenon as black holes, multiple universes, quantum entanglement, the Higgs boson, and much more. Brisk, clear, and compelling, The Quantum Story is science writing at its best. A compelling look at the one-hundred-year history of quantum theory, it illuminates the idea as it reveals how generations of physicists have grappled with this monster ever since.

Ten Women Who Changed Science, and the World

Author : Catherine Whitlock,Rhodri Evans
Publisher : Robinson
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2019-02-07
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781472137425

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Ten Women Who Changed Science, and the World by Catherine Whitlock,Rhodri Evans Pdf

'These minibiographies of women who persisted will move anyone with an avid curiosity about the world.' Publishers Weekly With a foreword by Athene Donald, Professor of Experimental Physics, University of Cambridge and Master of Churchill College. Ten Women Who Changed Science tells the moving stories of the physicists, biologists, chemists, astronomers and doctors who helped to shape our world with their extraordinary breakthroughs and inventions, and outlines their remarkable achievements. These scientists overcame significant obstacles, often simply because they were women. Their science and their lives were driven by personal tragedies and shaped by seismic world events. What drove these remarkable women to cure previously incurable diseases, disprove existing theories or discover new sources of energy? Some were rewarded with the Nobel Prize for their pioneering achievements -Madame Curie, twice - others were not and, even if they had been, many are still not the household names they should be. Despite living during periods when the contribution of women was disregarded, if not ignored, these resilient women persevered with their research, whether creating life-saving drugs or expanding our knowledge of the cosmos. By daring to ask 'How?' and 'Why?' and persevering against all odds, each of these women, in a variety of ways, has helped to make the world a better place. The scientists are: Henrietta Leavitt (United States, Astronomy); Lise Meitner (Austria, Physics); Chien-Shiung Wu (United States, Physics); Marie Curie (France, Chemistry); Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (United Kingdom, Chemistry); Virginia Apgar (United States, Medicine); Gertrude Elion (United States, Medicine); Rita Levi-Montalicini (Italy, Biology); Elsie Widdowson (United Kingdom, Biology); Rachel Carson (United States, Biology).

The Quantum Cookbook

Author : Jim Baggott
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2020-01-10
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780192562890

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The Quantum Cookbook by Jim Baggott Pdf

Quantum mechanics is an extraordinarily successful scientific theory. But it is also completely mad. Although the theory quite obviously works, it leaves us chasing ghosts and phantoms; particles that are waves and waves that are particles; cats that are at once both alive and dead; lots of seemingly spooky goings-on; and a desperate desire to lie down quietly in a darkened room. The Quantum Cookbook explains why this is. It provides a unique bridge between popular exposition and formal textbook presentation, written for curious readers with some background in physics and sufficient mathematical capability. It aims not to teach readers how to do quantum mechanics but rather helps them to understand how to think about quantum mechanics. Each derivation is presented as a 'recipe' with listed ingredients, including standard results from the mathematician's toolkit, set out in a series of easy-to-follow steps. The recipes have been written sympathetically, for readers who - like the author - will often struggle to follow the logic of a derivation which misses out steps that are 'obvious', or which use techniques that readers are assumed to know.

Origins

Author : Jim Baggott
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2018-06-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780192561961

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Origins by Jim Baggott Pdf

What is life? Where do we come from and how did we evolve? What is the universe and how was it formed? What is the nature of the material world? How does it work? How and why do we think? What does it mean to be human? How do we know? There are many different versions of our creation story. This book tells the version according to modern science. It is a unique account, starting at the Big Bang and travelling right up to the emergence of humans as conscious intelligent beings, 13.8 billion years later. Chapter by chapter, it sets out the current state of scientific knowledge: the origins of space and time; energy, mass, and light; galaxies, stars, and our sun; the habitable earth, and complex life itself. Drawing together the physical and biological sciences, Baggott recounts what we currently know of our history, highlighting the questions science has yet to answer.

Complex Variables for Engineers with Mathematica

Author : Seiichi Nomura
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 177 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2022-09-30
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9783031130670

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Complex Variables for Engineers with Mathematica by Seiichi Nomura Pdf

Complex variable theory is attractive for engineers as it offers elegant approaches for certain types of differential equations in engineering including heat transfer, solid mechanics, and fluid mechanics. However, a gap exists between books written by mathematicians and books written by engineers in their specific fields. Naturally, mathematicians tend to emphasize rigorousness and consistency while less emphasizing applications. On the other hand, books written by engineers often jump directly to the specific topics assuming that the readers already have sufficient background of complex variables and the pathway from theory to the application is not clearly elucidated. This book closes the gap in the literature. providing a smooth transition from basic theory to the application is accomplished. Although it is not possible to cover all the topics in engineering exhaustively, the readers can at least find the logic of how and why complex variables are effective for some of the engineering problems. Another motivation for writing this book is to demonstrate that the readers can take advantage of a computer algebra system, Mathematica, to facilitate tedious algebra and visualize complex functions so that they can focus on principles instead of spending endless hours on algebra by hand. Unlike numerical tools such as MATLAB and FORTRAN, Mathematica can expand, differentiate, and integrate complex-valued functions symbolically. Mathematica can be used as a stand-alone symbolic calculator or a programming tool using the Wolfram Language. If Mathematica is not available locally, Wolfram Cloud Basic can be used online as a free service to execute Mathematica statements.

Molecular Origins of Brain and Body Geometry

Author : Antonio Lima-de-Faria
Publisher : Springer
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2014-10-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783319060569

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Molecular Origins of Brain and Body Geometry by Antonio Lima-de-Faria Pdf

New concepts arise in science when apparently unrelated fields of knowledge are put together in a coherent way. The recent results in molecular biology allow to explain the emergence of body patterns in animals that before could not be understood by zoologists. There are no ”fancy curiosities” in nature. Every pattern is a product of a molecular cascade originating in genes and a living organism arises from the collaboration of these genes with the outer physical environment. Tropical fishes are as startling in their colors and geometric circles as peacocks. Tortoises are covered with the most regular triangles, squares and concentric circles that can be green, brown or yellow. Parallel scarlet bands are placed side by side of black ones along the body of snakes. Zebras and giraffes have patterns which are lessons in geometry, with their transversal and longitudinal stripes, their circles and other geometric figures. Monkeys, like the mandrills, have a spectacularly colored face scarlet nose with blue parallel flanges and yellow beard. All this geometry turns out to be highly molecular. The genes are many and have been DNA sequenced. Besides they not only deal with the coloration of the body but with the development of the brain and the embryonic process. A precise scenario of molecular events unravels in the vertebrates. It may seem far-fetched, but the search for the origin of this geometry made it mandatory to study the evolution of matter and the origin of the brain. It turned out that matter from its onset is pervaded by geometry and that the brain is also a prisoner of this ordered construction. Moreover, the brain is capable of altering the body geometry and the geometry of the environment changes the brain. Nothing spectacular occurred when the brain arrived in evolution. Not only it came after the eye, which had already established itself long ago, but it had a modest origin. It started from sensory cells on the skin that later aggregated into clusters of neurons that formed ganglia. It also became evident that pigment cells, that decide the establishment of the body pattern, originate from the same cell population as neurons (the neural crest cells). This is a most revealing result because it throws light on the power that the brain has to rapidly redirect the coloration of the body and to change its pattern. Recent experiments demonstrate how the brain changes the body geometry at will and within seconds, an event that could be hardly conceived earlier. Moreover, this change is not accidental it is related to the surrounding environment and is also used as a mating strategy. Chameleons know how to do it as well as flat fishes and octopuses. No one would have dared to think that the brain had its own geometry. How could the external geometry of solids or other figures of our environment be apprehended by neurons if these had no architecture of their own? Astonishing was that the so called ”simple cells”, in the neurons of the primary visual cortex, responded to a bar of light with an axis of orientation that corresponded to the axis of the cell’s receptive field. We tend to consider our brain a reliable organ. But how reliable is it? From the beginning the brain is obliged to transform reality. Brain imagery involves: form, color, motion and sleep. Unintentionally these results led to unexpected philosophical implications. Plato’s pivotal concept that ”forms” exist independently of the material world is reversed. Atoms have been considered to be imaginary for 2,000 years but at present they can be photographed, one by one, with electron microscopes. The reason why geometry has led the way in this inquiry is due to the fact that where there is geometry there is utter simplicity coupled to rigorous order that underlies the phenomenon where it is recognized. Order allows variation but imposes at the same time a canalization that is patent in what we call evolution.

A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations

Author : Daniel Fleisch
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 129 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2008-01-10
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781139468473

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A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations by Daniel Fleisch Pdf

Gauss's law for electric fields, Gauss's law for magnetic fields, Faraday's law, and the Ampere–Maxwell law are four of the most influential equations in science. In this guide for students, each equation is the subject of an entire chapter, with detailed, plain-language explanations of the physical meaning of each symbol in the equation, for both the integral and differential forms. The final chapter shows how Maxwell's equations may be combined to produce the wave equation, the basis for the electromagnetic theory of light. This book is a wonderful resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in electromagnetism and electromagnetics. A website hosted by the author at www.cambridge.org/9780521701471 contains interactive solutions to every problem in the text as well as audio podcasts to walk students through each chapter.

A Student's Guide to the Schrödinger Equation

Author : Daniel A. Fleisch
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 237 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2020-02-20
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781108834735

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A Student's Guide to the Schrödinger Equation by Daniel A. Fleisch Pdf

A clear guide to the key concepts and mathematical techniques underlying the Schrödinger equation, including homework problems and fully worked solutions.

Ordinary Differential Equations

Author : David A. Sanchez
Publisher : American Mathematical Soc.
Page : 132 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2002-12-31
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9781470458348

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Ordinary Differential Equations by David A. Sanchez Pdf

For the instructor or student confronting an introductory course in ordinary differential equations there is a need for a brief guide to the key concepts in the subject. Important topics like stability, resonance, existence of periodic solutions, and the essential role of continuation of solutions are often engulfed in a sea of exercises in integration, linear algebra theory, computer programming and an overdose of series expansions. This book is intended as that guide. It is more conceptual than definitive and more light-hearted than pedagogic. It covers key topics and theoretical underpinnings that are necessary for the study of rich topics like nonlinear equations or stability theory. The [Author]; has included a great many illuminating examples and discussions that uncover the conceptual heart of the matter.