Physics Foibles

Physics Foibles
Author: Melvin Goldstein
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2003
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1553957768

The science of Physics is based on observations that lead to the formulation of mathematical relationships between measured quantities. Some would consider Physics an exact science. Its discoveries and laws are basic to understanding in all areas of science and technology. Four Physics foibles 1) Kurt Godel proved that there are unknowables in our mathematics. 2) Werner Heisenberg showed that there are uncertainties in our measurements. 3) Entropy says that we can only predict the probabilities of events. 4)Chaos Theory deals with things that are effectively impossible to predict like turbulence and long term weather forecasting. The word foible as defined by Webster: An odd feature or mild failing in a person's character a weakness. In fencing, the weaker part of a sword blade. It is the acceptance of these foibles in Physics that has led to broader understanding. In the process of examining these 'weaknesses' in science, many creative and practical solutions have been discovered. There are a number of original computer programs throughout the book. No other person, living or dead - other than the author - has edited or examined the programs. No effort has been made to optimize any of these programs. The author has relied on the computer's results to serve as his default editor. Computer programs are included that take you through puzzles and paradoxes, distribute molecules, follow ameba populations, prove and disprove Murphy's Law, flip coins, and play lottery and casino games. Many have asked about the book. Some with a technical background - and some not - have questioned: What do dice, poker, lotto, and heads-or-tails have to do with Physics? The mathematical study of games of chance is as old as mathematics itself. The connection between games of chance and Nature's laws can be rigorously refined in the field of Statistical Mathematics. If you can analyze multiple coin flips, you can view molecular distribution. If you can understand the results of a game of Roulette, you can understand Radioactive decay. Also included are polls, number systems, wave packets, the search for Pi and the elusive Random, Internet quotes, and more. And in the the process of reading, stop and listen to the words of the science gurus displayed in cartoons throughout.

Contemporary Physics Plays

Contemporary Physics Plays
Author: Jenni G. Halpin
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2018-04-12
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 3319751484

This book analyzes recent physics plays, arguing that their enaction of concepts from the sciences they discuss alters the nature of the decisions made by the characters, changing the ethical judgements that might be cast on them. Recent physics plays regularly alter the shape of space-time itself, drawing together disparate moments, reversing the flow of time, creating apparent contradictions, and iterating scenes for multiple branches of counterfactual history. With these changes both causality and responsibility shift, variously. The roles of iconic scientists, such as Albert Einstein and Werner Heisenberg, are interrogated for their dramatic value, placing history and dramatic license in tension. Cold War strategies and the limits of espionage highlight the emphatically personal involvement of ordinary individuals. This study is vital reading for those interested in physics plays and the relationship between the sciences and the humanities.

Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 174
Release: 1987-02
Genre:
ISBN:

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.

The Trouble with Physics

The Trouble with Physics
Author: Lee Smolin
Publisher: HMH
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2007-09-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0547348487

“A splendid, edifying report from the front lines of theorectical physics” (San Francisco Chronicle). In this illuminating book, renowned physicist Lee Smolin argues that fundamental physics—the search for the laws of nature—is losing its way. Ambitious ideas about extra dimensions, exotic particles, multiple universes, and strings have captured the public’s imagination—and the imagination of experts. But these ideas have not been tested experimentally, and some, like string theory, seem to offer no possibility of being tested. Even still, these speculations dominate the field, attracting the best talent and much of the funding, while creating a climate in which emerging physicists are often penalized for pursuing other avenues. The situation threatens to impede the very progress of science. With clarity, passion, and authority, Smolin offers an unblinking assessment of the troubles that face modern physics, and an encouraging view of where the search for the next big idea may lead. “The best book about contemporary science written for the layman that I have ever read.” —The Times (London)

The Americanization of Social Science

The Americanization of Social Science
Author: David Haney
Publisher: Temple University Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2008-01-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1592137156

A highly readable introduction to and overview of the postwar social sciences in the United States, The Americanization of Social Science explores a critical period in the evolution of American sociology’s professional identity from the late 1940s through the early 1960s. David Paul Haney contends that during this time leading sociologists encouraged a professional secession from public engagement in the name of establishing the discipline’s scientific integrity. According to Haney, influential practitioners encouraged a willful withdrawal from public sociology by separating their professional work from public life. He argues that this separation diminished sociologists’ capacity for conveying their findings to wider publics, especially given their ambivalence towards the mass media, as witnessed by the professional estrangement that scholars like David Riesman and C. Wright Mills experienced as their writing found receptive lay audiences. He argues further that this sense of professional insularity has inhibited sociology’s participation in the national discussion about social issues to the present day.