Statistical and Thermal Physics

Statistical and Thermal Physics
Author: Harvey Gould
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 526
Release: 2021-09-14
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0691201897

This revised and expanded edition of Statistical and Thermal Physics introduces students to the essential ideas and techniques used in many areas of contemporary physics. Ready-to-run programs help make the many abstract concepts concrete. The text requires only a background in introductory mechanics and some basic ideas of quantum theory, discussing material typically found in undergraduate texts as well as topics such as fluids, critical phenomena, and computational techniques, which serve as a natural bridge to graduate study. --

Reversing the Arrow of Time

Reversing the Arrow of Time
Author: Bryan W. Roberts
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2022-11-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1009123327

Rigorous and interdisciplinary perspective on the meaning and origin of the arrow of time, drawing on physics and its philosophy.

Brownian Motion and Molecular Reality

Brownian Motion and Molecular Reality
Author: George E. Smith
Publisher:
Total Pages: 469
Release: 2020
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0190098023

Between 1905 and 1913, French physicist Jean Perrin's experiments on Brownian motion ostensibly put a definitive end to the long debate regarding the real existence of molecules, proving the atomic theory of matter. While Perrin's results had a significant impact at the time, later examination of his experiments questioned whether he really gained experimental access to the molecular realm. In this case study in the history and philosophy of science, George E. Smith and Raghav Seth here argue that despite doubts, Perrin's measurements were nevertheless exemplars of theory-mediated measurement-the practice of obtaining values for an inaccessible quantity by inferring them from an accessible proxy via theoretical relationships between them. They argue that it was actually Perrin more than any of his contemporaries who championed this approach during the years in question.

The Genesis of General Relativity

The Genesis of General Relativity
Author: Jürgen Renn
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 2072
Release: 2007-02-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402039999

This four-volume work represents the most comprehensive documentation and study of the creation of general relativity. Einstein’s 1912 Zurich notebook is published for the first time in facsimile and transcript and commented on by today’s major historians of science. Additional sources from Einstein and others, who from the late 19th to the early 20th century contributed to this monumental development, are presented here in translation for the first time. The volumes offer detailed commentaries and analyses of these sources that are based on a close reading of these documents supplemented by interpretations by the leading historians of relativity.

Thermodynamics: History And Philosophy - Facts, Trends, Debates

Thermodynamics: History And Philosophy - Facts, Trends, Debates
Author: L Ropolyi
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 544
Release: 1991-03-22
Genre:
ISBN: 9814569518

This proceedings contains the invited and contributed papers presented at the conference on the history and foundation of classical thermodynamics. It describes the alternative paradigms and histories of thermodynamics, philosophical foundations and consequences, and classical problems related to the history of thermodynamics. The contents attempt to present a unified approach to the physical, historical and philosophical points of view.

Ernst Mach — A Deeper Look

Ernst Mach — A Deeper Look
Author: J.T. Blackmore
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401127719

Ernst Mach -- A Deeper Look has been written to reveal to English-speaking readers the recent revival of interest in Ernst Mach in Europe and Japan. The book is a storehouse of new information on Mach as a philosopher, historian, scientist and person, containing a number of biographical and philosophical manuscripts publihsed for the first time, along with correspondence and other matters published for the first time in English. The book also provides English translations of Mach's controversies with leading physicists and psychologists, such as Max Planck and Carl Stumpf, and offers basic evidence for resolving Mach's position on atomism and Einstein's theory of relativity. Mach's scientific, philosophical and personal influence in a number of countries -- Austria, Germany, Bohemia and Yugoslavia among them -- has been carefully explored and many aspects detailed for the first time. All of the articles are eminently readable, especially those written by Mach's sister. They are deeply researched, new interpretations abound, and the bibliography includes recent works by and about Mach from over a dozen countries. The book also contains many articles by or about Mach's contemporaries, including Ostwald, Dingler, Weichert and, especially, Einstein. Finally, and most intriguingly, the original ideas of Japanese scholars are presented, built on Mach's philosophy. These demonstrate how Mach's world view is currently contributing to the solution of contemporary philosophical problems.