Particle Or Wave

Particle Or Wave
Author: Charis Anastopoulos
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2008
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780691135120

'Particle or Wave' explains the origins and development of modern physical concepts about matter and the controversies surrounding them.

The Physics of Life

The Physics of Life
Author: Adrian Bejan
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2016-05-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1250078822

An empowering new view of the nature of physics and the constant evolution of our physical and social world

Design in Nature

Design in Nature
Author: Adrian Bejan
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-01-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0307744345

In this groundbreaking book, Adrian Bejan takes the recurring patterns in nature—trees, tributaries, air passages, neural networks, and lightning bolts—and reveals how a single principle of physics, the constructal law, accounts for the evolution of these and many other designs in our world. Everything—from biological life to inanimate systems—generates shape and structure and evolves in a sequence of ever-improving designs in order to facilitate flow. River basins, cardiovascular systems, and bolts of lightning are very efficient flow systems to move a current—of water, blood, or electricity. Likewise, the more complex architecture of animals evolve to cover greater distance per unit of useful energy, or increase their flow across the land. Such designs also appear in human organizations, like the hierarchical “flowcharts” or reporting structures in corporations and political bodies. All are governed by the same principle, known as the constructal law, and configure and reconfigure themselves over time to flow more efficiently. Written in an easy style that achieves clarity without sacrificing complexity, Design in Nature is a paradigm-shifting book that will fundamentally transform our understanding of the world around us.

Physics Before and After Einstein

Physics Before and After Einstein
Author: M. Mamone Capria
Publisher: IOS Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2005-04-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1607501066

It is now a century ago that one of the icons of modern physics published some of the most influential scientific papers of all times. With his work on relativity and quantum theory, Albert Einstein has altered the field of physics forever. It should not come as a surprise that looking back at Einstein's work, one needs to rethink the whole scope of physics, before and after his time. This books aims to provide a perspective on the history of modern physics, spanning from the late 19th century up to today. It is not an encyclopaedic work, but it presents the groundbreaking and sometimes provocative main contributions by Einstein as marking the line between ‘old’ and ‘new’ physics, and expands on some of the developments and open issues to which they gave rise. This presentation is not meant as a mere celebration of Einstein’s work, but as a critical appraisal which provides accurate historical and conceptual information. The contributing authors all have a reputation for working on themes related to Einstein’s work and its consequences. Therefore, the collection of papers gives a good representation of what happened in the 100 years after Einstein’s landmark Annalen der Physik articles. All people interested in the field of physics, history of science and epistemology could benefit from this book. An effort has been made to make the book attractive not only to scientists, but also to people with a more basic knowledge of mathematics and physics.

Quantum Reality

Quantum Reality
Author: Nick Herbert
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2011-09-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 030780674X

This clearly explained layman's introduction to quantum physics is an accessible excursion into metaphysics and the meaning of reality. Herbert exposes the quantum world and the scientific and philosophical controversy about its interpretation.

The Equations of Life

The Equations of Life
Author: Charles S. Cockell
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2018-06-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 154164459X

A groundbreaking argument for why alien life will evolve to be much like life here on Earth We are all familiar with the popular idea of strange alien life wildly different from life on earth inhabiting other planets. Maybe it's made of silicon! Maybe it has wheels! Or maybe it doesn't. In The Equations of Life, biologist Charles S. Cockell makes the forceful argument that the laws of physics narrowly constrain how life can evolve, making evolution's outcomes predictable. If we were to find on a distant planet something very much like a lady bug eating something like an aphid, we shouldn't be surprised. The forms of life are guided by a limited set of rules, and as a result, there is a narrow set of solutions to the challenges of existence. A remarkable scientific contribution breathing new life into Darwin's theory of evolution, The Equations of Life makes a radical argument about what life can -- and can't -- be.