Physics and Speculative Philosophy

Physics and Speculative Philosophy
Author: Timothy E. Eastman
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2016-02-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 311045047X

Through both an historical and philosophical analysis of the concept of possibility, we show how including both potentiality and actuality as part of the real is both compatible with experience and contributes to solving key problems of fundamental process and emergence. The book is organized into four main sections that incorporate our routes to potentiality: (1) potentiality in modern science [history and philosophy; quantum physics and complexity]; (2) Relational Realism [ontological interpretation of quantum physics; philosophy and logic]; (3) Process Physics [ontological interpretation of relativity theory; physics and philosophy]; (4) on speculative philosophy and physics [limitations and approximations; process philosophy]. We conclude that certain fundamental problems in modern physics require complementary analyses of certain philosophical and metaphysical issues, and that such scholarship reveals intrinsic features and limits of determinism, potentiality and emergence that enable, among others, important progress on the quantum theory of measurement problem and new understandings of emergence.

Process Physics

Process Physics
Author: Reginald T. Cahill
Publisher:
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2005
Genre: Science
ISBN:

This book is about a new and very radical information-theoretic approach to comprehending and modelling reality. It is called "Process Physics" because it uses a process model of time rather than, as in current physics, a non-process geometrical model of time, a model so successfully developed and used by Galileo, Newton, Einstein and others that for many physicists the phenomenon of time is actually identified with this geometrical model. Now, for the first time in the history of physics, we have a model of time that includes the distinctions between past, present and future. These distinctions cannot be made in the geometrical model of time. For this reason we can call the current prevailing physics Non-Process Physics. In Process Physics we turn to a fundamental reformulation of the key concepts in physics. This entails that we must identify both the successes and failures of the Non-Process Physics, for it almost succeeded.

Stochastic Processes in Physics and Chemistry

Stochastic Processes in Physics and Chemistry
Author: N.G. Van Kampen
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 482
Release: 1992-11-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080571387

This new edition of Van Kampen's standard work has been completely revised and updated. Three major changes have also been made. The Langevin equation receives more attention in a separate chapter in which non-Gaussian and colored noise are introduced. Another additional chapter contains old and new material on first-passage times and related subjects which lay the foundation for the chapter on unstable systems. Finally a completely new chapter has been written on the quantum mechanical foundations of noise. The references have also been expanded and updated.

Sol-Gel Science

Sol-Gel Science
Author: C. Jeffrey Brinker
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 925
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0080571034

Sol-Gel Science: The Physics and Chemistry of Sol-Gel Processing presents the physical and chemical principles of the sol-gel process. The book emphasizes the science behind sol-gel processing with a chapter devoted to applications. The first chapter introduces basic terminology, provides a brief historical sketch, and identifies some excellent texts for background reading. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss the mechanisms of hydrolysis and condensation for nonsilicate and silicate systems. Chapter 4 deals with stabilization and gelation of sols. Chapter 5 reviews theories of gelation and examines the predicted and observed changes in the properties of a sol in the vicinity of the gel point. Chapter 6 describes the changes in structure and properties that occur during aging of a gel in its pore liquor (or some other liquid). The discussion of drying is divided into two parts, with the theory concentrated in Chapter 7 and the phenomenology in Chapter 8. The structure of dried gels is explored in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 shows the possibility of using the gel as a substrate for chemical reactions or of modifying the bulk composition of the resulting ceramic by performing a surface reaction (such as nitridation) on the gel. Chapter 11 reviews the theory and practice of sintering, describing the mechanisms that govern densification of amorphous and crystalline materials, and showing the advantages of avoiding crystallization before sintering is complete. The properties of gel-derived and conventional ceramics are discussed in Chapter 12. The preparation of films is such an important aspect of sol-gel technology that the fundamentals of film formation are treated at length in Chapter 13. Films and other applications are briefly reviewed in Chapter 14. Materials scientists and researchers in the field of sol-gel processing will find the book invaluable.

Stochastic Processes for Physicists

Stochastic Processes for Physicists
Author: Kurt Jacobs
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2010-02-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1139486799

Stochastic processes are an essential part of numerous branches of physics, as well as in biology, chemistry, and finance. This textbook provides a solid understanding of stochastic processes and stochastic calculus in physics, without the need for measure theory. In avoiding measure theory, this textbook gives readers the tools necessary to use stochastic methods in research with a minimum of mathematical background. Coverage of the more exotic Levy processes is included, as is a concise account of numerical methods for simulating stochastic systems driven by Gaussian noise. The book concludes with a non-technical introduction to the concepts and jargon of measure-theoretic probability theory. With over 70 exercises, this textbook is an easily accessible introduction to stochastic processes and their applications, as well as methods for numerical simulation, for graduate students and researchers in physics.

Physics and Whitehead

Physics and Whitehead
Author: Timothy E. Eastman
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2004-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780791459140

Leading scholars explore the connections between quantum physics and process philosophy.

Information Theory and Quantum Physics

Information Theory and Quantum Physics
Author: Herbert S. Green
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 364257162X

In this highly readable book, H.S. Green, a former student of Max Born and well known as an author in physics and in the philosophy of science, presents a timely analysis of theoretical physics and related fundamental problems.

Process Cosmology

Process Cosmology
Author: Andrew M. Davis
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 460
Release: 2021-12-13
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3030813967

This book newly articulates the international and interdisciplinary reach of Whitehead’s organic process cosmology for a variety of topics across science and philosophy, and in dialogue with a variety historical and contemporary voices. Integrating Whitehead’s thought with the insights of Bergson, James, Pierce, Merleau-Ponty, Descola, Fuchs, Hofmann, Grof and many others, contributors from around the world reveal the relevance of process philosophy to physics, cosmology, astrobiology, ecology, metaphysics, aesthetics, psychedelics, and religion. A global collection, this book expresses multivocal possibilities for the development of process cosmology after Whitehead.

Stochastic Processes in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology

Stochastic Processes in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology
Author: Jan A. Freund
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 512
Release: 2008-01-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540453962

The theory of stochastic processes originally grew out of efforts to describe Brownian motion quantitatively. Today it provides a huge arsenal of methods suitable for analyzing the influence of noise on a wide range of systems. The credit for acquiring all the deep insights and powerful methods is due ma- ly to a handful of physicists and mathematicians: Einstein, Smoluchowski, Langevin, Wiener, Stratonovich, etc. Hence it is no surprise that until - cently the bulk of basic and applied stochastic research was devoted to purely mathematical and physical questions. However, in the last decade we have witnessed an enormous growth of results achieved in other sciences - especially chemistry and biology - based on applying methods of stochastic processes. One reason for this stochastics boom may be that the realization that noise plays a constructive rather than the expected deteriorating role has spread to communities beyond physics. Besides their aesthetic appeal these noise-induced, noise-supported or noise-enhanced effects sometimes offer an explanation for so far open pr- lems (information transmission in the nervous system and information p- cessing in the brain, processes at the cell level, enzymatic reactions, etc.). They may also pave the way to novel technological applications (noise-- hanced reaction rates, noise-induced transport and separation on the na- scale, etc.). Key words to be mentioned in this context are stochastic r- onance, Brownian motors or ratchets, and noise-supported phenomena in excitable systems.

The Physics of Business Growth

The Physics of Business Growth
Author: Edward Hess
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2012-05-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0804784884

“Captures the basic laws of growth companies and creates a new formula for success.” —Richard A. D’Aveni, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College Organic business growth is governed by its own natural laws—underlying truths that set the stage for growth and innovation, much in the way that Einstein’s theory of relativity accounts for the movement of objects in the space-time continuum. The most fundamental law is that uncertainty is the only certainty. Dominating forces are ambiguity and change; the processes at work involve exploration, invention, and experimentation. Unfortunately, these truths run counter to the principles of stability, predictability, and linearity that have long informed the design of our firms. The Physics of Business Growth explains how to create growth in today’s business environment, providing a roadmap and a set of practical tools to navigate its challenges. The book lays out a three-step formula that will prove invaluable to professionals who have the opportunity to influence growth now, as well as to tomorrow’s growth leaders, guiding them in (1) creating the right employee and organizational mindsets to enable growth, (2) building an internal corporate growth system, and (3) putting in place processes that result in identifying opportunities, launching growth experiments, and managing a growth portfolio. “Avoids the trap of magical thinking, which glosses over the messiness and complexity involved in growing a business. Rather, they offer a robust toolkit that growth leaders can adapt to their own circumstances.” —J. M. Ryan, Senior Fellow, Wharton Executive Education