Every year, the Department of Physics and Astronomy is allocated funds to purchase materials for the library. This is a list of our recent orders and a blurb about each. Occasionally, a faculty member or student who reads one of these books has some interesting things to say about it. If so, click on the review link next to the to read more about the book or video. To check to see if the item is available, you can use the McIntyre Library's Voyager Catalog. If you have any ideas for materials that the library does not have, contact Lyle Ford.
Acoustics
Astronomy, Astrophysics, & Planetary Science
Condensed Matter Physics
Electromagnetism
Electronics
Experimental Methods
General Physics
History of Science
Mechanics
Numerical Methods
Optics
Particle Physics & Quantum
Mechanics
Philosophy & Science
Physics Education
Reference
Relativity
Thermodynamics
The Science of Sound, Third Edition, Thomas D. Rossing, Richard F. Moore, Paul A. Wheeler
Book Description: The Science of Sound is widely recognized as the leading textbook in the field. It provides an excellent introduction to acoustics for students without college physics or a strong background in mathematics. In the Third Edition, Richard Moore and Paul Wheeler join Tom Rossing in updating The Science of Sound to include a wide range of important technological developments in the field of acoustics. New exercises and review questions have been added to the end of each chapter to help students study the material.
Book Description: It's music to your ears--but why does one instrument make a different sound than another? What separates music from noise? Why can we physically feel the beat of a big, bass drum in our bodies? And, how do we hear tone and rhythm? Uncovering the answers to these questions is a symphony of fun, and an entertaining way to understand physics and math! Each of these safe and "sound" experiments--delightfully illustrated with lively, colorful pages filled to bursting with photographs, drawings, and cartoons--uses ordinary materials to teach fabulous facts about the bangs, slaps, whistles, claps, and harmonies in our world. Study sound waves; play with changes in pitch; confuse the brain into thinking you're hearing something when you're not; and test out your vocal chords. Entertaining to look at and enjoyable to do!
Book Description: It's music to your ears--but why does one instrument make a different sound than another? What separates music from noise? And, how do we hear tone and rhythm? Uncovering the answers to these questions is a symphony of fun, and an entertaining way to understand physics and math! Each of these delightfully illustrated safe and "sound" experiments uses ordinary materials to teach fabulous facts about the bangs, slaps, whistles, claps, and harmonies in our world. Entertaining to look at and enjoyable to do!
Children of the Stars: Our Origin, Evolution, and Destiny, Daniel Altschuler
Book Description: Are we alone in the Universe? What is our place in it? How did we get here? We have long searched for the answers to questions such as these, and scientists are beginning to find some of the answers. In this beautifully illustrated book, Daniel Altschuler provides the reader with the elements to understand the questions and their answers as far as we know them. He explores subjects from physics and astronomy to geology and paleontology. Along the way he touches on topics of great popular appeal such as the search for life on other worlds and hazards of asteroid impacts.
Agnes Mary Clerke & the Rise of Astrophysics, M. T. Brück
Book Description: Born in Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century, Agnes Mary Clerke achieved fame as the author of A History of Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century. Through her quarter-century career, she became the leading commentator on astronomy and astrophysics in the English-speaking world. The biography of Agnes Clerke describes the life and work of this extraordinary woman. It also chronicles the development of astronomy in the last decades of pre-Einstein science, and introduces many of the great figures in astronomy of that age including Huggins, Lockyer, Holden, and Pickering; their achievements and their rivalries. The story follows her friendship with William and Margaret Huggins, and her prolific correspondence with eminent astronomers of the time. This biography will fascinate scientists, and anyone who admires intellectual achievement brought about through love of learning and sheer hard work.
Beyond Pluto: Exploring the Outer Limits of the Solar System, John Davies
Book Description: In the last ten years, the solar system has more than doubled in size. For the first time in almost two centuries an entirely new population of planetary objects has been found. This 'Kuiper Belt' of minor planets beyond Neptune has revolutionised our understanding of how the solar system was formed and has finally explained the origin of the enigmatic outer planet Pluto. This is the fascinating story of how theoretical physicists decided that there must be a population of unknown bodies beyond Neptune and how a small band of astronomers set out to find them. What they discovered was a family of ancient planetesimals whose orbits and physical properties were far more complicated than anyone expected. We follow the story of this discovery, and see how astronomers, theoretical physicists and one incredibly dedicated amateur observer have come together to explore the frozen boundary of the solar system.
Storms in Space, John W. Freeman
Book Description: Storms in Space is the story of the mysterious region between Earth and the Sun, where violent storms rage unseen by human eyes. Disruption of spacecraft and satellites, television transmission failures and power blackouts are just a few of the effects of this powerful force of nature, caused by the charged particles and electromagnetic fields that dominate space. This is a highly readable synopsis of man's current understanding of the space environment. The book discusses the similarities between storms on Earth and in space, and goes on to describe the causes and effects of space storms, and how they can be monitored by satellites and from observatories on Earth. The forecasting of space storms is presented, along with prospects for improved models in the future. This clear and engaging book will be valuable to space scientists, physicists, astronomers and anyone with an interest in understanding the phenomenon of space weather.
The Compact NASA Atlas of the Solar System, Ronald Greeley & Raymond Batson
Book Description: The exploration of our solar system by spacecraft has been one of the greatest scientific achievements of the twentieth century. The mapping of other worlds has resulted from numerous space missions by NASA, extending over many years. The data from these planetary missions have been synthesized by the US Geological Survey to produce detailed maps. Every planet, moon, or small body investigated in NASA missions is discussed and where appropriate mapped. Geological maps, reference maps, shaded relief maps, synthetic aperture radar mosaics and color photomosaics marvelously present the features of planets and their satellites. This is truly a 'road map' of our solar system. All maps are fully indexed. The gazetteer lists the names of all features officially approved by the International Astronomical Union. The Compact NASA Atlas of the Solar System is the definitive reference atlas for planetary science.
Cosmic Butterflies: The Colorful Mysteries of Planetary Nebulae, Sun Kwok
Book Description: Using more than 100 spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope, Cosmic Butterflies explores the beauty of the most mysterious celestial objects in space, planetary nebulae. The mystery begins at the end of the star's life, when it wraps itself in a cocoon by spilling out gas and dust. Sometime later, a butterfly-like nebula emerges from the cocoon and develops into a planetary nebula. These newly formed, effervescent structures are complemented by a kaleidoscope of colors emitted by glowing gases. Hovering in the gossamer of delicate streamers, the production of planetary nebula by a star is both its most momentous event and foretells its doom when its central energy runs out. In this extraordinary book, Sun Kwok, a leading international expert on planetary nebulae, details the discovery process of the creation of planetary nebulae and of the future of the Earth's Sun.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Meteorites, O. Richard Norton
Book Description: Beautifully illustrated with over 140 full colour images, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Meteorites provides a thorough guide to these fascinating extraterrestrial rocks. Meteorites are our only contact with materials from beyond the Earth-Moon system. Using well known petrologic techniques, this book reveals in vivid colour their extraordinary external and internal structures. Looking deeper still, right to the atomic level, they begin to tell us of the environment within the solar nebula that existed before the planets accreted. In recent years, meteorites have caught the imagination of scientist and collector alike. An army of people are now actively searching for them in the hot and cold deserts of Earth. This book is a valuable guide to assist the searchers in the field to recognize the many classes of meteorites. It is further a reference source for students, teachers and scientists who wish to probe deeper these amazing rocks from space.
Flash!: The Hunt for the Biggest Explosions in the Universe, Govert Schilling (review)
Book Description: The origin and nature of gamma-ray bursts is currently one of the greatest mysteries in astrophysics. These tremendously powerful blasts produce more energy in a fraction of a second than our Sun does in ten billion years. Since their accidental discovery by American spy satellites over thirty years ago, astronomers have striven to understand these enigmatic explosions. It is only recently, thanks to an Italian-Dutch satellite, and powerful telescopes both on the ground and in space, that the mystery is beginning to be unraveled. Astronomers now realize that gamma-ray bursts are probably related to the birth of black holes in extremely distant galaxies. Flash! describes the fast moving field of gamma ray burst research, from the initial detection right up to the most recent discoveries. Based on interviews with leading scientists, this exciting book provides an inside view of the scientific challenges involved in unraveling the mystery of gamma-ray bursts.
The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma Ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe, Jonathan I. Katz (review)
Book Description: Gamma-ray bursts are the most violent events since the birth of the universe. They are about ten times more energetic than the most powerful supernovae. At their peak, gamma-ray bursts are the brightest objects in space, about 100,000 times brighter than an entire galaxy. And yet until recently these titanic eruptions were the most mysterious events in astronomy. In The Biggest Bangs, astrophysicist Jonathan Katz offers a fascinating account of the scientific quest to unravel the mystery of these incredible phenomena. With an eye for colorful detail and a talent for translating scientific jargon into plain English, Katz ranges from the accidental discovery of gamma-ray bursts (by a Cold War satellite system monitoring the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty) to the frustrating but ultimately successful efforts to localize these bursts in distant galaxies. He describes the theories, the equipment (the most recent breakthrough was made with a telescope you could carry under your arm), and the pioneers who have finally begun to explain these strange bursts. And along the way, he offers important lessons about science itself, arguing that "small science" is as valuable as institutionalized "big science," that observations are more the product of advances in technology than of theory, and that theory is only "the concentrated essence of experiment." With the advent of the space age a mere 40 years ago, we have grown used to strangeness in the universe--and confident in science's ability to explain it. In The Biggest Bangs, Jonathan Katz shows that there are still wonders out there that exceed the bounds of our imagination and defy our ability to understand them.
Disturbing the Solar System: Impacts, Close Encounters, and Coming Attractions, Alan E. Rubin
Book Description: The solar system is not akin to a well-oiled machine whose parts move smartly along prescribed paths. It has always been--and continues to be--a messy place in which gravity wreaks havoc. Moons form, asteroids and comets crash into planets, ice ages commence, and dinosaurs disappear. By describing the dramatic consequences of such disturbances, this fascinating book reveals the fundamental interconnectedness of the solar system--and what it means for life on its most interesting planet. After relating a brief history of the solar system, Alan Rubin describes how astronomers determined our location in the Milky Way. He provides succinct and up-to-date accounts of the energetic interactions among planetary bodies, the generation of the Earth's magnetic field, the effects of other solar-system objects on our climate, the moon's genesis, the heating of asteroids, and the origin of the mysterious tektites. Along the way, Rubin introduces us to the individual scientists--including the famous, the now obscure, and the newest generation of researchers--who have enhanced our understanding of the galactic neighborhood. He shows how scientific discoveries are made; he discusses the uncertainty that presides over the boundaries of knowledge as well as the occasional reluctance of scientists to change their minds even when confronted by compelling evidence. This fresh historical perspective reveals science as it is: an imperfect but self-correcting enterprise. Journeying to the frontiers of knowledge, Rubin concludes with the exciting realm of astrobiology. He chronicles the history of the search for life on Mars and describes cutting-edge lines of astrobiological inquiry, including panspermia (the possible transfer of life from planet to planet), the likelihood of technologically advanced alien civilizations in our galaxy, and our probable responses to alien contact. Authoritative and up-to-date but also entertaining and fluidly written, Disturbing the Solar System will appeal to any reader who has ever picked up a rock or gazed at the moon with a sense of wonder.
Introduction to Cosmology, Barbara Ryden
Book Description: Introduction to Cosmology provides a rare combination of a solid foundation of the core physical concepts of cosmology and the most recent astronomical observations. The text is designed for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students and assumes no prior knowledge of general relativity. An emphasis is placed on developing the students' physical insight rather than losing them with complex math. An approachable writing style and wealth of fresh and imaginative analogies from “everyday” physics are used to make the concepts of cosmology more accessible.
The Planetary System, David Morrison & Tobias Owen
Book Description: Co-authors Morrison and Owen are leading researchers in planetary astronomy today, and this book reflects their expertise and excitement for the subject. Drawing on recent findings, this authoritative, up-to-date book gives a straightforward account of our solar system. Written in an informal style with minimal use of mathematics, this book is ideal for beginning non-science readers. Since publication of the previous edition of The Planetary System, the pace of planetary exploration and new discoveries has accelerated. Also, the new multidisciplinary field of astrobiology has emerged and now provides a fruitful perspective for the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life within our solar system and other planetary systems. As scientists who have participated in the definition and development of astrobiology, Morrison and Owen have integrated these new perspectives, as well as many other discoveries, into this new edition to make it once again undisputedly the most authoritative, up-to-date, and exciting planetary book available. For anyone interested in astronomy or planetary astronomy.
Book Description:
Seeing in the Dark is a poetic love letter to the skies and a stirring report on the revolution now sweeping amateur astronomy, in which backyard stargazers linked globally by the Internet are exploring deep space and making discoveries worthy of the professionals. Timothy Ferris invites us all to become stargazers, recounting his lifelong experiences as an enthralled stargazer, and capturing the exquisite experience when ancient starlight strikes the eye and incites the mind. Reporting from around the globe -- from England and Italy to the Florida Keys and the Chilean Andes -- on the revolution that's putting millions in touch with the night sky, Ferris also offers an authoritative and magical description of what is out there to be seen, from the rings of Saturn to remote quasars whose light is older than Earth. Astronomy is the most accessible and democratic of all the sciences: Anyone can get started in it just by going outside with a star chart on a dark night and looking up. A pair of binoculars suffices to see galaxies millions of light-years away, and a small telescope can probe what Ferris calls the "blue waters" of deep space. An accessible, nontechnical invitation to get to know the sky, Seeing in the Dark encourages readers to make the glories of the stars a part of their lives. "The universe," Ferris writes, "is accessible to all, and can inform one's existence with a sense of beauty, reason, and awe as enriching as anything to be found in music, art, or poetry." An appendix includes star charts, observing guides, and tips on how you can get involved with the night sky.
The Century of Space Science, Johan A. M. Bleeker, Johannes Geiss, & Martin, C. E. Huber (eds.)
Book Description: The 20th century can truly be called the `Century of Space Science', for it was in the 20th century that the multidisciplinary study of space science (as opposed to astronomy) was conceived. Today, as we start a new century of discovery, we are able to cast our perspective back in order to chronicle how the field began, review how it developed, and discuss how it reached its current levels. We are able to overview the historical development and to put early discoveries in context, to document our current understanding and to look forward to the coming century with some degree of optimism. One of the most attractive features of this young discipline is that many of the original pioneers and key players involved are still available to describe their field. Hence, at this point in history we are in a unique position to gain first-hand insight into the field and its development. To this end, The Century of Space Science, a scholarly, authoritative, reference book presents a chapter-by-chapter retrospective of space science as studied in the 20th century. The level is academic and focuses on key discoveries, how these were arrived at, their scientific consequences and how these discoveries advanced the thoughts of the key players involved. With over 90 world-class contributors, such as James Van Allen, Cornelis de Jager, Eugene Parker, Reimar Lüst, and Ernst Stuhlinger, and with a Foreword by Lodewijk Woltjer (past ESO Director General), this book will be immensely useful to readers in the fields of space science, astronomy, and the history of science. Both academic institutions and researchers will find that this major reference work makes an invaluable addition to their collection. The work is published in two large-format volumes and contains color images throughout. It includes several appendices (for example a basic chronology of the field and a complete list of every space science mission ever launched) and is extensively and comprehensively indexed.
The Cambridge Photographic Guide to the Planets, Fredric W. Taylor
Book Description: The Cambridge Photographic Guide to the Planets contains a selection of the latest and most interesting images of the planets, moons, comets and asteroids of our Solar System. The book begins with a general introduction to the planetary system, its origin and evolution. Each subsequent chapter is devoted to a different planet or solar system body, and contains a comprehensive introduction to the body, and its moons and rings where relevant. This is followed by a selection of carefully chosen images from planetary missions, with explanatory captions. The author provides an authoritative description of what these images reveal and the puzzles that they pose for scientists. This photographic guide will be of interest to anybody with a fascination of the planets, from the amateur to the professional astronomer.
A Thin Cosmic Rain: Particles from Outer Space, Michael W. Friedlander
Book Description: Cosmic rays--even the name conjures up a vision of otherworldly mystery. Enigmatic for many years, they are now known to be not rays at all, but particles, the nuclei of atoms, raining down continually on the earth, where they can be detected throughout the atmosphere and sometimes even thousands of feet underground. This book tells the long-running detective story behind the discovery and study of cosmic rays, a story that stretches from the early days of subatomic particle physics in the 1890s to the frontiers of high-energy astrophysics today. Writing for the amateur scientist and the educated general reader, Michael Friedlander, a cosmic ray researcher, relates the history of cosmic ray science from its accidental discovery to its present status. He explains how cosmic rays are identified and their energies measured, then surveys our current knowledge and theories of this thin cosmic rain. The most thorough, up-to-date, and readable account of these intriguing phenomena, his book makes us party to the search into the nature, behavior, and origins of cosmic rays—and into the sources of their enormous energy, sometimes hundreds of millions times greater than the energy achievable in the most powerful earthbound particle accelerators. As this search led unexpectedly to the discovery of new particles such as the muon, pion, kaon, and hyperon, and as it reveals scenes of awesome violence in the cosmos and offers clues about black holes, supernovas, neutron stars, quasars, and neutrinos, we see clearly why cosmic rays remain central to an astonishingly diverse range of research studies on scales infinitesimally small and large. Attractively illustrated, engagingly written, this is a fascinating inside look at a science at the center of our understanding of our universe.
Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature, Eric J. Chaisson
Book Description: We are connected to distant space and time not only by our imaginations but also through a common cosmic heritage. Emerging now from modern science is a unified scenario of the cosmos, including ourselves as sentient beings, based on the time-honored concept of change. From galaxies to snowflakes, from stars and planets to life itself, we are beginning to identify an underlying ubiquitous pattern penetrating the fabric of all the natural sciences--a sweepingly encompassing view of the order and structure of every known class of object in our richly endowed universe. This is the subject of Eric Chaisson’s new book. In Cosmic Evolution Chaisson addresses some of the most basic issues we can contemplate: the origin of matter and the origin of life, and the ways matter, life, and radiation interact and change with time. Guided by notions of beauty and symmetry, by the search for simplicity and elegance, by the ambition to explain the widest range of phenomena with the fewest possible principles, Chaisson designs for us an expansive yet intricate model depicting the origin and evolution of all material structures. He shows us that neither new science nor appeals to nonscience are needed to understand the impressive hierarchy of the cosmic evolutionary story, from quark to quasar, from microbe to mind.
The Restless Universe: Understanding X-Ray Astronomy in the Age of Chandra and Newton, Eric M. Schlegel
Book Description: Carl Sagan once noted that there is only one generation that gets to see things for the first time. We are in the midst of such a time right now, standing on the threshold of discovery in the young and remarkable field of X-ray astronomy. In The Restless Universe, astronomer Eric Schlegel offers readers an informative survey of this cutting-edge science. Two major space observatories launched in the last few years--NASA's Chandra and the European Newton--are now orbiting the Earth, sending back a gold mine of data on the X-ray universe. Schlegel, who has worked on the Chandra project for seven years, describes the building and launching of this space-based X-ray observatory. But the book goes far beyond the story of Chandra. What Schlegel provides here is the background a nonscientist would need to grasp the present and follow the future of X-ray astronomy. He looks at the relatively brief history of the field, the hardware used to detect X-rays, the satellites--past, present, and future--that have been or will be flown to collect the data, the way astronomers interpret this data, and, perhaps most important, the insights we have already learned as well as speculations about what we may soon discover. And throughout the book, Schlegel conveys the excitement of looking at the universe from the perspective brought by these new observatories and the sharper view they deliver. Drawing on observations obtained from Chandra, Newton, and previous X-ray observatories, The Restless Universe gives a first look at an exciting field which significantly enriches our understanding of the universe.
Meteorites: A Journey through Space and Time, Alex Bevan & John Delaeter
Meteorites, the fragments of space debris that survive their fall to Earth, have much to tell us. They hold the answers to the complexities of star formation and can explain the earliest events in the birth of the solar system. They also may have brought to Earth the water in the oceans, gases of the atmosphere, and other essential ingredients for the evolution of life.
Lifting Titan's Veil: Exploring the Giant Moon of Saturn, Ralph Lorenz & Jacqueline Mitton
Book Description: Lifting Titan's Veil is a revealing account of the second largest moon in our solar system. This world in orbit around Saturn is the only body in the solar system with an atmosphere strikingly similar to Earth's. Titan is like a giant frozen laboratory that may help scientists understand the first chemical steps towards the origin of life. Beginning with its discovery in 1655, the authors describe our current knowledge of Titan, including observations made before the space age, results from the Voyager missions of the 1980s, and recent revelations from the world's most advanced telescopes. Ralph Lorenz includes his personal experiences in preparing for the Cassini mission, which will reach Saturn in 2004 and release the Huygens probe into Titan's atmosphere in 2005. This book is a splendid introduction to Titan, and will appeal to anyone interested in astronomical discovery and space exploration.
Stars and Planets (Princeton Field Guides), Ian Ridpath
Book Description: In this new edition of their classic guide, Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion bring the night sky down to earth with brand new sky charts, diagrams, and photos that enrich the clear, engaging text. Stars and Planets will delight both latent astronomers who have yet to touch a telescope and the more star-savvy who have spent many a night outside craning their necks behind a lens. The introduction presents the basics of astronomical observation while answering such questions as: How did constellations come to be? Do the stars within them have anything to do with one another? Do stars really flicker? Next comes the book's centerpiece: an excellent series of maps of the night sky from hemisphere to hemisphere, month to month and, above all, charts showing all 88 constellations, including some 5,000 stars. The text vividly relates the human history behind each constellation and notes their most prominent stars while offering sundry stimulating facts. The second section focuses on the astrophysics behind stars, galaxies, the sun, the planets, comets and meteors, and more. Striking full-color photos, maps, and illustrations appear on almost every page. The guide concludes with helpful tips on the optical tools of the trade and on astrophotography. Astrophysicists and amateur skywatchers agree that Stars and Planets is simply the most user-friendly, compact source of celestial information available. No one should leave home at night without it. Up-to-date full-color photos and data, including recent planetary images Monthly maps of the night sky as seen from latitudes throughout the world Charts of all 88 constellations, with data and notes on bright stars and other objects of interest Illustrated introduction to stars, nebulae, galaxies, and the solar system Advice on choosing and using binoculars and telescopes.
The Gravitational Million-Body Problem : A Multidisciplinary Approach to Star Cluster Dynamics, Douglas Heggie & Piet Hut
Book Description: The globular star clusters of the Milky Way contain hundreds of thousands of stars held together by gravitational interactions, and date from the time when the Milky Way was forming. This text describes the theory astronomers need for studying globular star clusters. The gravitational million-body problem is an idealised model for understanding the dynamics of a cluster with a million stars. After introducing the million-body problem from various view-points, the book systematically develops the tools needed for studying the million-body problems in nature, and introduces the most important theoretical models. Including a comprehensive treatment of few-body interactions, and developing an intuitive but quantitative understanding of the three-body problem, the book introduces numerical methods, relevant software, and current problems. Suitable for graduate students and researchers in astrophysics and astronomy, this text also has important applications in the fields of theoretical physics, computational science and mathematics.
Echo of the Big Bang, Michael D. Lemonick
Book Description: A tight-knit, high-powered group of scientists and engineers spent eight years building a satellite designed, in effect, to read the genome of the universe. The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) has finally reported in--and it's found things nobody ever expected. For more than a year now, the MAP satellite has been hovering in the cold of deep space, a million miles from Earth, in an effort to determine whether the science of cosmology--the study of the origin and evolution of the universe--has been on the right track for the past two decades. What MAP has been looking for is a barely perceptible pattern of hot and cold spots in the faint whisper of microwave radiation left over from the Big Bang, the event that 14 billion years ago gave birth to all of space, time, matter, and energy. The pattern encoded in those microwaves will provide the answers to some of the great unanswered questions of cosmology: What is the universe made of? What is its geometry? How much of it consists of the mysterious dark matter and dark energy that continue to baffle astronomers? How fast is it expanding? And did it undergo a period of inflationary hyper-expansion at the very beginning? MAP has now given definitive answers to these mysteries--and they are not what everyone expected. Telling the full story of MAP and its surprising revelations, this book is both a personal and a scientific tale of discovery. In its pages, readers will come to know the science of cosmology and the people who have finally, seventy-four years after we first learned that the universe is expanding, deciphered its mysteries.
Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus
A book about how to calculate the times of various cyclic astronomical events.
More Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus
A book about how to calculate times for even more cyclic astronomical events.
A guide to processing astronomical images coving theoretical and practical issues. An image manipulation program (AIP for Windows) is included.
Book Description: The structure of Apollo - The Lost and Forgotten Missions follows the development and in flight testing of the Apollo lunar spacecraft prior to Apollo 11 as well as missions planned following that first landing. Drawing upon combinations of archival documentation from the first four manned Apollo missions and future mission plans evolved in the summer of 1969 Apollo - The Lost and Forgotten Missions will fill this void. The text explains how the machines and the men were prepared for the landing on the moon and what would have followed the initial landings.
Comprehensive video footage from the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.
Comprehensive video footage from the Apollo 14 mission to the Moon.
Comprehensive video footage from the Apollo 15 mission to the Moon.
Comprehensive video footage from the Apollo 16 mission to the Moon.
Comprehensive video footage from the Apollo 17 mission to the Moon.
Comprehensive video footage from the Apollo 8 mission to orbit the Moon.
A documentary and footage of the rocket used for the Apollo missions.
Solid State Physics, Mircea S. Rogalski & Stuart B. Palmer
Book Description: Written with advanced undergraduate students and graduates in mind, the purpose of his book is to treat the fundamental principles in sufficient detail to bring out the coherent framework of the subject, providing a physical as well as mathematical understanding of a wide range of phenomena in solid state physics. The student is assumed to have completed standard university courses in classical and statistical mechanics, electromagnetism, calculus and to have grasped the basics of quantum mechanics up to perturbation theory. Solid State Physics opens with the adiabatic approximation to the many-body problem of a system of ions and valence electrons. After chapters on lattice symmetry, structure and dynamics, it then proceeds with four chapters devoted to the single-electron theory of the solid state. Semiconductors and dielectrics are covered in depth and chapters on magnetism and superconductivity follow. The book concludes with a chapter on solid surfaces.
Fullerene Polymers and Fullerene Polymer Composites, Peter C. Eklund & Apparao M. Rao (eds.)
Book Description: Fullerene Polymers and Fullerene Polymer Composites is an in-depth experimental and theoretical account of polymers and composites whose unusual properties, such as, photophysical phenomena, electrical transport, phase transitions and magnetic properties, stem from the incorporation of C60 in the material. Each chapter is written by an internationally renowned expert who has published extensively in this sub-field of fullerene materials. Introductory chapters on the fundamental properties of fullerenes (C60, C70) and photophysical phenomena in fullerenes and polymers are also included.
Properties of Silicon Carbide, Gary L. Harris (ed.)
A reference book for silicon carbide.
More is Different: Fifty Years of Condensed Matter Physics, N. Phuan Ong & Ravin N. Bhatt (eds.)
Book Description: This book presents articles written by leading experts surveying several major subfields in Condensed Matter Physics and related sciences. The articles are based on invited talks presented at a recent conference honoring Nobel laureate Philip W. Anderson of Princeton University, who coined the phrase "More is different" while formulating his contention that all fields of physics, indeed all of science, involve equally fundamental insights. The articles introduce and survey current research in areas that have been close to Anderson's interests. Together, they illustrate both the deep impact that Anderson has had in this multifaceted field during the past half century and the progress spawned by his insights. The contributors cover numerous topics under the umbrellas of superconductivity, superfluidity, magnetism, electron localization, strongly interacting electronic systems, heavy fermions, and disorder and frustration in glass and spin-glass systems. They also describe interdisciplinary areas such as the science of olfaction and color vision, the screening of macroions in electrolytes, scaling and renormalization in cosmology, forest fires and the spread of measles, and the investigation of "NP-complete" problems in computer science.
Electrodynamics from Ampere to Einstein, Olivier Darrigol
Book Description: This richly documented and abundantly illusrated work sheds new light on the origins of Einstein's relativity.
Electromagnetism, Gerald Pollack & Daniel Stump
Book Description: Electromagnetism sets a new standard in physics education. Throughout the book, the theory is illustrated with real-life applications in modern technology. It also includes detailed worked examples and step-by-step explanations to help readers develop their problem-solving strategies and skills and consolidate their understanding. In addition to a meticulous development of these traditional, analytical mathematical approaches, readers are also introduced to a range of techniques required for solving problems using computers. Electromagnetism provides an ideal preparation for students who plan more advanced studies in electrodynamics as well as those moving into industry or engineering.
Electricity, Magnetism, and Light, Wayne Saslow
Book Description: A very comprehensive introduction to electricity, magnetism and optics ranging from the interesting and useful history of the science, to connections with current real-world phenomena in science, engineering and biology, to common sense advice and insight on the intuitive understanding of electrical and magnetic phenomena. This is a fun book to read, heavy on relevance, with practical examples, such as sections on motors and generators, as well as `take-home experiments' to bring home the key concepts. Slightly more advanced than standard freshman texts for calculus-based engineering physics courses with the mathematics worked out clearly and concisely. Helpful diagrams accompany the discussion. The emphasis is on intuitive physics, graphical visualization, and mathematical implementation. Solutions are available via website to qualified users. Electricity, Magnetism, and Light is an engaging introductory treatment of electromagnetism and optics for second semester physics and engineering majors. Focuses on conceptual understanding, with an emphasis on relevance and historical development. Mathematics is specific and avoids unnecessary technical development. Emphasis on physical concepts, analyzing the electromagnetic aspects of many everyday phenomena, and guiding readers carefully through mathematical derivations. Provides a wealth of interesting information, from the history of the science of electricity and magnetism, to connections with real world phenomena in science, engineering, and biology, to common sense advice and insight on the intuitive understanding of electrical and magnetic phenomena.
Book Description: If you've ever wondered how the high-tech gadgets we encounter as we go about our daily lives work, from the computers on our desks, the CD players in our homes (and the remote controls we operate them with), the Automatic Teller Machines at the bank, to the machines that sort billions of pieces of mail everyday, this is the book that has the answers. Compiled from the Circuits section of the New York Times, a guide to the inner workings of computers, the Internet, and many modern electronic devices found in homes, businesses, transportation systems, and medicine. Clear, concise essays and well over one hundred full-color illustrations explain the mysteries of eighty devices that have shaped our lives.
Book Description: Vacuum Technique presents a comprehensive treatment of vacuum technology. It gives an overview of the areas of low-pressure gases; the theory of vacuum technology and mathematical modelling of gas transfer in vacuum systems is also discussed.
Book Description: Data analysis is of central importance in the education of scientists. This book offers a compact and readable introduction to techniques relevant to physical science students. The material is thoroughly integrated with the popular and powerful spreadsheet package Excel by Microsoft. Excel features of most relevance to the analysis of experimental data in the physical sciences are dealt with in some detail. Fully worked problems reinforce basic principles. Underlying assumptions and range of applicability of techniques are discussed, though detailed derivations of basic equations are mostly avoided or confined to the appendices.
Book Description: First half of book presents fundamental mathematical definitions, concepts and facts while remaining half deals with statistics primarily as an interpretive tool. Well-written text, numerous worked examples with step-by-step presentation. 116 tables.
Book Description: This timely Second Edition of a broadly based reference furnishes a basic understanding of each important topic in vacuum science and technology;concentrating on pumping issues and emphasizing the behavior of vacuum pumps and vacuum systems.
Book Description: Written primarily for a one-term, undergraduate level course, this book attempts to convey an understanding and appreciation for the concepts and principles of Physics by finding them within specific objects of everyday experience. It's primary market are liberal arts students who are seeking a connection between science and the world they live in; among its many secondary markets are the growing number of institutions offering courses with scientific real-world context. These courses may also be offered to students from the Sciences, Engineering, Architecture, and other technical fields.
Book Description: Featuring twenty-one stories from the weird and wonderful world of science, The Barmaid's Brain explores some of the little-known quirks of human behavior, including why we laugh, what happens when sane people are put in insane places, and, of course, how slinging drinks affects both memory and perception in a barmaid's brain. Written by best-selling author and media personality Jay Ingram, these investigations from the very edges of science are perhaps not Nobel Prize material, but they evoke the impressive breadth of the scientific mind and tell us much about how science works. In The Barmaid's Brain we learn, for example, how science adds to a re-examination of history with startling new theories about the Salem witches and a psychiatric profile of Joan of Arc. We witness remarkable battles--from the parasitic nastiness of cowbirds to the microscopic viciousness of bacteriophages. And we discover some of the odder concerns of scientists: Will we be able to build a ladder attaching earth to an orbiting satellite? Is it possible that early humans spent their lives in water instead of on land? Strange, witty, and always edifying, The Barmaid's Brain serves up a splendid cocktail of fact, theory, and anecdote guaranteed to entertain and stimulate.
Book Description: Ordinary folks can construct 13 awesome ballistic devices in their garage or basement workshops using inexpensive household or hardware store materials and this step-by-step guide. Clear instructions, diagrams, and photographs show how to build projects ranging from the simple-a match-powered rocket-to the more complex-a scale-model, table-top catapult-to the offbeat-a tennis ball cannon. With a strong emphasis on safety, the book also gives tips on troubleshooting, explains the physics behind the projects, and profiles scientists and extraordinary experimenters such as Alfred Nobel, Robert Goddard, and Isaac Newton. This book will be indispensable for the legions of backyard toy-rocket launchers and fireworks fanatics who wish every day was the fourth of July.
Book Description: This is the definitive guide to designing and building warrior robots like those seen on BattleBots, Robotica, and Robot Wars. It walks robot enthusiasts of all ages step-by-step through the design and building process, enabling them to create any number of customized warrior robots. With a strong emphasis on safety, chapters include designing a robot, choosing materials, radio control systems, electric motors, robot batteries, motor speed controllers, gasoline engines, and drive trains. Clear instructions are accompanied by photos, line drawings, and detailed diagrams throughout. For inspiration, a color section showcases a variety of glorious fighting machines along with their stats. Profiles of well-known designers and builders also enliven the text. For beginners, there is machine shop 101 and robot physics, and, of course, chapters on weaponry that include spinner robots, thwackbots, cutting blade robots, lifters, and chameleon robots. When the bot of their dreams is built, suggestions on where to compete and game-day strategies and tactics help readers take the next step. An extensive resource section lists parts suppliers, pertinent Web sites, a radio frequency chart, and a glossary.
Book Description: A solar success story that begged to be told, From Space to Earth: The Story of Solar Electricity tracks the evolution of photovoltaics from its shaky nineteenth-century beginnings, to its high-visibility success in the space program, to its current increasing--and largely unrecognized--position as an indispensable and versatile power source. After years of painstaking research, John Perlin tells the true and amazing story of the technology and of the truly amazing individuals who brought it to light. Special emphasis given to solar electricity's impact on the developing world, electrifying the unelectrified, and on the developed world, via building-integrated photovoltaics. An important contribution on the eve of the 'solar century.'
Book Description: Twentieth-century physics was a long, strange trip indeed. Stranger still is what might lie ahead. In this startling book, science writer Tom Siegfried takes us into a weird world of quark nuggets, selectrons, quintessence, and quantum cosmology and introduces us to some of the most imaginative ideas being batted about by scientists today, from funny energy to mirror matter to two-timing universes. In addition, he reviews theories of the past both proven and unproven-offering us a grounding in our scientific history as well as an informed and intriguing look at the possibilities of tomorrow.
Book Description: John Charap offers a panoramic view of the physicist's world as the twenty-first century opens. The view is entirely different from the one that greeted the twentieth century. We have learned that the universe is billions of galaxies larger than we imagined--and billions of years older. We know more about how it came to be and what it is. Because of physics, we live in a world of greater danger and more convenience, smaller particles and bigger ideas. Charap introduces these ideas but spares us the math behind them. After a review of the twentieth century's thorough transformation of physics, he checks in on the latest findings from particle physics, astrophysics, chaos theory, and cosmology. His tour includes ongoing efforts to find the universe's missing matter and to account for the first moments after the big bang. Taking readers right to the field's speculative edge, he explains how superstring theory may finally unite quantum mechanics with general relativity to produce a consistent quantum theory of gravity. Along the way, Charap poses the questions that continue to inspire research. Why is the universe flat? Why can't we forecast weather better? Can Schrodinger's cat really be simultaneously dead and alive? Why does fractal geometry keep showing up in strange places? Might spacetime have eleven dimensions? What does quantum mechanics mean about the nature of our world? In this book's pages, the nonphysicist will accept as commonsensical Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and physicists can meet across specialties. Students can access physics' critical concepts, and poets can learn a new language to describe the universe's many wonders. Taking us from the ultraviolet catastrophe that undid the Newtonian world to tomorrow's Theory of Everything, Charap brings today's most fascinating science down to Earth, where we can all enjoy it.
Book Description: Since the scientific revolutions of the seventeenth century, a great number of distinguished scientists and mathematicians have been associated with Cambridge University. Cambridge Scientific Minds is a unique account of some of the University's most eminent thinkers over the last 400 years, including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and James Clerk Maxwell. While the rapid establishment during the Newtonian era of a series of professorships for mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, anatomy, botany, geology, and geometry marked the University's scientific coming of age, this volume's chronological balance reflects on the increasing importance of science in the institution's recent history. Chapters on Paul Dirac, Alan Turing, Joseph Needham, and Stephen Hawking, among others, represent the recent intellectual efflorescence at Cambridge. Personal memoirs and historical essays, written by leading historians, scientists, and Nobel Laureates, make Cambridge Scientific Minds as enjoyable to read as it is accessible.
Book Description: Edward A Bouchet was the first African-American to receive the doctorate in any field of knowledge in the United States and that area was physics. He was granted the degree in 1876 from Yale University making him at that time one of the few persons to hold the physics doctorate from an American university. Bouchet played a significant role in the education of African-Americans during the last quarter of the 19th century through his teaching and mentoring activities at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was one among a small number of African-Americans who achieved advanced training and education within decades of the American civil war. These people provided direction, leadership, and role models for what eventually became the civil/human rights movements. The year 2001 marks the 125th celebration of his receiving the doctorate degree. This book gives a summary of his life and career.
Book Description: The Spirit of Russian Science comprises dozens of short and funny true stories about the relations between people working in science, the ways people of science interacted, and their attitudes towards life. On the one hand, these stories are very Russian. On the other hand, the spirit of science displayed is very international. One cannot help feeling it, and it is something that is very difficult to define. This book shows the way this spirit manifests itself, providing amusing examples.
Book Description: A century of remarkable scientific discovery.
Book Description: In 1957, a small group of scientists, supported by the U.S. government, launched an attempt to build a four-thousand-ton spaceship propelled by nuclear bombs. The initial plan called for missions to Mars by 1965 and Saturn by 1970. After seven years of work, political obstacles brought the effort to a halt. The Orion team, led by the American bomb-designer Theodore B. Taylor, included the physicist Freeman Dyson, whose son George was five years old when the existence of the project was first announced. In Project Orion, George Dyson has synthesized hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of pages of newly excavated documents, still only partially declassified, to piece together one of the most tantalizing "what if" stories of the twentieth century.
Book Description: This absorbing report tells how, in the fall of 1942, Leslie R. Groves, a career officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, brought together the elements necessary to create the bomb. Telling photographs are included in this historically important biography.
Book Description: The fascinating story of the men who founded the nuclear age, fully told for the first time. The story of the twentieth century is largely the story of the power of science and technology. Within that story is the incredible tale of the human conflict between Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller-the scientists most responsible for the advent of weapons of mass destruction. How did science-and its practitioners-enlisted in the service of the state during the Second World War, become a slave to its patron during the Cold War? The story of these three men, builders of the bombs, is fundamentally about loyalty-to country, to science, and to each other-and about the wrenching choices that had to be made when these allegiances came into conflict. Gregg Herken gives us the behind-the-scenes account based upon a decade of research, interviews, and newly released Freedom of Information Act and Russian documents. Brotherhood of the Bomb is a vital slice of American history told authoritatively-and grippingly-for the first time.
Book Description: Using the writings of the seventeenth-century genius Blaise Pascal as a central guide, Morris explores the nature of faith, reason, and the meaning of life. His lucid reflections provide fresh, fertile insights and perspectives for any thoughtful person journeying through life.
Book Description: The march of science has been marked through the years by episodes of drama and comedy, of failure as well as triumph, by outrageous strokes of luck, deserved and undeserved, and sometimes by human tragedy. In Eurekas and Euphorias, Walter Gratzer captures the human face of discovery as he relates many intriguing tales of scientific adventures spanning over two thousand years. Open this book at random and you may chance on the clumsy chemist named Sapper who broke a thermometer in a reaction vat and made the discovery that launched the modern dyestuff industry. Or the physicist who dissolved his gold Nobel Prize medal in acid to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Nazis. The book uncovers deep intellectual friendships, as well as ferocious animosities, and even acts of theft and malice, deceit, and a hoax or two. Indeed, we discover that scientists come in all shapes--the obsessive and the dilettantish, the genial, the envious, the preternaturally brilliant and the slow-witted who sometimes saw further in the end, the open-minded and the intolerant, recluses and arrivistes. We meet mathematicians and physicists in prison cells, and even in a madhouse, making important advances in their field. And we witness the careers, sometimes tragic, sometimes carefree, of the great women scientists, from Hypatia of Alexandria, to Sophie Germain and Sonia Kovalevskaya, to Marie Curie and her relentless battle with the French Academy. Told with wit and relish, here then is a glorious parade to delight the reader, with stories to astonish, to instruct, and most especially, to entertain.
Book Description: Throughout history, thinkers from mathematicians to theologians have pondered the mysterious relationship between numbers and the nature of reality. In this fascinating book, Mario Livio tells the tale of a number at the heart of that mystery: phi, or 1.6180339887...This curious mathematical relationship, widely known as "The Golden Ratio," was discovered by Euclid more than two thousand years ago because of its crucial role in the construction of the pentagram, to which magical properties had been attributed. Since then it has shown a propensity to appear in the most astonishing variety of places, from mollusk shells, sunflower florets, and rose petals to the shape of the galaxy. Psychological studies have investigated whether the Golden Ratio is the most aesthetically pleasing proportion extant, and it has been asserted that the creators of the Pyramids and the Parthenon employed it. It is believed to feature in works of art from Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa to Salvador Dali's The Sacrament of the Last Supper, and poets and composers have used it in their works. It has even been found to be connected to the behavior of the stock market! The Golden Ratio is a captivating journey through art and architecture, botany and biology, physics and mathematics. It tells the human story of numerous phi-fixated individuals, including the followers of Pythagoras who believed that this proportion revealed the hand of God; astronomer Johannes Kepler, who saw phi as the greatest treasure of geometry; such Renaissance thinkers as mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa; and such masters of the modern world as Goethe, Cezanne, Bartok, and physicist Roger Penrose. Wherever his quest for the meaning of phi takes him, Mario Livio reveals the world as a place where order, beauty, and eternal mystery will always coexist.
Book Description: In a world of motion, many events simply happen too fast to be seen with the unaided eye. With the aid of high-speed cameras, physical events which normally go unnoticed come to life to produce extraordinary sights. High-speed images reveal the awe and wonder of the physical world and provide an intriguing introduction to the study of physics. Hidden by Time is a collection of numerous physical events captured with high-speed cameras for classroom study. The program is comprised of high-speed motion events as well as high-speed still images.
A book about the dynamics of bicycles.
Video Description: Brilliant new wave artist Michael Moschen combines juggling, physics, movement and dance to create a world of balls, rings, hoops and spheres that fly, float and spin with grace, humor and haunting beauty.
Book Description: In the Wake of Tacoma is the first comprehensive treatment of the changes the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge has imposed on the design of suspension bridges. Designed as a historical narrative, this heavily illustrated book describes design trends before the collapse, the collapse itself and the investigations to determine its cause. The book goes on to examine subsequent aerodynamic and other design developments and their application in suspension bridges worldwide over the six decades following the collapse. In the Wake of Tacoma also provides a comprehensive reference work on suspension bridges in general, examining virtually every suspension bridge of note built in the past six decades, and highlighting overall development of the state of the art today. It goes beyond the major, well-known bridges to examine many small- and mid-span suspension bridges worldwide that have contributed significantly to the modern development of the form. Also covered are the engineering debates and engineers involved, and discussions of bridges under construction, under design, and new design concepts and materials to conquer the huge distances envisaged for such crossings as the Messina and Gibraltar straits. Presented in easy-to-understand, non-technical language, this book should appeal to both engineers and non-engineers with an interest in bridges and engineering in general.
Book Description: For thirty years this has been the acknowledged standard in advanced classical mechanics courses. This classic book enables readers to make connections between classical and modern physics - an indispensable part of a physicist's education. In this new edition, Beams Medal winner Charles Poole and John Safko have updated the book to include the latest topics, applications, and notation, to reflect today's physics curriculum. They introduce readers to the increasingly important role that nonlinearities play in contemporary applications of classical mechanics. New numerical exercises help readers to develop skills in how to use computer techniques to solve problems in physics. Mathematical techniques are presented in detail so that the book remains fully accessible to readers who have not had an intermediate course in classical mechanics. For college instructors and students.
Book Description: This book is intended for a one semester, freshman/sophomore level course entitled introduction to aerospace engineering or introduction to flight. Anderson's book continues to be a market leader. It has dominated the first course in the aero sequence since it was first published in 1978. It is the most accessible book on the market due to Anderson's ability to motivate the student with a unique historical view that provides a wealth of technical material.
Video Description: Inside a warehouse, artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss build an enormous, precarious structure 100 feet long made out of common household items - tea kettles, tires, old shoes, balloons, wooden ramps, etc. Then with fire, water, gravity, and chemistry, they create a spectacular chain reaction, a self-destructing performance of physical interactions, chemical reactions, and precisely crafted chaos worthy of Rube Goldberg or Alfred Hitchcock.
Book Description: The last five years have seen an immense growth in the use of symbolic computing and mathematical software packages such as Maple. The first three chapters of this book provide a user-friendly introduction to computer-assisted algebra with Maple. The rest of the book then develops these techniques and demonstrates the use of this technology for deriving approximate solutions to differential equations (linear and nonlinear) and integrals. In each case, the mathematical concepts are comprehensively introduced, with an emphasis on understanding how solutions behave and why various approximations can be used. Where appropriate, the text integrates the use of Maple to extend the utility of traditional approximation techniques. Advanced Mathematical Methods with Maple is the ideal companion text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics and the physical sciences. It incorporates over 1000 exercises with different levels of difficulty, for which solutions are provided on the Internet.
Book Description: This is the revised and expanded second edition of the hugely popular Numerical Recipes: the Art of Scientific Computing. The product of a unique collaboration among four leading scientists in academic research and industry, Numerical Recipes is a complete text and reference book on scientific computing. In a self-contained manner, it proceeds from mathematical and theoretical considerations to actual, practical computer routines. With over 100 new routines, bringing the total to well over 300, plus upgraded versions of many of the original routines, this new edition is the most practical, comprehensive handbook of scientific computing available today. The book retains the informal, easy-to-read style that made the first edition so popular, even while introducing some more advanced topics. It is an ideal textbook for scientists and engineers, and an indispensable reference for anyone who works in scientific computing.
Book Description: The product of a unique collaboration among four leading scientists in academic research and industry, Numerical Recipes is a comprehensive text and reference work on scientific computing. Thoroughly self-contained, it proceeds from mathematical and theoretical considerations to actual, practical computer routines. This new version incorporates completely new C++ versions of the more than 300 Numerical Recipes Second Edition routines widely recognized as the most accessible and practical basis for scientific computing, in addition to including the full mathematical and explanatory contents of Numerical Recipes in C.
CD-ROM Description: This CD ROM contains all the source code for the routines and examples from Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing (Second Edition) and Numerical Recipes in C++: The Art of Scientific Computing (Second Edition) as well as the affiliated example books. The C++ routines, in ANSI/ISO C++ source code, can be used with almost any existing C++ vector/matrix class library, according to user preference. A simple class library for stand-alone use is also included. The CD ROM can be used by Windows (all versions) and Macintosh compatible computers, using any Web browser to navigate among the program files. Included with the CD ROM is a license to use all the copyrighted Numerical Recipes code on a single Windows or Macintosh compatible computer. Both scientific programmers new to C++, and experienced C++ programmers who need access to the Numerical Recipes routines, can benefit from this new version of a classic text.
Book Description: This example book contains C++ source programs that exercise and demonstrate all of the subroutines, procedures, and functions in Numerical Recipes in C++. The book will be a valuable aid to readers wishing to incorporate Numerical Recipes procedures and subroutines into larger programs and to conduct simple validation tests. Each example program contains comments and is prefaced by a short description of what it does and of which Numerical Recipes routines it exercises. In cases where the demonstration programs require input data, those data are also supplied. In some cases, sample output is also shown.
Book Description: Basics of Holography is a general introduction to the subject written by a leading worker in the field. It begins with the theory of holographic imaging, the characteristics of the reconstructed image, and the various types of holograms. Practical aspects of holography are then described, including light sources, the characteristics of recording media and recording materials, as well as methods for producing different types of holograms and computer-generated holograms. Finally, important applications of holography are discussed, such as high-resolution imaging, holographic optical elements, information processing, and holographic interferometry. The book includes comprehensive reference sections and appendices summarizing some useful mathematical results. Numerical problems with their solutions are provided at the ends of chapters. This is an invaluable resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in science and engineering who would like to learn more about holography and its applications in science and industry.
Book Description: Accurate, authoritative and comprehensive, Optics, Fourth Edition has been revised to provide readers with the most up-to-date coverage of optics. The market leader for over a decade, this book provides a balance of theory and instrumentation, while also including the necessary classical background. The writing style is lively and accessible. For college instructors, students, or anyone interested in optics.
Book Description: This book provides a comprehensive overview of modern particle physics accessible to anyone with a true passion for wanting to know how the universe works. We are introduced to the known particles of the world we live in. An elegant explanation of quantum mechanics and relativity paves the way for an understanding of the laws that govern particle physics. These laws are put into action in the world of accelerators, colliders and detectors found at institutions such as CERN and Fermilab that are in the forefront of technical innovation. Real world and theory meet using Feynman diagrams to solve the problems of infinities and deduce the need for the Higgs boson. Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics offers an incredible insight from an eyewitness and participant in some of the greatest discoveries in 20th century science. From Einstein's theory of relativity to the elusive Higgs particle, this book will fascinate and educate anyone interested in the world of quarks, leptons and gauge theories. This book also contains many thumbnail sketches of particle physics personalities, including contemporaries as seen through the eyes of the author. Illustrated with pictures, these candid sketches present rare, perceptive views of the characters that populate the field.
Book Description: No one has ever seen a quark. Yet physicists seem to know quite a lot about the properties and behavior of these ubiquitous elementary particles. Here a top researcher introduces us to a fascinating but invisible realm that is part of our everyday life. Timothy Smith tells us what we know about quarks--and how we know it. Though the quarks that make science headlines are typically laboratory creations generated under extreme conditions, most quarks occur naturally. They reside in the protons and neutrons that make up almost all of the universe's known matter, from human DNA to distant nebulae, from books and tables to neutron stars. Smith explains what these quarks are, how they act, and why physicists believe in them sight unseen. How do quarks arrange themselves? What other combinations can nature make? How do quarks hold nuclei together? What else is happening in their hidden worlds? It turns out that these questions can be answered using a few simple principles, such as the old standby: opposites attract. With these few principles, Smith shows how quarks dance around each other and explains what physicists mean when they refer to "up" and "down" quarks and talk about a quark's color, flavor, and spin. Smith also explains how we know what we know about these oddly aloof particles, which are eternally confined inside larger particles. He explains how quark experiments are mounted and how massive accelerators, targets, and detectors work together to collect the data that scientists use to infer what quarks are up to. A nonmathematical tour of the quark world, this book is written for students, educators, and all who enjoy scientific exploration--whether they seek a taste of subnuclear physics or just wonder about nature on the smallest of scales.
Book Description: This is a rare and much-needed book: a concise but comprehensive account of quantum mechanics written by a respected physicist for popular science readers. Sam Treiman is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Princeton University and is internationally renowned for his work in particle physics. In The Odd Quantum, he makes quantum mechanics accessible to nonspecialists, combining mastery of the material with clear, elegant prose and infectious enthusiasm as he conveys the substance, methods, and profound oddities of the field. Treiman begins with an overview of quantum mechanics. He sketches the early development of the field by Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and others, and he makes clear how the quantum outlook flies in the face of common sense. As he explains, the quantum world is intrinsically probabilistic. For example, a particle is not in general in some particular place at a given instant, nor does it have a definite momentum. According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, there is a limit to how well both location and momentum can be specified simultaneously. In addition, particles can move through barriers and otherwise move in regions of space that are forbidden by classical mechanics. If a particle has a choice of different paths, it pursues all of them at once. Particles display wave-like characteristics and waves show particle-like characteristics. Treiman pays special attention to the more fundamental wave outlook and its expression in quantum field theory. He deals here with the remarkable fact that all the particles of a given species are strictly identical, and with the unnerving fact that particles can be created and destroyed. As Treiman introduces us to these and other wonders, he also touches--without resolution--on some of the deep philosophical problems of quantum mechanics, notably how probabilities become facts. Weaving together impeccable and up-to-date science, engaging writing, and a talent for clear explanation honed over Treiman's distinguished career as a physicist and teacher, The Odd Quantum is a remarkable survey of a field that changed the course of modern scientific and philosophical thought.
Book Description: An esteemed researcher and acclaimed popular author takes up the challenge of providing a clear, relatively brief, and fully up-to-date introduction to one of the most vital but notoriously difficult subjects in theoretical physics. A quantum field theory text for the twenty-first century, this book makes the essential tool of modern theoretical physics available to any student who has completed a course on quantum mechanics and is eager to go on. Quantum field theory was invented to deal simultaneously with special relativity and quantum mechanics, the two greatest discoveries of early twentieth-century physics, but it has become increasingly important to many areas of physics. These days, physicists turn to quantum field theory to describe a multitude of phenomena. Stressing critical ideas and insights, Zee uses numerous examples to lead students to a true conceptual understanding of quantum field theory--what it means and what it can do. He covers an unusually diverse range of topics, including various contemporary developments, while guiding readers through thoughtfully designed problems. In contrast to previous texts, Zee incorporates gravity from the outset and discusses the innovative use of quantum field theory in modern condensed matter theory. Without a solid understanding of quantum field theory, no student can claim to have mastered contemporary theoretical physics. Offering a remarkably accessible conceptual introduction, this text will be widely welcomed and used.
Book Description: Quantum mechanics is one of the most fundamental yet difficult subjects in physics. Nonrelativistic quantum theory is presented here in a clear and systematic fashion, integrating Born's probabilistic interpretation with Schrödinger dynamics. Basic quantum principles are illustrated with simple examples requiring no mathematics beyond linear algebra and elementary probability theory. The quantum measurement process is consistently analyzed using fundamental quantum principles without referring to measurement. These same principles are used to resolve several of the paradoxes that have long perplexed physicists, including the double slit and Schrödinger's cat. The consistent histories formalism used here was first introduced by the author, and extended by M. Gell-Mann, J. Hartle and R. Omnès. Essential for researchers yet accessible to advanced undergraduate students in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, this book is supplementary to standard textbooks. It will also be of interest to physicists and philosophers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics.
Book Description: Here Roland Omnes offers a clear, up-to-date guide to the conceptual framework of quantum mechanics. In an area that has provoked much philosophical debate, Omnes has achieved high recognition for his Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (Princeton 1994), a book for specialists. Now the author has transformed his own theory into a short and readable text that enables beginning students and experienced physicists, mathematicians, and philosophers to form a comprehensive picture of the field while learning about the most recent advances. This new book presents a more streamlined version of the Copenhagen interpretation, showing its logical consistency and completeness. The problem of measurement is a major area of inquiry, with the author surveying its history from Planck to Heisenberg before describing the consistent-histories interpretation. He draws upon the most recent research on the decoherence effect (related to the modern resolution of the famous Schrodinger's cat problem) and an exact formulation of the correspondence between quantum and particle physics (implying a derivation of classical determinism from quantum probabilism). Interpretation is organized with the help of a universal and sound language using so-called consistent histories. As a language and a method, it can now be shown to be free of ambiguity and it makes interpretation much clearer and closer to common sense.
Book Description: The interpretation of quantum mechanics has been controversial since the introduction of quantum theory in the 1920s. Although the Copenhagen interpretation is commonly accepted, its usual formulation suffers from some serious drawbacks. Based mainly on Bohr's concepts, the formulation assumes an independent and essential validity of classical concepts running in parallel with quantum ones, and leaves open the possibility of their ultimate conflict. In this book, Roland Omns examines a number of recent advances, which, combined, lead to a consistent revision of the Copenhagen interpretation. His aim is to show how this interpretation can fit all present experiments, to weed out unnecessary or questionable assumptions, and to assess the domain of validity where the older statements apply. Drawing on the new contributions, The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics offers a complete and self-contained treatment of interpretation (in nonrelativistic physics) in a manner accessible to both physicists and students. Although some "hard" results are included, the concepts and mathematical developments are maintained at an undergraduate level. This book enables readers to check every step, apply the techniques to new problems, and make sure that no paradox or obscurity can arise in the theory. In the conclusion, the author discusses various philosophical implications pertinent to the study of quantum mechanics.
Book Description: Underpinning the axiomatic formulation of quantum theory presented in this undergraduate textbook is a review of early experiments, a comparison of classical and quantal terminology, a Schroedinger-equation treatment of the one-dimensional quantum box, and a survey of relevant mathematics. Among the many concepts comprehensively discussed are: operators; state vectors and wave functions; experimental observables; classical/quantal connections; and symmetry properties. The theory is applied to a wide variety of systems including the non-relativistic H-atom, external electromagnetic fields, and spin1/2. Collisions are described using wave packets. Various time-dependent and time-independent approximations are discussed; applications include electromagnetic transition rates and corrections to the H-atom energies. The final chapter deals with identical-particle symmetries and their application to the He atom, the Periodic Table and diatomic molecules. There are also brief treatments of advanced subjects such as gauge invariance and hidden variables.
Book Description: This book makes broadly accessible an understandable proof of the infamous spin-statistics theorem. This widely known butl ittle-understood theorem is intended to explain the fact that electrons obey the Pauli exclusion principle. This fact, in turn, explains the periodic table of the elements and their chemical properties. Therefore, this one simply stated fact is responsible for many of the principal features of our universe, from chemistry to solid state physics to nuclear physics to the life cycle of stars. In spite of its fundamental importance, it is only a slight exaggeration to say that "everyone knows the spin-statistics theorem, but no one understands it". This book simplifies and clarifies the formal statements of the theorem, and also corrects the in variably flawed intuitive explanations which are frequently put forward. The book will be of interest to many practising physicists in all fields who have long been frustrated by the impenetrable discussions on the subject which have been available until now. It will also be accessible to students at an advanced undergraduate level as an introduction to modern physics based directly on the classical writings of the founders, including Pauli, Dirac, Heisenberg, Einstein and many others.
Book Description: The book of Erwin Schrödinger about life evokes a variety of basic questions concerning the understanding of life in terms of modern physics rather than biochemistry. Problems of organization and regulation of biological systems cannot be understood by revealing only the chemical processes of the living state. A group of reputable physicists — among them the followers of Heisenberg and Fröhlich — and biologists came to this same conclusion through several workshops on this topic. This book contains their contributions, written from different viewpoints of theoretical physics and modern biology. These articles are valuable not only for understanding life, but also for creating new and non-invasive diagnostic and therapeutic tools in medicine; they also contribute importantly to a deeper understanding of evolutionary processes, including the development of consciousness.
Book Description: Mindsteps to the Cosmos shows how modern global civilization depends on giant leaps of understanding that have been made in the past. Science and technology have been inspired and formulated by the sky — the cosmos in which we live. Human development could not have taken place on a cloud-shrouded planet. Mathematics was invented to track the movements of the sun, moon and stars even though back then these were thought to be gods. The space program has taken us beyond the earth, and satellite systems are exploring to the ends of the visible universe. This book provides the reader with algorithms to construct personal computer programs for finding the position of the moon and planets, and for calculating dates through historic periods in the Egyptian as well as the old and new style calendars.
Book Description: Helen Longino seeks to break the current deadlock in the ongoing wars between philosophers of science and sociologists of science--academic battles founded on disagreement about the role of social forces in constructing scientific knowledge. While many philosophers of science downplay social forces, claiming that scientific knowledge is best considered as a product of cognitive processes, sociologists tend to argue that numerous noncognitive factors influence what scientists learn, how they package it, and how readily it is accepted. Underlying this disagreement, however, is a common assumption that social forces are a source of bias and irrationality. Longino challenges this assumption, arguing that social interaction actually assists us in securing firm, rationally based knowledge. This important insight allows her to develop a durable and novel account of scientific knowledge that integrates the social and cognitive. Longino begins with a detailed discussion of a wide range of contemporary thinkers who write on scientific knowledge, clarifying the philosophical points at issue. She then critically analyzes the dichotomous understanding of the rational and the social that characterizes both sides of the science studies stalemate and the social account that she sees as necessary for an epistemology of science that includes the full spectrum of cognitive processes. Throughout, her account is responsive both to the normative uses of the term knowledge and to the social conditions in which scientific knowledge is produced. Building on ideas first advanced in her influential book Science as Social Knowledge, Longino brings her account into dialogue with current work in social epistemology and science studies and shows how her critical social approach can help solve a variety of stubborn problems. While the book focuses on epistemological concerns related to the sociality of inquiry, Longino also takes up its implications for scientific pluralism. The social approach, she concludes, best allows us to retain a meaningful concept of knowledge in the face of theoretical plurality and uncertainty.
Book Description: This sumptuous and stunningly illustrated book shows through words and images how directly, profoundly, and indisputably modern science has transformed modern art. Bginning in the mid-nineteenth century, a strange and exciting new world came into focus--a world of microorganisms in myriad shapes and colors, prehistoric fossils, bizarre undersea creatures, spectrums of light and sound, molecules of water, and atomic particles. Exploring the Invisible reveals that the world beyond the naked eye--made visible by advances in science--has been a major inspiration for artists ever since, influencing the subjects they choose as well as their techniques and modes of representation. Lynn Gamwell traces the evolution of abstract art through several waves, beginning with Romanticism. She shows how new windows into telescopic and microscopic realms--combined with the growing explanatory importance of mathematics and new definitions of beauty derived from science--broadly and profoundly influenced Western art. Art increasingly reflected our more complex understanding of reality through increasing abstraction. For example, a German physiologist's famous demonstration that color is not in the world but in the mind influenced Monet's revolutionary painting with light. As the first wave of enthusiasm for science crested, abstract art emerged in Brussels and Munich. By 1914, it could be found from Moscow to Paris. Throughout the book are beautiful images from both science and art--some well known, others rare--that reveal the scientific sources mined by Impressionist and Symbolist painters, Art Nouveau sculptors and architects, Cubists, and other nineteenth- and twentieth-century artists.
Book Description: This book contains 46 free-standing fun physics experiments you can try with your class. Compiled from Deck the Halls columns in The Physics Teacher, the demonstrations, suitable for a school hallway or corner of your classroom, will help students understand physics through the active exploration of specific physics concepts, from mechanics and heat, vibrations and waves, electrostatics, to optics and chaos. So be prepared to deck those halls and get your students motivated and moving!
Book Description: This book guides students to not just memorize information, but use scientific ways of thinking to make everyday decisions. As students master the skills of decision making, they will be able to define problems; identify viable options; research risks and benefits; reach decisions based on rational methods; and present the decision coherently and logically. The teacher's guide includes full background material on decision making, 10 guided activities with separate student and teacher pages, 14 extended learning exercises, and assessment rubrics to evaluate student work. Includes activities in life, physical, environmental, and Earth science disciplines.
Book Description: This comprehensive collection of nearly 200 investigations, demonstrations, mini-labs, and other activities uses everyday examples to make physics concepts easy to understand. For quick access, materials are organized into eight units covering Measurement, Motion, Force, Pressure, Energy & Momentum, Waves, Light, and Electromagnetism. Each lesson contains an introduction with common knowledge examples, reproducible pages for students, a "To the Teacher" information section, and a listing of additional applications students can relate to. Over 300 illustrations add interest and supplement instruction.
Book Description: This manual/CD package shows physics instructors--both web novices and Java savvy programmers alike--how to author their own interactive curricular material using Physlets--Java applets written for physics pedagogy that can be embedded directly into html documents and that can interact with the user. It demonstrates the use of Physlets in conjunction with JavaScript to deliver a wide variety of web-based interactive physics activities, and provides examples of Physlets created for classroom demonstrations, traditional and Just-in-Time Teaching homework problems, pre- and post-laboratory exercises, and Interactive Engagement activities. More than just a technical how-to book, the manual gives instructors some ideas about the new possibilities that Physlets offer, and is designed to make the transition to using Physlets quick and easy. Covers Pedagogy and Technology (JITT and Physlets; PER and Physlets; technology overview; and scripting tutorial); Curricular Material (in-class activities; mechanics, wavs, and thermodynamics problems; electromagnewtism and optics problems; and modern physics problems); and References (on resources; inherited methods; naming conventions; Animator; EFIELD; DATAGRAPH; DATATABLE; Version Four Physlets).
Book Description: These volumes consist of a set of interactive based modules that offer a step-by-step introduction to physics and the physical sciences. Through an in-depth study of a few fundamental concepts, readers develop critical scientific reasoning skills. Volume 1 introduces basic physical ideas and includes topics which represent the essential background for the study of physical sciences. Volume 2 extends coverage of several subjects treated in the first volume and introduces additional important topics.
Book Description: Introductory physics attracts a wide variety of students, with different backgrounds, levels of preparedness, and academic destinations. To many, the course is one of the most daunting in the science curriculum, full of arcane principles that are difficult to grasp. To others, it is one of the most highly anticipated - the first step on the path to the upper reaches of scientific inquiry. In their years as instructors and as editors of The Physics Teacher, Clifford E. Swartz and the late Thomas Miner developed and encountered many innovative and effective ways of introducing students to the fundamental principles of physics. Teaching Introductory Physics brings these strategies, insights and techniques to you in a unique, convenient volume. This is a reference and a tutorial book for teachers of an introductory physics course at any level. It has review articles on most of the topics of introductory physics, providing background information and suggestions about presentation and relative importance. Whether you are teaching physics for the first time or are an experienced instructor, Teaching Introductory Physics will prove to be an exceptionally helpful classroom companion. The book should be particularly useful for graduate students teaching for the first time and for research physicists who have not taught the introductory course recently. Teaching Introductory Physics gives you access to the cumulative expertise of the world's most dedicated physics instructors - not just Professor Swartz and Miner, but many of the contributors and subscribers to The Physics Teacher.
Book Description: Apparatus for Teaching Physics is a collection of articles from The Physics Teacher that deal with laboratory and demonstration apparatus. The book includes descriptions of new apparatus, as well as discussions of innovative uses of standard, well-known equipment. The emphasis is on apparatus that is useful primarily in the introductory physics course.
Book Description: This resource book for physics educators contains approximately 200 Ranking Task Exercises which cover all classical physics topics with the exception of optics. Ranking Tasks are an innovative type of conceptual exercise that asks students to make comparative judgments about a set of variations on a particular physical situation.
Book Description: Eric Rogers was a great physics teacher, with a worldwide reputation for the passion, profundity and quirkiness of his thinking. This book honors his memory by collecting together writings about science education which have lasting relevance, on subjects about which Eric Rogers cared deeply, by an international group of distinguished authors who each have something to say of wide and general interest.
Book Description: Scientists are in the business of trying to understand the world. Exploring commonplace phenomena, they have uncovered some of Nature's deepest laws. We can in turn apply these laws to our own lives, to better grasp and enhance our performance in daily activities as varied as cooking, home improvement sports-even dunking a doughnut! This book makes the science of the familiar a key to opening the door for those who want to know what scientists do, why they do it, and how they go about it. Following the routine of a normal day, from coffee and breakfast to shopping, household chores, sports, a drink, supper, and a bath, we see how the seemingly mundane can provide insight into the most profound scientific questions. Some of the topics included are the art and science of dunking, how to boil an egg, how to tally a supermarket bill, the science behind hand tools, catching a ball, or throwing a boomerang, the secrets of haute cuisine, bath (or beer) foam, and the physics of sex.
Book Description: Physics to a Degree is an extensive collection of problems suitable for self-study or tutorial and group work at the level of an undergraduate physics course. The authors have created a novel set of problems drawing together the core elements of an undergraduate physics degree. In order to solve these problems, the reader is led to develop conceptual insight and to reinforce his or her existing knowledge of basic theory and standard mathematical techniques. The aim of the book is to provide students with the problem solving skills needed for "general physics" examinations and for real-life situations encountered by the professional physicist. The book is divided into three sections. The first has problems arranged into short groups or 'tutorials' that are suitable both for group discussion and individual study. The second section gives detailed answers to these tutorials. The final section presents some further problems but without solutions.
Book Description: The ability to write clearly is essential for career advancement in any technical field. This book provides easy-to-follow guidelines, methods, and rules that will make you a more effective technical writer. The author is a practicing engineer who understands the need for writing in a practical, no-nonsense style. Through numerous examples, tips, and rules, you will learn how to write effective memos, documents, and technical reports that will get results and help you advance in your career. Includes checklists and step-by-step techniques that make writing less of a challenge.
Book Description: Einstein's theory of general relativity is a cornerstone of modern physics. It also touches upon a wealth of topics that readers find fascinating-black holes, warped spacetime, gravitational waves, and cosmology. Until now it has not been included in the curriculum of many undergraduate physics courses because the required math is too advanced. Using a "physics first" approach to the subject, renowned relativist James Hartle provides a fluent and accessible introduction that uses a minimum of new mathematics and illustrates a wealth of applications. For college instructors and students.
Book Description: A Short Course in Atmospheric Thermodynamics is a self-contained, concise but rigorous book introducing the reader to the basics of the subject. Introductory chapters provide basic definitions and some useful mathematical and physical notes. Following a treatment of the fundamental laws of classical thermodynamics, the book describes topics including the properties of moist air and atmospheric stability. Thermodynamic diagrams are used as tools in the forecasting of storm development. In the final chapter the author introduces the problem of weather prediction and the relevance of thermodynamics. Anastasios Tsonis has taught atmospheric thermodynamics at undergraduate level for 15 years and is a highly respected researcher in the field. This book provides an ideal text for short courses taken as part of an atmospheric science, meteorology, physics or natural science program.
Book Description: Suitable for both undergraduates and graduates, this textbook provides an up-to-date, accessible introduction to thermal physics. The material provides a comprehensive understanding of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetic theory, and has been extensively tested in the classroom by the author who is an experienced teacher. This book begins with a clear review of fundamental ideas and goes on to construct a conceptual foundation of four linked elements: entropy and the Second Law, the canonical probability distribution, the partition function, and the chemical potential. This foundation is used throughout the book to help explain new topics and exciting recent developments such as Bose-Einstein condensation and critical phenomena. The highlighting of key equations, summaries of essential ideas, and an extensive set of problems of varying degrees of difficulty will allow readers to fully grasp both the basic and current aspects of the subject. A solutions manual is available for instructors. This book is an invaluable textbook for students in physics and astronomy.
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Lyle Ford
fordla@uwec.edu
Department of Physics and Astronomy
(715)836-5046
Last Updated: August 17, 2004