The Six Core Theories of Modern Physics

The Six Core Theories of Modern Physics PDF Author: Charles F. Stevens
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262691888
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 252

Get Book Here

Book Description
This text presents a summary of the basic theoretical structures of classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, quantum mechanics, statistical physics, special relativity and modern field theories.

The Six Core Theories of Modern Physics

The Six Core Theories of Modern Physics PDF Author: Charles F. Stevens
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262691888
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 252

Get Book Here

Book Description
This text presents a summary of the basic theoretical structures of classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, quantum mechanics, statistical physics, special relativity and modern field theories.

Philosophy of Physics

Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: Tim Maudlin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069118352X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Get Book Here

Book Description
A sophisticated and original introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics from one of the world’s leading philosophers of physics In this book, Tim Maudlin, one of the world’s leading philosophers of physics, offers a sophisticated, original introduction to the philosophy of quantum mechanics. The briefest, clearest, and most refined account of his influential approach to the subject, the book will be invaluable to all students of philosophy and physics. Quantum mechanics holds a unique place in the history of physics. It has produced the most accurate predictions of any scientific theory, but, more astonishing, there has never been any agreement about what the theory implies about physical reality. Maudlin argues that the very term “quantum theory” is a misnomer. A proper physical theory should clearly describe what is there and what it does—yet standard textbooks present quantum mechanics as a predictive recipe in search of a physical theory. In contrast, Maudlin explores three proper theories that recover the quantum predictions: the indeterministic wavefunction collapse theory of Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber; the deterministic particle theory of deBroglie and Bohm; and the conceptually challenging Many Worlds theory of Everett. Each offers a radically different proposal for the nature of physical reality, but Maudlin shows that none of them are what they are generally taken to be.

Effective Theories in Physics

Effective Theories in Physics PDF Author: James D. Wells
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642348920
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Get Book Here

Book Description
This open access book... There is significant interest in the Philosophy of Science community to understand the role that "effective theories" have in the work of forefront science. The ideas of effective theories have been implicit in science for a long time, but have only been articulated well in the last few decades. Since Wilson's renormalization group revolution in the early 1970's, the science community has come to more fully understand its power, and by the mid-1990's it had gained its apotheosis. It is still one of the most powerful concepts in science, which has direct impact in how one thinks about and formulates theories of nature. It is this power that this Brief sets out to emphasize through historical analysis and current examples. This is an open access book.

Information Theory and Quantum Physics

Information Theory and Quantum Physics PDF Author: Herbert S. Green
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 364257162X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Get Book Here

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

Masters of Theory

Masters of Theory PDF Author: Andrew Warwick
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226873765
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 587

Get Book Here

Book Description
Winner of the the Susan Elizabeth Abrams Prize in History of Science. When Isaac Newton published the Principia three centuries ago, only a few scholars were capable of understanding his conceptually demanding work. Yet this esoteric knowledge quickly became accessible in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Britain produced many leading mathematical physicists. In this book, Andrew Warwick shows how the education of these "masters of theory" led them to transform our understanding of everything from the flight of a boomerang to the structure of the universe. Warwick focuses on Cambridge University, where many of the best physicists trained. He begins by tracing the dramatic changes in undergraduate education there since the eighteenth century, especially the gradual emergence of the private tutor as the most important teacher of mathematics. Next he explores the material culture of mathematics instruction, showing how the humble pen and paper so crucial to this study transformed everything from classroom teaching to final examinations. Balancing their intense intellectual work with strenuous physical exercise, the students themselves—known as the "Wranglers"—helped foster the competitive spirit that drove them in the classroom and informed the Victorian ideal of a manly student. Finally, by investigating several historical "cases," such as the reception of Albert Einstein's special and general theories of relativity, Warwick shows how the production, transmission, and reception of new knowledge was profoundly shaped by the skills taught to Cambridge undergraduates. Drawing on a wealth of new archival evidence and illustrations, Masters of Theory examines the origins of a cultural tradition within which the complex world of theoretical physics was made commonplace.

What Is Real?

What Is Real? PDF Author: Adam Becker
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465096069
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 389

Get Book Here

Book Description
"A thorough, illuminating exploration of the most consequential controversy raging in modern science." --New York Times Book Review An Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review Longlisted for PEN/E.O. Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing Longlisted for Goodreads Choice Award Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's solipsistic and poorly reasoned Copenhagen interpretation. Indeed, questioning it has long meant professional ruin, yet some daring physicists, such as John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett, persisted in seeking the true meaning of quantum mechanics. What Is Real? is the gripping story of this battle of ideas and the courageous scientists who dared to stand up for truth. "An excellent, accessible account." --Wall Street Journal "Splendid. . . . Deeply detailed research, accompanied by charming anecdotes about the scientists." --Washington Post

Final Theory

Final Theory PDF Author: Mark Alpert
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439109419
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 481

Get Book Here

Book Description
When his physicist mentor is murdered for his possible knowledge about Einstein's Unified Field Theory, physics professor David Swift is swept up by a violent struggle for control of the information and its staggering potential.

A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics

A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics PDF Author: Stephen Wolfram
Publisher: Wolfram Media
ISBN: 9781579550356
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Wolfram Physics Project is a bold effort to find the fundamental theory of physics. It combines new ideas with the latest research in physics, mathematics and computation in the push to achieve this ultimate goal of science. Written with Stephen Wolfram's characteristic expository flair, this book provides a unique opportunity to learn about a historic initiative in science right as it is happening. A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics includes an accessible introduction to the project as well as core technical exposition and rich, never-before-seen visualizations.

Information Theory Applied To Space-time Physics

Information Theory Applied To Space-time Physics PDF Author: Henning F Harmuth
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814504572
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Get Book Here

Book Description
The success of Newton's mechanic, Maxwell's electrodynamic, Einstein's theories of relativity, and quantum mechanics is a strong argument for the space-time continuum. Nevertheless, doubts have been expressed about the use of a continuum in a science squarely based on observation and measurement. An exact science requires that qualitative arguments must be reduced to quantitative statements. The observability of a continuum can be reduced from qualitative arguments to quantitative statements by means of information theory.Information theory was developed during the last decades within electrical communications, but it is almost unknown in physics. The closest approach to information theory in physics is the calculus of propositions, which has been used in books on the frontier of quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity. Principles of information theory are discussed in this book. The ability to think readily in terms of a finite number of discrete samples is developed over many years of using information theory and digital computers, just as the ability to think readily in terms of a continuum is developed by long use of differential calculus.

String Theory and Particle Physics

String Theory and Particle Physics PDF Author: Luis E. Ibáñez
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521517524
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 689

Get Book Here

Book Description
A systematic introduction to string phenomenology, outlining how string theory is connected to the real world of particle physics.