American Journal of Physics
Author: American Association of Physics Teachers
Publisher:
Published: 1952
Total Pages:
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: American Association of Physics Teachers
Publisher:
Published: 1952
Total Pages:
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: Eric Johnson
Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 2018-10-23
Total Pages: 193
ISBN-13: 0262038617
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A man and his equation: the anxiety-plagued nineteenth-century physicist who contributed significantly to our understanding of the second law of thermodynamics. Ludwig Boltzmann's grave in Vienna's Central Cemetery bears a cryptic epitaph: S = k log W. This equation was Boltzmann's great discovery, and it contributed significantly to our understanding of the second law of thermodynamics. In Anxiety and the Equation, Eric Johnson tells the story of a man and his equation: the anxiety-plagued nineteenth-century physicist who did his most important work as he struggled with mental illness. Johnson explains that “S” in Boltzmann's equation refers to entropy, and that entropy is the central quantity in the second law of thermodynamics. The second law is always on, running in the background of our lives, providing a way to differentiate between past and future. We know that the future will be a state of higher entropy than the past, and we have Boltzmann to thank for discovering the equation that underlies that fundamental trend. Johnson, accessibly and engagingly, reassembles Boltzmann's equation from its various components and presents episodes from Boltzmann's life—beginning at the end, with “Boltzmann Kills Himself” and “Boltzmann Is Buried (Not Once, But Twice).” Johnson explains the second law in simple terms, introduces key concepts through thought experiments, and explores Boltzmann's work. He argues that Boltzmann, diagnosed by his contemporaries as neurasthenic, suffered from an anxiety disorder. He was, says Johnson, a man of reason who suffered from irrational concerns about his work, worrying especially about opposition from the scientific establishment of the day. Johnson's clear and concise explanations will acquaint the nonspecialist reader with such seemingly esoteric concepts as microstates, macrostates, fluctuations, the distribution of energy, log functions, and equilibrium. He describes Boltzmann's relationships with other scientists, including Max Planck and Henri Poincaré, and, finally, imagines “an alternative ending,” in which Boltzmann lived on and died of natural causes.
Author: American Journal of Physics. (Indexes)
Publisher:
Published: 1974
Total Pages: 208
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: Robert L. Jaffe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2018-01-25
Total Pages: 897
ISBN-13: 1107016657
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A comprehensive and unified introduction to the science of energy sources, uses, and systems for students, scientists, engineers, and professionals.
Author: Jim Baggott
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2013-08-06
Total Pages: 454
ISBN-13: 1453299149
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →From acclaimed science author Jim Baggot, a lively, provocative, and “intellectually gratifying” critique of modern theoretical physics (The Economist). Where does one draw the line between solid science and fairy-tale physics? Jim Baggott argues that there is no observational or experimental evidence for many of the ideas of modern theoretical physics: super-symmetric particles, super strings, the multiverse, the holographic principle, or the anthropic cosmological principle. Unafraid to challenge prominent theorists, Baggott offers engaging portraits of many central figures of modern physics, including Stephen Hawking, Paul Davies, John D. Barrow, Brian Greene, and Leonard Susskind. Informed, comprehensive, and balanced, Farewell to Reality discusses the latest ideas about the nature of physical reality while clearly distinguishing between fact and fantasy, providing essential and entertaining reading for everyone interested in what we know and don’t know about the nature of the universe and reality itself.
Author: Edwin F. Taylor
Publisher:
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9780321512864
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: Peter Woit
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2007-03-09
Total Pages: 336
ISBN-13: 046500363X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →At what point does theory depart the realm of testable hypothesis and come to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not. In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong , he shows that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, even wrong ones, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish. Not Even Wrong explains why the mathematical conditions for progress in physics are entirely absent from superstring theory today and shows that judgments about scientific statements, which should be based on the logical consistency of argument and experimental evidence, are instead based on the eminence of those claiming to know the truth. In the face of many books from enthusiasts for string theory, this book presents the other side of the story.
Author: American Journal of Physics. (Indexes)
Publisher:
Published: 1962
Total Pages: 208
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: American Association of Physics Teachers
Publisher:
Published: 1963
Total Pages:
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →