Forget fiendish formulas and take a look at bubbling mixtures, poisonous potions, bangs and blasts. Discover what substances lurk in your dinner, the sickening stench of the world's worst stink bomb and which awful acids will eat you alive. Redesigned in a bold, funky new look for the next generation of HORRIBLE SCIENCE fans.
Just a few decades ago, chemical oscillations were thought to be exotic reactions of only theoretical interest. Now known to govern an array of physical and biological processes, including the regulation of the heart, these oscillations are being studied by a diverse group across the sciences. This book is the first introduction to nonlinear chemical dynamics written specifically for chemists. It covers oscillating reactions, chaos, and chemical pattern formation, and includes numerous practical suggestions on reactor design, data analysis, and computer simulations. Assuming only an undergraduate knowledge of chemistry, the book is an ideal starting point for research in the field. The book begins with a brief history of nonlinear chemical dynamics and a review of the basic mathematics and chemistry. The authors then provide an extensive overview of nonlinear dynamics, starting with the flow reactor and moving on to a detailed discussion of chemical oscillators. Throughout the authors emphasize the chemical mechanistic basis for self-organization. The overview is followed by a series of chapters on more advanced topics, including complex oscillations, biological systems, polymers, interactions between fields and waves, and Turing patterns. Underscoring the hands-on nature of the material, the book concludes with a series of classroom-tested demonstrations and experiments appropriate for an undergraduate laboratory.
True deterministic chaos is characterized by unpredictable, apparently random motion in a dynamical system completely described by a deterministic dynamic law, usually a nonlinear differential equation, with no stochastic component. The inability to predict future behavior of a chaotic system occurs because trajectories evolving from arbitrarily close initial conditions diverge. Chaos is universal as it may arise in any system governed by one of a class of quite common, suitable nonlinear dynamic laws. This book discusses both the experimental observation and theoretical interpretation of chaos in chemical and biochemical systems. Examples are drawn from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, surface reactions, electrochemical reactions, enzyme reactions, and periodically perturbed oscillating systems.
Killer Energy is full of the most crazy, gory and horrible facts about energy! Find out all the gruesome details of why space loos spray out frozen pee and which chilling chemical can preserve pets! Redesigned in a bold, funky new look for the next generation of Horrible Science fans.
A pioneering book that shows how the two great themes of classic science, order and chaos, are being reconciled in a new and unexpected synthesis Order Out of Chaos is a sweeping critique of the discordant landscape of modern scientific knowledge. In this landmark book, Nobel Laureate Ilya Prigogine and acclaimed philosopher Isabelle Stengers offer an exciting and accessible account of the philosophical implications of thermodynamics. Prigogine and Stengers bring contradictory philosophies of time and chance into a novel and ambitious synthesis. Since its first publication in France in 1978, this book has sparked debate among physicists, philosophers, literary critics and historians.
This series of short texts provides accessible accounts of a range of essential topics in chemistry. Written with the needs of the student in mind, the Oxford Chemistry Primers offer just the right level of detail for undergraduate study, and will be invaluable as a source of material commonly presented in lecture courses yet not adequately covered in existing texts. All the basic principles and facts in a particular area are presented in a clear and straightforward style, to produce concise yet comprehensive accounts of topics covered in both core and specialist courses.
The main part of the book consists of the dialogue between physicist Otto Rössler, and artist and AI researcher Bill Seaman with the commentaries disclosing information perspective by information scientist Mark Burgin and Bill Seaman. In this dialogue, Rössler and Seaman discuss concepts surrounding Rössler's major research over his lifetime. Additionally, each research topic is linked to the set of papers and books published by Rössler and other related collaborative researchers. The goal is to delineate an intellectual directory for future researchers. The discussed topics being transdisciplinary in nature cross many fields in science and technology. A comprehensive historical bibliography is also included. The work explores many fields germane to theoretical science as Rössler was often quite early in developing these fields and interacting with many famous scientists. This work pertains to information theory, which has often been left out of the historical literature.Burgin as an expert in information theory is providing an information perspective on this dialogue adding historical discussion and relevant scientific and mathematical underpinnings of the discussed ideas. His observations are complemented by Seaman, who presents the synthesis of artistic and scientific outlook.Addendum contains articles describing Rössler's relationships to colleagues from multiple fields, a parable by Rössler and papers related to Rössler's research and theoretical models of processes in the universe.
