Collects instructions drawn from the pages of String Figure Magazine explaining how to create such string "sculptures" as "Twinkling star," "Polar Bear," "Erupting volcano," and "Andromeda galaxy"
Diagrams and text illustrate the steps involved in creating over one hundred string figures while providing information on their origin and cultural background
Provides directions, illustrated with photographs, for making many different string figures-- from the fairly simple Jacob's Ladder to more complex Mt. Fuji-- along with information about their history and meaning.
The nature of space and time is one of the most fascinating and fundamental philosophical issues which presently engages at the deepest level with physics. During the last thirty years this notion has been object of an intense critical review in the light of new scientific theories which try to combine the principles of both general relativity and quantum theory—called theories of quantum gravity. This book considers the way string theory shapes its own account of spacetime disappearance from the fundamental level.
The essential introduction to modern string theory—now fully expanded and revised String Theory in a Nutshell is the definitive introduction to modern string theory. Written by one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject, this concise and accessible book starts with basic definitions and guides readers from classic topics to the most exciting frontiers of research today. It covers perturbative string theory, the unity of string interactions, black holes and their microscopic entropy, the AdS/CFT correspondence and its applications, matrix model tools for string theory, and more. It also includes 600 exercises and serves as a self-contained guide to the literature. This fully updated edition features an entirely new chapter on flux compactifications in string theory, and the chapter on AdS/CFT has been substantially expanded by adding many applications to diverse topics. In addition, the discussion of conformal field theory has been extensively revised to make it more student-friendly. The essential one-volume reference for students and researchers in theoretical high-energy physics Now fully expanded and revised Provides expanded coverage of AdS/CFT and its applications, namely the holographic renormalization group, holographic theories for Yang-Mills and QCD, nonequilibrium thermal physics, finite density physics, and entanglement entropy Ideal for mathematicians and physicists specializing in theoretical cosmology, QCD, and novel approaches to condensed matter systems An online illustration package is available to professors
String figures are an important accompaniment to stories and chants in many cultures, especially in Pacific Rim countries. This book includes original stories and string stunts, as well as some that have been passed on in the oral tradition for hundreds of years. Includes illustrations.
String gathers together every strand of information on string to weave a fantastic overview of this multi-faceted material. This book presents a captivating look at string, from its first development in prehistoric times and the ancient building of the pyramids through different cultural uses to the latest scientific applications and even touches on the "string theory." Throughout the book are practical uses of string, whether you need to secure a fishing hook or a shoelace, tie up your roast turkey, create an impressive "string figure," or simply play a game. Illustrated with over 200 2-color drawings, this quirky subject matter is embodied in the distinctive aesthetic of the book, complete with a string-tie binding. It will surprise most readers to discover that such a simple thing as string has so many varied and interesting uses, with a special appeal across ages and culture. The seven chapters include: * Roping Yarns: an overview of string including its long history, its varieties, and how its made * String-a-long: shows all the many fun games and crafts and includes other intriguing facts and statistics * Get Knotted: has step-by-step instructions that explain how to tie all the most useful knots * Loopy Science: reveals the ingenious ways in which string has helped, or occasionally hindered, scientific discoveries String will fascinate and inform readers on in almost every aspect of string from music and sports to science and games.
Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design - no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality videogames. Good game design happens when you view your game from many different perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual territory that is game design, this book gives the reader one hundred of these lenses - one hundred sets of insightful questions to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses are gathered from fields as diverse as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and anthropology. Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to become a better game designer - and will understand how to do it.
A Fields medalist recounts his lifelong effort to uncover the geometric shape—the Calabi-Yau manifold—that may store the hidden dimensions of our universe. Harvard geometer Shing-Tung Yau has provided a mathematical foundation for string theory, offered new insights into black holes, and mathematically demonstrated the stability of our universe. In this autobiography, Yau reflects on his improbable journey to becoming one of the world’s most distinguished mathematicians. Beginning with an impoverished childhood in China and Hong Kong, Yau takes readers through his doctoral studies at Berkeley during the height of the Vietnam War protests, his Fields Medal–winning proof of the Calabi conjecture, his return to China, and his pioneering work in geometric analysis. This new branch of geometry, which Yau built up with his friends and colleagues, has paved the way for solutions to several important and previously intransigent problems. With complicated ideas explained for a broad audience, this book offers not only insights into the life of an eminent mathematician, but also an accessible way to understand advanced and highly abstract concepts in mathematics and theoretical physics. “The remarkable story of one of the world’s most accomplished mathematicians . . . Yau’s personal journey—from escaping China as a youngster, leading a gang outside Hong Kong, becoming captivated by mathematics, to making breakthroughs that thrust him on the world stage—inspires us all with humankind’s irrepressible spirit of discovery.” —Brian Greene, New York Times–bestselling author of The Elegant Universe “An unexpectedly intimate look into a highly accomplished man, his colleagues and friends, the development of a new field of geometric analysis, and a glimpse into a truly uncommon mind.” —The Boston Globe “Engaging, eminently readable. . . . For those with a taste for elegant and largely jargon-free explanations of mathematics, The Shape of a Life promises hours of rewarding reading.” —American Scientist