The Birth of a New Physics

The Birth of a New Physics

Author: I. Bernard Cohen

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 1985

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9780393019940

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Relates man's search from the sixteenth century to the present for a physics to describe the dynamics of a universe in motion.


The Birth of Physics

The Birth of Physics

Author: Michel Serres

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2018-01-10

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1786606267

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The Birth of Physics represents a foundational work in the development of chaos theory from one of the world’s most influential living theorists, Michel Serres. Focussing on the largest text still intact to reach us from the Atomists - Lucretius' De Rerum Natura - Serres mobilises everything we know about the related scientific work of the time (Archemides, Epicurus et al) in order to demand a complete reappraisal of the legacy. Crucial to his reconception of the Atomists' thought is a recognition that their model of atomic matter is essentially a fluid one - they are describing the actions of turbulence, which impacts our understanding of the recent disciplines of chaos and complexity. It explains the continuing presence of Lucretius in the work of such scientific giants as Nobel Laureates Schroedinger and Prigogine. This book is truly a landmark in the study of ancient physics and has been enormously influential on work in the area, amongst other things stimulating a more general rebirth of philosophical interest in the ancients.


The Birth of Particle Physics

The Birth of Particle Physics

Author: Laurie M. Brown

Publisher: CUP Archive

Published: 1986-10-31

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 9780521338370

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A distinctive collection of essays, discussions, and personal descriptions of the evolution of particle physics.


Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe

Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe

Author: Roger Penrose

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2024-10-22

Total Pages: 536

ISBN-13: 0691264317

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Nobel Prize–winning physicist Roger Penrose questions some of the most fashionable ideas in physics today, including string theory What can fashionable ideas, blind faith, or pure fantasy possibly have to do with the scientific quest to understand the universe? Surely, theoretical physicists are immune to mere trends, dogmatic beliefs, or flights of fancy? In fact, acclaimed physicist and bestselling author Roger Penrose argues that researchers working at the extreme frontiers of physics are just as susceptible to these forces as anyone else. In this provocative book, he argues that fashion, faith, and fantasy, while sometimes productive and even essential in physics, may be leading today's researchers astray in three of the field's most important areas—string theory, quantum mechanics, and cosmology. Arguing that string theory has veered away from physical reality by positing six extra hidden dimensions, Penrose cautions that the fashionable nature of a theory can cloud our judgment of its plausibility. In the case of quantum mechanics, its stunning success in explaining the atomic universe has led to an uncritical faith that it must also apply to reasonably massive objects, and Penrose responds by suggesting possible changes in quantum theory. Turning to cosmology, he argues that most of the current fantastical ideas about the origins of the universe cannot be true, but that an even wilder reality may lie behind them. Finally, Penrose describes how fashion, faith, and fantasy have ironically also shaped his own work, from twistor theory, a possible alternative to string theory that is beginning to acquire a fashionable status, to "conformal cyclic cosmology," an idea so fantastic that it could be called "conformal crazy cosmology." The result is an important critique of some of the most significant developments in physics today from one of its most eminent figures.


Physics, the Human Adventure

Physics, the Human Adventure

Author: Gerald James Holton

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 604

ISBN-13: 9780813529080

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Of Some Trigonometric Relations -- Vector Algebra.


The New Physics

The New Physics

Author: Gordon Fraser

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-02-13

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13: 1139855565

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Underpinning all the other branches of science, physics affects the way we live our lives, and ultimately how life itself functions. Recent scientific advances have led to dramatic reassessment of our understanding of the world around us, and made a significant impact on our lifestyle. In this book, leading international experts, including Nobel prize winners, explore the frontiers of modern physics, from the particles inside an atom to the stars that make up a galaxy, from nano-engineering and brain research to high-speed data networks. Revealing how physics plays a vital role in what we see around us, this book will fascinate scientists of all disciplines, and anyone wanting to know more about the world of physics today.


Pietro Blaserna and the Birth of the Institute of Physics in Rome

Pietro Blaserna and the Birth of the Institute of Physics in Rome

Author: Miriam Focaccia

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-04-30

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 3030108252

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This book draws upon a wealth of archival material to present the life and achievements of Pietro Blaserna, a “gentleman scientist” whose greatest legacy is considered to be the Institute of Physics on the Via Panisperna in Rome, of which he was the creator and first director. Both in this role and as President of the Accademia dei Lincei, Blaserna contributed enormously in establishing a sound institutional base for the further development of physics in Italy. Starting from an accurate historical reconstruction of the scientific, social, and political context, the author presents the different phases of Pietro Blaserna’s life and career. As a multifaceted intellectual and a scientist holding several institutional positions, Blaserna worked ceaselessly to promote an effective policy in science and technology, which was critically important in stimulating the development of Italy as a modern nation. Blaserna may not have left scientific works that made history, but what he created in Rome was a real "house of physics", equipped with modern laboratories and instruments. In tracing his important legacy, this book will be of interest for all historians of science and for historians of nineteenth and twentieth century Italy.