This work is the first explicit examination of the key role that mathematics has played in the development of theoretical physics and will undoubtedly challenge the more conventional accounts of its historical development. Although mathematics has long been regarded as the "language" of physics, the connections between these independent disciplines have been far more complex and intimate than previous narratives have shown. The author convincingly demonstrates that practices, methods, and language shaped the development of the field, and are a key to understanding the mergence of the modern academic discipline. Mathematicians and physicists, as well as historians of both disciplines, will find this provocative work of great interest.
Physicists invented a language in order to talk about the world. This book does not set out to explain the discipline, but rather to explore the relationship between the language of physics and the world it describes. The ``physics'' whose history the author traces here is concerned with understanding the ultimate constituents of matter and the nature of the forces through which these constituents interact. The very precise language (mathematics) of physicists gives us an opportunity to see more clearly than is otherwise possible just how much of what we find in the world is a result of the way we talk about it. Anyone interested in the history of physics and its language would enjoy reading this book.
This book is the first to offer a systematic account of the role of language in the development and interpretation of physics. An historical-conceptual analysis of the co-evolution of mathematical and physical concepts leads to the classical/quatum interface. Bohrian orthodoxy stresses the indispensability of classical concepts and the functional role of mathematics. This book analyses ways of extending, and then going beyond this orthodoxy orthodoxy. Finally, the book analyzes how a revised interpretation of physics impacts on basic philosophical issues: conceptual revolutions, realism, and reductionism.
Reader-friendly guide offers illustrative examples of the rules of physical science and how they were formulated. Topics include the role of mathematics as the language of physics; nature of mechanical vibrations; harmonic motion and shapes; geometry of the laws of motion; more. 60 figures. 1963 edition.
Have you ever wondered why the language of modern physics centres on geometry? Or how quantum operators and Dirac brackets work? What a convolution really is? What tensors are all about? Or what field theory and lagrangians are, and why gravity is described as curvature? This book takes you on a tour of the main ideas forming the language of modern mathematical physics. Here you will meet novel approaches to concepts such as determinants and geometry, wave function evolution, statistics, signal processing, and three-dimensional rotations. You will see how the accelerated frames of special relativity tell us about gravity. On the journey, you will discover how tensor notation relates to vector calculus, how differential geometry is built on intuitive concepts, and how variational calculus leads to field theory. You will meet quantum measurement theory, along with Green functions and the art of complex integration, and finally general relativity and cosmology. The book takes a fresh approach to tensor analysis built solely on the metric and vectors, with no need for one-forms. This gives a much more geometrical and intuitive insight into vector and tensor calculus, together with general relativity, than do traditional, more abstract methods. Don Koks is a physicist at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation in Adelaide, Australia. His doctorate in quantum cosmology was obtained from the Department of Physics and Mathematical Physics at Adelaide University. Prior work at the University of Auckland specialised in applied accelerator physics, along with pure and applied mathematics.
Graduate-level text offers unified treatment of mathematics applicable to many branches of physics. Theory of vector spaces, analytic function theory, theory of integral equations, group theory, and more. Many problems. Bibliography.
" This is one of the most important books on quantum mechanics ever written for lay readers, in which an eminent physicist and successful science writer, Heinz Pagels, discusses and explains the core concepts of physics without resorting to complicated mathematics. "Can be read by anyone. I heartily recommend it!" -- New York Times Book Review. 1982 edition"--
This book develops the thesis that structure and function in a variety of condensed systems - from the atomic assemblies in inorganic frameworks and organic molecules, through molecular self-assemblies to proteins - can be unified when curvature and surface geometry are taken together with molecular shape and forces. An astonishing variety of synthetic and biological assemblies can be accurately modelled and understood in terms of hyperbolic surfaces, whose richness and beauty are only now being revealed by applied mathematicians, physicists, chemists and crystallographers. These surfaces, often close to periodic minimal surfaces, weave and twist through space, carving out interconnected labyrinths whose range of topologies and symmetries challenge the imaginative powers.The book offers an overview of these structures and structural transformations, convincingly demonstrating their ubiquity in covalent frameworks from zeolites used for cracking oil and pollution control to enzymes and structural proteins, thermotropic and lyotropic bicontinuous mesophases formed by surfactants, detergents and lipids, synthetic block copolymer and protein networks, as well as biological cell assemblies, from muscles to membranes in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The relation between structure and function is analysed in terms of the previously neglected hidden variables of curvature and topology. Thus, the catalytic activity of zeolites and enzymes, the superior material properties of interpenetrating networks in microstructured polymer composites, the transport requirements in cells, the transmission of nerve signals and the folding of DNA can be more easily understood in the light of this.The text is liberally sprinkled with figures and colour plates, making it accessible to both the beginning graduate student and researchers in condensed matter physics and chemistry, mineralogists, crystallographers and biologists.
This is a book about ideas, patterns, and broad unifying themes in physics. Each chapter focuses on a different theme - such as dimensions, transformations, symmetries, and maps - beginning with simple examples accessible to all, then connecting them to more sophisticated realizations in more advanced topics of physics.
Get a better grade in Physics! Physics may be challenging, but with training and practice you can come out of your physics class with the grade you want! With Stuart Loucks' Introductory Physics with Algebra as a Second Language(TM): Mastering Problem-Solving, you'll get the practice and training you need to better understand fundamental principles, build confidence, and solve problems. Here's how you can get a better grade in physics: Understand the basic language of physics Introductory Physics with Algebra as a Second Language(TM) will help you make sense of your textbook and class notes so that you can use them more effectively. The text explains key topics in algebra-based physics in clear, easy-to-understand language. Break problems down into simple steps Introductory Physics with Algebra as a Second Language(TM) teaches you to recognize details that tell you how to begin new problems. You will learn how to effectively organize the information, decide on the correct equations, and ultimately solve the problem. Learn how to tackle unfamiliar physics problems Stuart Loucks coaches you in the fundamental concepts and approaches needed to set up and solve the major problem types. As you learn how to deal with these kinds of problems, you will be better equipped to tackle problems you have never seen before. Improve your problem-solving skills You'll learn timesaving problem-solving strategies that will help you focus your efforts and avoid potential pitfalls.
