Foundations of Physics
Author : Robert Bruce Lindsay
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 41,56 MB
Release : 1981
Category : Mathematical physics
ISBN : 9780918024176
Author : Robert Bruce Lindsay
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 41,56 MB
Release : 1981
Category : Mathematical physics
ISBN : 9780918024176
Author : Steve Adams
Publisher : Mercury Learning and Information
Page : 994 pages
File Size : 33,42 MB
Release : 2023-03-30
Category : Science
ISBN : 1683929683
This updated edition is designed as a self-teaching, calculus-based introduction to the concepts of physics. Numerous examples, applications, and figures provide readers with simple explanations. Standard topics include vectors, conservation of energy, Newton’s Laws, momentum, motion, gravity, relativity, waves, fluid mechanics, circuits, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and more. FEATURES: Designed as a calculus-based, introduction to the key concepts of physics Practical techniques, including the collection, presentation, analysis and evaluation of data, are discussed in the context of key experiments linked to the theoretical spine of the work
Author : Anthony Aguirre
Publisher : Springer
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 39,48 MB
Release : 2015-01-24
Category : Science
ISBN : 3319130455
The essays in this book look at way in which the fundaments of physics might need to be changed in order to make progress towards a unified theory. They are based on the prize-winning essays submitted to the FQXi essay competition “Which of Our Basic Physical Assumptions Are Wrong?”, which drew over 270 entries. As Nobel Laureate physicist Philip W. Anderson realized, the key to understanding nature’s reality is not anything “magical”, but the right attitude, “the focus on asking the right questions, the willingness to try (and to discard) unconventional answers, the sensitive ear for phoniness, self-deception, bombast, and conventional but unproven assumptions.” The authors of the eighteen prize-winning essays have, where necessary, adapted their essays for the present volume so as to (a) incorporate the community feedback generated in the online discussion of the essays, (b) add new material that has come to light since their completion and (c) to ensure accessibility to a broad audience of readers with a basic grounding in physics. The Foundational Questions Institute, FQXi, catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality, but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.
Author : Tim Maudlin
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 199 pages
File Size : 22,30 MB
Release : 2015-05-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0691165718
Philosophical foundations of the physics of space-time This concise book introduces nonphysicists to the core philosophical issues surrounding the nature and structure of space and time, and is also an ideal resource for physicists interested in the conceptual foundations of space-time theory. Tim Maudlin's broad historical overview examines Aristotelian and Newtonian accounts of space and time, and traces how Galileo's conceptions of relativity and space-time led to Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Maudlin explains special relativity with enough detail to solve concrete physical problems while presenting general relativity in more qualitative terms. Additional topics include the Twins Paradox, the physical aspects of the Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction, the constancy of the speed of light, time travel, the direction of time, and more. Introduces nonphysicists to the philosophical foundations of space-time theory Provides a broad historical overview, from Aristotle to Einstein Explains special relativity geometrically, emphasizing the intrinsic structure of space-time Covers the Twins Paradox, Galilean relativity, time travel, and more Requires only basic algebra and no formal knowledge of physics
Author : Mario Bunge
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 267 pages
File Size : 29,47 MB
Release : 2013-03-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 3642492878
This is not an introduction to physics but an analysis of its founda tions. Indeed, the aims of this book are: (1) to analyze the form and content of some of the key ideas of physics; (2) to formulate several basic physical theories in an explicit and orderly (i. e. , axiomatic) fashion; (3) to exhibit their presuppositions and discuss some of their philosoph ical implications; (4) to discuss some of the controversial issues, and (5) to debunk certain dusty philosophical tenets that obscure the under standing of physics and hinder its progress. To the extent to which these goals are attained, the volume can serve as a companion to studies in theoretical physics aiming at deepening the understanding of the logical structure and the physical meaning of our science. In order to keep the book slender, whole fields of basic physical research had to be excluded - chiefly many-body physics, quantum field theories, and elementary particle theories. A large coverage was believed to be less important than a comparatively detailed analysis and reconstruction of three representative monuments: classical mechan ics, general relativity, and quantum mechanics, as well as their usually unrecognized presuppositions. The reader is invited to join the project and supply some of the many missing chapters - or to rewrite the present ones entirely.
Author : Steven Weinberg
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 325 pages
File Size : 48,79 MB
Release : 2021-04-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 1108841767
Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg explains the foundations of modern physics in historical context for undergraduates and beyond.
Author : Rudolf Carnap
Publisher :
Page : 300 pages
File Size : 20,21 MB
Release : 1996
Category : Physics
ISBN :
Author : Lawrence Sklar
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 458 pages
File Size : 43,79 MB
Release : 1993
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780521558815
Lawrence Sklar offers a comprehensive, non-technical introduction to statistical mechanics and attempts to understand its foundational elements.
Author : Travis Norsen
Publisher : Springer
Page : 316 pages
File Size : 14,74 MB
Release : 2017-08-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 3319658670
Authored by an acclaimed teacher of quantum physics and philosophy, this textbook pays special attention to the aspects that many courses sweep under the carpet. Traditional courses in quantum mechanics teach students how to use the quantum formalism to make calculations. But even the best students - indeed, especially the best students - emerge rather confused about what, exactly, the theory says is going on, physically, in microscopic systems. This supplementary textbook is designed to help such students understand that they are not alone in their confusions (luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Erwin Schroedinger, and John Stewart Bell having shared them), to sharpen their understanding of the most important difficulties associated with interpreting quantum theory in a realistic manner, and to introduce them to the most promising attempts to formulate the theory in a way that is physically clear and coherent. The text is accessible to students with at least one semester of prior exposure to quantum (or "modern") physics and includes over a hundred engaging end-of-chapter "Projects" that make the book suitable for either a traditional classroom or for self-study.
Author : Peter Rowlands
Publisher : World Scientific
Page : 738 pages
File Size : 17,90 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Science
ISBN : 9812709150
Unique in its field, this book uses a methodology that is entirely new, creating the simplest and most abstract foundations for physics to date. The author proposes a fundamental description of process in a universal computational rewrite system, leading to an irreducible form of relativistic quantum mechanics from a single operator. This is not only simpler, and more fundamental, but also seemingly more powerful than any other quantum mechanics formalism available. The methodology finds immediate applications in particle physics, theoretical physics and theoretical computing. In addition, taking the rewrite structure more generally as a description of process, the book shows how it can be applied to large-scale structures beyond the realm of fundamental physics. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: Zero (228 KB). Contents: Zero; Why Does Physics Work?; The Emergence of Physics; Groups and Representations; Breaking the Dirac Code; The Dirac Nilpotent; Nonrelativistic Quantum Mechanics and the Classical Transition; The Classical and Special Relativistic Approximations; The Resolution of Paradoxes; Electric, Strong and Weak Interactions; QED and Its Analogues; Vacuum; Fermion and Boson Structures; A Representation of Strong and Weak Interactions; Grand Unification and Particle Masses; The Factor 2 and Duality; Gravity and Inertia; Dimensionality, Strings and Quantum Gravity; Nature''s Code; Nature''s Rule; Infinity. Readership: Researchers in quantum, theoretical and high energy physics.