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 (4.0 / 5.0) A rising star in theoretical physics offers his awesome vision of our universe and beyond, all beginning with a simple question: Why does time move forward?
Time moves forward, not backward-everyone knows you can't unscramble an egg. In the hands of one of today's hottest young physicists, that simple fact of breakfast becomes a doorway to understanding the Big Bang, the universe, and other universes, too. In From Eternity to Here, Sean Carroll argues that the arrow of time, pointing resolutely from the past to the future, owes its existence to conditions before the Big Bang itself-a period modern cosmology of which Einstein never dreamed. Increasingly, though, physicists are going out into realms that make the theory of relativity seem like child's play. Carroll's scenario is not only elegant, it's laid out in the same easy-to- understand language that has made his group blog, Cosmic Variance, the most popular physics blog on the Net. From Eternity to Here uses ideas at the cutting edge of theoretical physics to explore how properties of spacetime before the Big Bang can explain the flow of time we experience in our everyday lives. Carroll suggests that we live in a baby universe, part of a large family of universes in which many of our siblings experience an arrow of time running in the opposite direction. It's an ambitious, fascinating picture of the universe on an ultra-large scale, one that will captivate fans of popular physics blockbusters like Elegant Universe and A Brief History of Time. 
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$16.50 |
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(4.0 / 5.0) Everybody knows that mathematics is indispensable to physics--imagine where we'd be today if Einstein and Newton didn't have the math to back up their ideas. But how many people realize that physics can be used to produce many astonishing and strikingly elegant solutions in mathematics? Mark Levi shows how in this delightful book, treating readers to a host of entertaining problems and mind-bending puzzlers that will amuse and inspire their inner physicist. Levi turns math and physics upside down, revealing how physics can simplify proofs and lead to quicker solutions and new theorems, and how physical solutions can illustrate why results are true in ways lengthy mathematical calculations never can. Did you know it's possible to derive the Pythagorean theorem by spinning a fish tank filled with water? Or that soap film holds the key to determining the cheapest container for a given volume? Or that the line of best fit for a data set can be found using a mechanical contraption made from a rod and springs? Levi demonstrates how to use physical intuition to solve these and other fascinating math problems. More than half the problems can be tackled by anyone with precalculus and basic geometry, while the more challenging problems require some calculus. This one-of-a-kind book explains physics and math concepts where needed, and includes an informative appendix of physical principles. The Mathematical Mechanic will appeal to anyone interested in the little-known connections between mathematics and physics and how both endeavors relate to the world around us.
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$13.57 |
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 (4.5 / 5.0) Now in its third edition, Mathematical Concepts in the Physical Sciences provides a comprehensive introduction to the areas of mathematical physics. It combines all the essential math concepts into one compact, clearly written reference.
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$79.31 |
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(4.5 / 5.0) Gauss's law for electric fields, Gauss's law for magnetic fields, Faraday's law, and the Ampere-Maxwell law are four of the most influential equations in science. In this guide for students, each equation is the subject of an entire chapter, with detailed, plain-language explanations of the physical meaning of each symbol in the equation, for both the integral and differential forms. The final chapter shows how Maxwell's equations may be combined to produce the wave equation, the basis for the electromagnetic theory of light. This book is a wonderful resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in electromagnetism and electromagnetics. A website hosted by the author at www.cambridge.org/9780521701471 contains interactive solutions to every problem in the text as well as audio podcasts to walk students through each chapter.
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$20.49 |
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(4.0 / 5.0) Roger Penrose, one of the most accomplished scientists of our time, presents the only comprehensive and comprehensible account of the physics of the universe. From the very first attempts by the Greeks to grapple with the complexities of our known world to the latest application of infinity in physics, The Road to Reality carefully explores the movement of the smallest atomic particles and reaches into the vastness of intergalactic space. Here, Penrose examines the mathematical foundations of the physical universe, exposing the underlying beauty of physics and giving us one the most important works in modern science writing.
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$16.56 |
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(4.5 / 5.0) 'An excellent text....The postulates of quantum mechanics and the mathematical underpinnings are discussed in a clear, succint manner.'--American Scientist, from a review of the First Edition The author introduces major additions and updates key presentations in the long-awaited new edition of this classic text. New features of the Second Edition include an entirely rewritten mathematical introduction, a discussion of Time-reversal invariance, and extensive coverage of a variety of path integrals and their applications.
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$47.98 |
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(4.5 / 5.0) At a summer tea party in Cambridge, England, a guest states that tea poured into milk tastes different from milk poured into tea. Her notion is shouted down by the scientific minds of the group. But one man, Ronald Fisher, proposes to scientifically test the hypothesis. There is no better person to conduct such an experiment, for Fisher is a pioneer in the field of statistics. The Lady Tasting Tea spotlights not only Fishers theories but also the revolutionary ideas of dozens of men and women which affect our modern everyday lives. Writing with verve and wit, David Salsburg traces breakthroughs ranging from the rise and fall of Karl Pearsons theories to the methods of quality control that rebuilt postwar Japans economy, including a pivotal early study on the capacity of a small beer cask at the Guinness brewing factory. Brimming with intriguing tidbits and colorful characters, The Lady Tasting Tea salutes the spirit of those who dared to look at the world in a new way.
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$9.53 |
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 (5.0 / 5.0) First six chapters include theory of fields and sufficient conditions for weak and strong extrema. Chapter 7 considers application of variation methods to systems with infinite degrees of freedom, and Chapter 8 deals with direct methods in the calculus of variations. Problems follow each chapter and the two appendices. Fresh, lively text is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in math and physics.
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$5.98 |
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(4.0 / 5.0) A revision of a successful junior/senior level text, this introduction to elementary quantum mechanics clearly explains the properties of the most important quantum systems. Emphasizes the applications of theory, and contains new material on particle physics, electron-positron annihilation in solids and the Mossbauer effect. Includes new appendices on such topics as crystallography, Fourier Integral Description of a Wave Group, and Time-Independent Perturbation Theory.
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$69.39 |
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(4.0 / 5.0) Now available from University Science Books at a much lower price, this classic textbook has never been rivaled. It is ideal for a senior or first-year graduate level courses. Statistical Mechanics is the extended version of McQuarrie's 1984 text -- Statistical Thermodynamics -- now out of print. Although our printing of this book carries a 2000 copyright date, this is not a new edition. It is the original first edition, without any changes to the text (except preface). Despite its age, it is still a renowned and accessible introduction to the subject, containing a large number of chapter-ending problems for students.
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$75.88 |