Best of
Physics

2020

The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)


Katie Mack - 2020
    With the Big Bang, it went from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from dark matter to black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life. But what happens at the end of the story? In billions of years, humanity could still exist in some unrecognizable form, venturing out to distant space, finding new homes and building new civilizations. But the death of the universe is final. What might such a cataclysm look like? And what does it mean for us? Dr. Katie Mack has been contemplating these questions since she was eighteen, when her astronomy professor first informed her the universe could end at any moment, setting her on the path toward theoretical astrophysics. Now, with lively wit and humor, she unpacks them in The End of Everything, taking us on a mind-bending tour through each of the cosmos’ possible finales: the Big Crunch; the Heat Death; Vacuum Decay; the Big Rip; and the Bounce. In the tradition of Neil DeGrasse’s bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Mack guides us through major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, in a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of everything we know.

Space at the Speed of Light: The History of 14 Billion Years for People Short on Time


Becky Smethurst - 2020
    In the 14 billion years since, scientists have pointed their telescopes upward, peering outward in space and backward in time, developing and refining theories to explain the weird and wonderful phenomena they observed.Through these observations, we now understand concepts like the size of the universe (still expanding), the distance to the next-nearest star from earth (Alpha Centauri, 26 trillion miles) and what drives the formation of elements (nuclear fusion), planets and galaxies (gravity), and black holes (gravitational collapse). But are these cosmological questions definitively answered or is there more to discover?Oxford University astrophysicist and popular YouTube personality Dr. Becky Smethurst presents everything you need to know about the universe in 10 accessible and engaging lessons.In Space at the Speed of Light: The History of 14 Billion Years for People Short on Time, she guides you through fundamental questions, both answered and unanswered, posed by space scientists. Why does gravity matter? How do we know the big bang happened? What is dark matter? Do aliens exist? Why is the sky dark at night? If you have ever looked up at night and wondered how it all works, you will find answers - and many more questions - in this pocket-sized tour of the universe!

The World According to Physics


Jim Al-Khalili - 2020
    Using wonderful examples and thought-provoking analogies, Al-Khalili illuminates the physics of the extreme cosmic and quantum scales, the speculative frontiers of the field, and the physics that underpins our everyday experiences and technologies, bringing the reader up to speed with the biggest ideas in physics in just a few sittings. Physics is revealed as an intrepid human quest for ever more foundational principles that accurately explain the natural world we see around us, an undertaking guided by core values such as honesty and doubt. The knowledge discovered by physics both empowers and humbles us, and still, physics continues to delve valiantly into the unknown.Making even the most enigmatic scientific ideas accessible and captivating, this deeply insightful book illuminates why physics matters to everyone and calls one and all to share in the profound adventure of seeking truth in the world around us.

Helgoland: The World of Quantum Theory


Carlo Rovelli - 2020
    In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving.Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious.As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness.Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it.

Teach Yourself Physics: a travel companion


Jakob Schwichtenberg - 2020
    It is neither a career guide nor a comprehensive textbook. What’s inside? Understand why self-learning is an effective strategy. Learn why most university students never develop a deep understanding and what alternatives are possible. Grasp the internal structure of physics. Learn how the fundamental theories of physics are connected and why physics works at all. Develop an understanding of the landscape. Read bird's eye overviews that give a first taste of what the various theories of physics are all about. Everything you need to get started. Read detailed reading and learning recommendations that allow you to carve out a personal learning path.

How to Drive a Nuclear Reactor (Springer Praxis Books)


Colin Tucker - 2020
    It’ll take you on a journey from the science behind nuclear reactors, through their start-up, operation and shutdown. Along the way it covers a bit of the engineering, reactor history, different kinds of reactors and what can go wrong with them. Much of this is seen from the viewpoint of a trainee operator on a Pressurised Water Reactor - the most common type of nuclear reactor in the world.  Colin Tucker has spent the last thirty years keeping reactors safe. Join him on a tour that is the next best thing to driving a nuclear reactor yourself!

Quantum Reality: The Quest for the Real Meaning of Quantum Mechanics - a Game of Theories


Jim Baggott - 2020
    It is also completely mad. Although the theory quite obviously works, it leaves us chasing ghosts and phantoms; particles that are waves and waves that are particles; cats that are at once both alive and dead; and lots of seemingly spooky goings-on. But if we're prepared to be a little more specific about what we mean when we talk about 'reality' and a little more circumspect in the way we think ascientific theory might represent such a reality, then all the mystery goes away. This shows that the choice we face is actually a philosophical one.Here, Jim Baggott provides a quick but comprehensive introduction to quantum mechanics for the general reader, and explains what makes this theory so very different from the rest. He also explores the processes involved in developing scientific theories and explains how these lead to different philosophical positions, essential if we are to understand the nature of the great debate between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. Moving forwards, Baggott then provides a comprehensive guide toattempts to determine what the theory actually means, from the Copenhagen interpretation to many worlds and the multiverse.Richard Feynman once declared that 'nobody understands quantum mechanics'. This book will tell you why.

No-Nonsense Quantum Field Theory: A Student-Friendly Introduction


Jakob Schwichtenberg - 2020
    

The Physics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained


D.K. Publishing - 2020
    With the focus firmly on unpicking the thought behind each theory - as well as exploring when and how each idea and breakthrough came about - seven themed chapters examine the history and developments in areas such as energy and matter, and electricity and magnetism, as well as quantum, nuclear, and particle physics.Eureka moments abound: from Pythagoras's observations of the pleasing harmonies created by vibrating strings, and Galileo's experiments with spheres, to Isaac Newton's apple and his conclusions about gravity and the laws of motion. You'll also learn about Albert Einstein's insights into relativity; how the accidental discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation confirmed the Big Bang theory; the search for the Higgs boson particle; and why most of our Universe is missing.If you've ever wondered exactly how physicists formulated - and proved - these abstract concepts, The Physics Book is the book for you.

A Student's Guide to the Schrödinger Equation (Student's Guides)


Daniel A. Fleisch - 2020
    

Quantum Legacies: Dispatches from an Uncertain World


David Kaiser - 2020
    For more than a century, physicists have grappled with these conceptual uncertainties while enmeshed in the larger uncertainties of the social and political worlds around them, a time pocked by the rise of fascism, cataclysmic world wars, and a new nuclear age.   In Quantum Legacies, David Kaiser introduces readers to iconic episodes in physicists’ still-unfolding quest to understand space, time, and matter at their most fundamental. In a series of vibrant essays, Kaiser takes us inside moments of discovery and debate among the great minds of the era—Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Stephen Hawking, and many more who have indelibly shaped our understanding of nature—as they have tried to make sense of a messy world.   Ranging across space and time, the episodes span the heady 1920s, the dark days of the 1930s, the turbulence of the Cold War, and the peculiar political realities that followed. In those eras as in our own, researchers’ ambition has often been to transcend the vagaries of here and now, to contribute lasting insights into how the world works that might reach beyond a given researcher’s limited view. In Quantum Legacies, Kaiser unveils the difficult and unsteady work required to forge some shared understanding between individuals and across generations, and in doing so, he illuminates the deep ties between scientific exploration and the human condition.

Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons: From the Mathematics of Heat to the Development of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable


Paul J. Nahin - 2020
    The heat equation, a cornerstone of modern physics, demystifies such processes, painting a mathematical picture of the way heat diffuses through matter. Presenting the mathematics and history behind the heat equation, Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons tells the remarkable story of how this foundational idea brought about one of the greatest technological advancements of the modern era.Paul Nahin vividly recounts the heat equation's tremendous influence on society, showing how French mathematical physicist Joseph Fourier discovered, derived, and solved the equation in the early nineteenth century. Nahin then follows Scottish physicist William Thomson, whose further analysis of Fourier's explorations led to the pioneering trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. This feat of engineering reduced the time it took to send a message across the ocean from weeks to minutes. Readers also learn that Thomson used Fourier's solutions to calculate the age of the earth, and, in a bit of colorful lore, that writer Charles Dickens relied on the trans-Atlantic cable to save himself from a career-damaging scandal. The book's mathematical and scientific explorations can be easily understood by anyone with a basic knowledge of high school calculus and physics, and MATLAB code is included to aid readers who would like to solve the heat equation themselves.A testament to the intricate links between mathematics and physics, Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons offers a fascinating glimpse into the relationship between a formative equation and one of the most important developments in the history of human communication.

Introduction to Quantum Mechanics


DAVID J. GRIFFITHS DARRELL F. SCHROETER - 2020
    

Block by Block: The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics


Robert T. Hanlon - 2020
    While this science plays a critical role in determining the boundary between what is and is not possible in the natural world, it occurs to many as an indecipherable black box, thus making the subject a challenge to learn. Two obstacles contribute to this situation, the first being the disconnect between the fundamental theories and the underlying physics and the second being the confusing concepts and terminologies involved with the theories. While one needn't confront either of these two obstacles to successfully use thermodynamics to solve real problems, overcoming both provides access to a greater intuitive sense of the problems and more confidence, more strength, and more creativity in solving them.This book offers an original perspective on thermodynamic science and history based on the three approaches of a practicing engineer, academician, and historian. The book synthesises and gathers into one accessible volume a strategic range of foundational topics involving the atomic theory, energy, entropy, and the laws of thermodynamics.

Neutron Stars: The Quest to Understand the Zombies of the Cosmos


Katia Moskvitch - 2020
    The remnants of exploded stellar giants, they are tiny, merely twenty kilometers across, and incredibly dense. One teaspoon of a neutron star would weigh several million tons. They can spin up to a thousand times per second, they possess the strongest magnetic fields known in nature, and they may be the source of the most powerful explosions in the universe. Through vivid storytelling and on-site reporting from observatories all over the world, Neutron Stars offers an engaging account of these still-mysterious objects.Award-winning science journalist Katia Moskvitch takes readers from the vast Atacama Desert to the arid plains of South Africa to visit the magnificent radio telescopes and brilliant scientists responsible for our knowledge of neutron stars. She recounts the exhilarating discoveries, frustrating disappointments, and heated controversies of the past several decades and explains cutting-edge research into such phenomena as colliding neutron stars and fast radio bursts: extremely powerful but ultra-short flashes in space that scientists are still struggling to understand. She also shows how neutron stars have advanced our broader understanding of the universe--shedding light on topics such as dark matter, black holes, general relativity, and the origins of heavy elements like gold and platinum--and how we might one day use these cosmic beacons to guide interstellar travel.With clarity and passion, Moskvitch describes what we are learning at the boundaries of astronomy, where stars have life beyond death.

A Philosophical Approach to MOND: Assessing the Milgromian Research Program in Cosmology


David Merritt - 2020
    An alternative cosmological paradigm exists: MOND (MOdified Newtonian Dynamics). Observations explained in the standard model by postulating dark matter are explained in MOND by proposing a modification of Newton's laws of motion. Both MOND and the standard model have had successes and failures - but only MOND has repeatedly predicted observational facts in advance of their discovery. In this volume, David Merritt outlines why such predictions are considered by many philosophers of science to be the 'gold standard' when it comes to judging a theory's validity. In a world where the standard model receives most attention, the author applies criteria from the philosophy of science to assess, in a systematic way, the viability of this alternative cosmological paradigm.(From the back cover:)“This book gives a very careful analysis of the relation of theory to observational confirmation in astrophysics and cosmology, using as a case study the succession of MOND models proposed by Milgrom. Using Lakatos’s approach, which is contrasted with Popper’s proposals, the book focuses with exemplary clarity on the question of to what extent theories can be taken to be validated by observational tests. This is a great contribution to the philosophy of cosmology, which will also make the reader appreciate the strength of Milgrom’s theory in terms of having, in advance, made predictions which were subsequently confirmed.”GEORGE F. R. ELLIS, University of Cape Town“Merritt’s take on dark matter is as thorough as it is illuminating. It is rare to find arguments so rigorous on both the scientific and philosophical sides, while still being eminently readable. This book will be insightful for practitioners in astrophysics as well for those wanting to understand what has been going on in astrophysics lately.”SABINE HOSSENFELDER, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies“David Merritt, in an excellent well-written discussion, considers MOND, an alternative to dark matter, in terms of the ideas of Karl Popper and Imre Lakatos. In assessing a scientific theory, Popper emphasized falsification over verification, but in practice a theory may grow in content through a ‘research program.’ This growth is judged to be progressive if it successfully predicts new phenomena not related to those the theory was designed to explain. Merritt traces the MOND research program through various stages, pointing out numerous progressive successes. The point is that MOND is essentially predictive; the standard theory, dark matter, is essentially reactive.”ROBERT H. SANDERS, University of Groningen

The Candidate's 7 Deadly Sins: Using Emotional Optics to Turn Political Vices into Virtues


Peter A. Wish - 2020
    If voters don't connect with you, they won't vote for you. Our brains are hardwired to bond with others through stories and nonverbal cues. Yet, when many candidates hit the campaign trail, they too often emphasize data and policy, which leaves voters unmoved.In The Candidate's 7 Deadly Sins, Dr. Peter A. Wish teaches tested strategies that gain candidates the critical advantage over their opponents. He outlines the sins to avoid--being pessimistic, canned, tentative, reactive, cerebral, partisan, and arrogant--and provides a road map for turning each sin into a winning virtue. Dr. Wish draws on past and current case studies of political winners and losers, cutting-edge neuroscience, and his experience working with candidates and campaign teams. Wish found that candidates who connect emotionally with voters don't just win their hearts and minds--they win elections.

The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook: (or: How to Beat the Big Bang)


Luke A. Barnes - 2020
    While the Big Bang holds the attention of scientists, it isn't perfect. The authors pull back the curtains, and show how cosmology really works. With this, you will know your enemy, cosmic revolutionary - arm yourself for the scientific arena where ideas must fight for survival! This uniquely-framed tour of modern cosmology gives a deeper understanding of the inner workings of this fascinating field. The portrait painted is realistic and raw, not idealized and airbrushed - it is science in all its messy detail, which doesn't pretend to have all the answers.

The Quantum Cookbook: Mathematical Recipes of the Foundations for Quantum Mechanics


Jim Baggott - 2020
    But it is also completely mad. Although the theory quite obviously works, it leaves us chasing ghosts and phantoms; particles that are waves and waves that are particles; cats that are at once both alive and dead; lots of seemingly spooky goings-on; and a desperate desire to lie down quietly in a darkened room. The Quantum Cookbook explains why this is. It provides a unique bridge between popular exposition and formal textbook presentation, written for curious readers with some background in physics and sufficient mathematical capability. It aims not to teach readers how to do quantum mechanics but rather helps them to understand how to think about quantum mechanics. Each derivation is presented as a 'recipe' with listed ingredients, including standard results from the mathematician's toolkit, set out in a series of easy-to-follow steps. The recipes have been written sympathetically, for readers who - like the author - will often struggle to follow the logic of a derivation which misses out steps that are 'obvious', or which use techniques that readers are assumed to know.

Quantum Physics for Beginners: The Principal Quantum Physics Theories made Easy to Discover the Hidden Secrets of the Universe with the Most Famous Quantum Experiments


Richard J. Schrödinger - 2020
    You will notice that quantum mechanics is much "easier" than the theory of relativity.In fact, you could get a child to help you digest certain concepts. The great difficulty does not lie in their complexity, but their absurdity in terms of logic acquired after many years of existence in a world that constantly follows certain rules. The more the brain is free of preconceptions and ingrained notions, the better it is.★★★In this book you will learn: ★★★What the interference is;How many dimensions the Universe has;Quantum wave function;What Particles of Light are.The relation between waves and particles;The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle;How particles can be in multiple places at once;Quantum entanglement;...and much more!Quantum Physics for Beginners is at the basis of all the technological innovations of today, from atomic energy to computer microelectronics, from digital clocks to lasers, semiconductor systems, photoelectric cells, diagnostic and treatment equipment for many diseases. In short, today we can live in a "modern" way thanks to Quantum Physics and its applications.This comprehensive beginner's guide to quantum mechanics explains the most important and stunning quantum experiments that show quantum physics is real.Are you ready? Let's dive into the fascinating science of Quantum Physics by scrolling up the page and pressing the "Buy Now" button!

The Biological Universe: Life in the Milky Way and Beyond


Wallace Arthur - 2020
    Now, in the early 2020s, we are tantalizingly close to an answer. As this book shows, the answer will almost certainly be that life forms are to be found across the Milky Way and beyond. They will be thinly spread, to be sure. Yet the number of inhabited planets probably runs into the trillions. Some are close enough for us to detect evidence of life by analysing their atmospheres. This evidence may be found within a couple of decades. Its arrival will be momentous. But even before it arrives we can anticipate what life elsewhere will be like by examining the ecology and evolution of life on Earth. This book considers the current state of play in relation to these titanic issues.

Origins of the Universe: The Cosmic Microwave Background and the Search for Quantum Gravity


Keith Cooper - 2020
    They had found the key to unravelling the story of the Big Bang and the origin of our universe. That signal was the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the earliest light in the universe, released 379,000 years after the Big Bang. It contains secrets about what happened during the very first tiny increments of time, which had consequences that have rippled throughout cosmic history, leading to the universe of stars and galaxies that we live in today.This is the enthralling story of the quest to understand the CMB radiation and what it can tell us of the origins of time and space, from bubble universes to a cyclical cosmos - and possibly leading to the elusive theory of quantum gravity itself.

Einstein Was Right: The Science and History of Gravitational Waves


Jed Z. BuchwaldHarry Collins - 2020
    A century later, researchers with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) confirmed Einstein's prediction, detecting gravitational waves generated by the collision of two black holes. Shedding new light on the hundred-year history of this momentous achievement, Einstein Was Right brings together essays by two of the physicists who won the Nobel Prize for their instrumental roles in the discovery, along with contributions by leading scholars who offer unparalleled insights into one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of our time.This illuminating book features an introduction by Tilman Sauer and invaluable firsthand perspectives on the history and significance of the LIGO consortium by physicists Barry Barish and Kip Thorne. Theoretical physicist Alessandra Buonanno discusses the new possibilities opened by gravitational wave astronomy, and sociologist of science Harry Collins and historians of science Diana Kormos Buchwald, Daniel Kennefick, and J�rgen Renn provide further insights into the history of relativity and LIGO. The book closes with a reflection by philosopher Don Howard on the significance of Einstein's theory for the philosophy of science.Edited by Jed Buchwald, Einstein Was Right is a compelling and thought-provoking account of one of the most thrilling scientific discoveries of the modern age.

Architects of Structural Biology: Bragg, Perutz, Kendrew, Hodgkin


J.M. Thomas - 2020
    These three chemists and one physicist, all Nobel laureates, played a pivotal role inthe creation of a new and pervasive branch of biology. This led in turn to major developments in medicine and to the treatment of diseases as a result of advances made in arguably one of the greatest centres of scientific research ever: the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, which theyhelped to establish. Their work and that of their predecessors at the Royal Institution in London reflects the broader cultural, scientific and educational strength of the UK from the early 19th century onwards. The book also illustrates the nurturing of academic life in the collegiate system, exemplified by the activities of, and cross-fertilization within, a small Cambridge college.

INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRODYNAMICS, 4TH EDITION


David J. Griffiths - 2020
    

Space is all there is: The Physical Reality as space deformations and waves


Dr. Shlomo Barak - 2020
    explanation of concept of reality - physics guide