Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity


Sean Carroll - 2003
    With an accessible and lively writing style, it introduces modern techniques to what can often be a formal and intimidating subject. Readers are led from the physics of flat spacetime (special relativity), through the intricacies of differential geometry and Einstein's equations, and on to exciting applications such as black holes, gravitational radiation, and cosmology.

Schaum's Outline of Mathematical Economics


Edward T. Dowling - 1992
    Students know that Schaum's delivers the goods—in faster learning curves,better test scores,and higher grades!If you don't have a lot of time but want to excel in class,this book helps you: Brush up before tests; Find answers fast; Study quickly and more effectively; Get the big picture without spending hours poring over dull texts Schaum's Outlines give you the information teachers expect you to know in a handy and succinct format—without overwhelming you with unnecessary details. You get a complete overview of the subject—and no distracting minutiae. Plus,you get plenty of practice exercises to test your skill. Compatible with any classroom text,Schaum's lets you study at your own pace and reminds you of all the important facts you need to remember—fast! And Schaum's is so complete it's the perfect tool for preparing for graduate or professional exams! Students of mathematical economics apply complex formulas—a challenging task that even the best students find daunting. But this Schaum's guide demystifies tough problems and gives you plenty of fully worked examples! Chapters include: Review. Economic Applications of Graphs and Equations. The Derivative and the Rules of Differentiation. Uses of the Derivative in Mathematics and Economics. Calculus of Multivariable Functions. Calculus of Multivariable Functions in Economics. Exponential and LogarithmicFunctions. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions in Economics. Differentiation of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions. The Fundamentals of Linear (or Matrix) Algebra. Matrix Inversion. Special Determinants and Matrices and Their Use in Economics. Linear Programming: A Graphic Approach. Linear Programming: The Simplex Algorithm. Linear Programming: The Dual. Integral Calculus: The Indefinite Integral. Integral Calculus: The Definite Integral. Differential Equations. Difference Equations. Second-Order Differential Equations and Difference Equations. The Calculus of Variations

A Concise History of Mathematics


Dirk Jan Struik - 1948
    Students, researchers, historians, specialists — in short, everyone with an interest in mathematics — will find it engrossing and stimulating.Beginning with the ancient Near East, the author traces the ideas and techniques developed in Egypt, Babylonia, China, and Arabia, looking into such manuscripts as the Egyptian Papyrus Rhind, the Ten Classics of China, and the Siddhantas of India. He considers Greek and Roman developments from their beginnings in Ionian rationalism to the fall of Constantinople; covers medieval European ideas and Renaissance trends; analyzes 17th- and 18th-century contributions; and offers an illuminating exposition of 19th century concepts. Every important figure in mathematical history is dealt with — Euclid, Archimedes, Diophantus, Omar Khayyam, Boethius, Fermat, Pascal, Newton, Leibniz, Fourier, Gauss, Riemann, Cantor, and many others.For this latest edition, Dr. Struik has both revised and updated the existing text, and also added a new chapter on the mathematics of the first half of the 20th century. Concise coverage is given to set theory, the influence of relativity and quantum theory, tensor calculus, the Lebesgue integral, the calculus of variations, and other important ideas and concepts. The book concludes with the beginnings of the computer era and the seminal work of von Neumann, Turing, Wiener, and others."The author's ability as a first-class historian as well as an able mathematician has enabled him to produce a work which is unquestionably one of the best." — Nature Magazine.

Proofs and Refutations: The Logic of Mathematical Discovery


Imre Lakatos - 1976
    Much of the book takes the form of a discussion between a teacher and his students. They propose various solutions to some mathematical problems and investigate the strengths and weaknesses of these solutions. Their discussion (which mirrors certain real developments in the history of mathematics) raises some philosophical problems and some problems about the nature of mathematical discovery or creativity. Imre Lakatos is concerned throughout to combat the classical picture of mathematical development as a steady accumulation of established truths. He shows that mathematics grows instead through a richer, more dramatic process of the successive improvement of creative hypotheses by attempts to 'prove' them and by criticism of these attempts: the logic of proofs and refutations.

Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics


Ludwig Wittgenstein - 1956
    It was his feeling that a proper analysis of the use of language would clarify concepts and lead to the solution of (what seem to be) philosophical problems.Sometimes, Wittgenstein's expository method is pre-Socratic: a flow of disconnected statements, not unlike Heraclitean fragments, that range from clear aphorisms to cryptic oracles. Elsewhere, there are brief Socratic dialogues with imaginary persons, opponents of equally severe seriousness, representatives of the other half of Wittgenstein strove for total clarity of language as a means of solving philosophical problems, but some of his most meaningful statements here are expressed suggestively, subjectively, poetically.

The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics


Leonard Susskind - 2013
    In this unconventional introduction, physicist Leonard Susskind and hacker-scientist George Hrabovsky offer a first course in physics and associated math for the ardent amateur. Unlike most popular physics books—which give readers a taste of what physicists know but shy away from equations or math—Susskind and Hrabovsky actually teach the skills you need to do physics, beginning with classical mechanics, yourself. Based on Susskind's enormously popular Stanford University-based (and YouTube-featured) continuing-education course, the authors cover the minimum—the theoretical minimum of the title—that readers need to master to study more advanced topics.An alternative to the conventional go-to-college method, The Theoretical Minimum provides a tool kit for amateur scientists to learn physics at their own pace.

General Relativity


Robert M. Wald - 1984
    The book includes full discussions of many problems of current interest which are not treated in any extant book, and all these matters are considered with perception and understanding."—S. Chandrasekhar "A tour de force: lucid, straightforward, mathematically rigorous, exacting in the analysis of the theory in its physical aspect."—L. P. Hughston, Times Higher Education Supplement"Truly excellent. . . . A sophisticated text of manageable size that will probably be read by every student of relativity, astrophysics, and field theory for years to come."—James W. York, Physics Today

A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations


Daniel Fleisch - 2007
    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.

The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity


Steven H. Strogatz - 2012
    do it? How should you flip your mattress to get the maximum wear out of it? How does Google search the Internet? How many people should you date before settling down? Believe it or not, math plays a crucial role in answering all of these questions and more.Math underpins everything in the cosmos, including us, yet too few of us understand this universal language well enough to revel in its wisdom, its beauty — and its joy. This deeply enlightening, vastly entertaining volume translates math in a way that is at once intelligible and thrilling. Each trenchant chapter of The Joy of x offers an “aha!” moment, starting with why numbers are so helpful, and progressing through the wondrous truths implicit in π, the Pythagorean theorem, irrational numbers, fat tails, even the rigors and surprising charms of calculus. Showing why he has won awards as a professor at Cornell and garnered extensive praise for his articles about math for the New York Times, Strogatz presumes of his readers only curiosity and common sense. And he rewards them with clear, ingenious, and often funny explanations of the most vital and exciting principles of his discipline.Whether you aced integral calculus or aren’t sure what an integer is, you’ll find profound wisdom and persistent delight in The Joy of x.

The Best of Times: Math Strategies that Multiply


Greg Tang - 2002
    In simple rhymes, Tang explains the fundamentals of how each number from 1 to 10 works. His poem "Four Eyes," for example, explains how any number multiplied by four can be merely doubled twice: "Four is very fast to do, when you multiply by 2. Here's a little good advice -- please just always double twice!" He then goes on to explain: "What is 4x4? It's 4 doubled twice. Double once: 4+4=8. Double twice: 8+8=16," and he even provides extra challenge questions below. All of his poems and problems are just as easy (e.g., a number times 6 is tripled, then doubled; a number times 9 is multiplied by 10, then subtracted once), and the book is rounded out with full practice tables in the back.Tang provides children with an excellent lesson, helping them make sense of daunting math without a bombardment of complicated rules. Kids will cheer his winsome presentation, which is wonderfully complemented by Harry Brigg's computer illustrations of animals cavorting around and having fun. Both practical and pleasing, The Best of Times is math that'll help make homework and tests a breeze. Matt Warner

Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art


Robert J. Lang - 2003
    Lang, one of the worlds foremost origami artists and scientists, presents the never-before-described mathematical and geometric principles that allow anyone to design original origami, something once restricted to an elite few. From the theoretical underpinnings to detailed step-by-step folding sequences, this book takes a modern look at the centuries-old art of origami.

Thermodynamics


Enrico Fermi - 1956
    Based on a course of lectures delivered by the author at Columbia University, the text is elementary in treatment and remarkable for its clarity and organization. Although it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the fundamental facts of thermometry and calorimetry, no advanced mathematics beyond calculus is assumed.Partial contents: thermodynamic systems, the first law of thermodynamics (application, adiabatic transformations), the second law of thermodynamics (Carnot cycle, absolute thermodynamic temperature, thermal engines), the entropy (properties of cycles, entropy of a system whose states can be represented on a (V, p) diagram, Clapeyron and Van der Waals equations), thermodynamic potentials (free energy, thermodynamic potential at constant pressure, the phase rule, thermodynamics of the reversible electric cell), gaseous reactions (chemical equilibria in gases, Van't Hoff reaction box, another proof of the equation of gaseous equilibria, principle of Le Chatelier), the thermodynamics of dilute solutions (osmotic pressure, chemical equilibria in solutions, the distribution of a solute between 2 phases vapor pressure, boiling and freezing points), the entropy constant (Nernst's theorem, thermal ionization of a gas, thermionic effect, etc.).

Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics


Frederick W. Byron Jr. - 1969
    Organized around the central concept of a vector space, the book includes numerous physical applications in the body of the text as well as many problems of a physical nature. It is also one of the purposes of this book to introduce the physicist to the language and style of mathematics as well as the content of those particular subjects with contemporary relevance in physics.Chapters 1 and 2 are devoted to the mathematics of classical physics. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 — the backbone of the book — cover the theory of vector spaces. Chapter 6 covers analytic function theory. In chapters 7, 8, and 9 the authors take up several important techniques of theoretical physics — the Green's function method of solving differential and partial differential equations, and the theory of integral equations. Chapter 10 introduces the theory of groups. The authors have included a large selection of problems at the end of each chapter, some illustrating or extending mathematical points, others stressing physical application of techniques developed in the text.Essentially self-contained, the book assumes only the standard undergraduate preparation in physics and mathematics, i.e. intermediate mechanics, electricity and magnetism, introductory quantum mechanics, advanced calculus and differential equations. The text may be easily adapted for a one-semester course at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level.

Think Bayes


Allen B. Downey - 2012
    

Probability For Dummies


Deborah J. Rumsey - 2006
    This book helps you even the odds. Using easy-to-understand explanations and examples, it demystifies probability -- and even offers savvy tips to boost your chances of gambling success Discover how to* Conquer combinations and permutations* Understand probability models from binomial to exponential* Make good decisions using probability* Play the odds in poker, roulette, and other games