The Quantum World: The disturbing theory at the heart of reality (New Scientist Instant Expert)


New Scientist - 2017
    Things can exist in two places at once and travel backwards and forwards in time. Waves and particles are one and the same, and objects change their behaviour according to whether they are being watched. This is not some alternative universe but the realm of the very small, where quantum mechanics rules. In this weird world of atoms and their constituents, our common sense understanding of reality breaks down - yet quantum mechanics has never failed an experimental test. What does it all mean? For all its weirdness, quantum mechanics has given us many practical technologies including lasers and the transistors that underlie computers and all digital technology. In the future, it promises computers more powerful than any built before, the ability to communicate with absolute privacy, and even quantum teleportation. The Quantum World explores the past, present and future of quantum science, its applications and mind-bending implications. Discover how ideas from quantum mechanics are percolating out into the vast scale of the cosmos - perhaps, in the future, to reveal a new understanding of the big bang and the nature of space and time.ABOUT THE SERIESNew Scientist Instant Expert books are definitive and accessible entry points to the most important subjects in science; subjects that challenge, attract debate, invite controversy and engage the most enquiring minds. Designed for curious readers who want to know how things work and why, the Instant Expert series explores the topics that really matter and their impact on individuals, society, and the planet, translating the scientific complexities around us into language that's open to everyone, and putting new ideas and discoveries into perspective and context.

There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings


Kenn Amdahl - 1991
    Despite its title, it's not wild ranting pseudo-science to be dismissed by those with brains. Rather, Amdahl maintains that one need not understand quantum physics to grasp how electricity works in practical applications. To understand your toaster or your fax machine, it doesn't really matter whether there are electrons or not, and it's a lot easier and more fun to start with the toaster than with quarks and calculus. The book is mildly weird, often funny, always clear and easy to understand. It assumes the reader doesn't know a volt from a hole in the ground and gently leads him or her through integrated circuits, radio, oscillators and the basics of the digital revolution using examples that include green buffalo, microscopic beer parties, break-dancing chickens and naked Norwegian girls in rowboats. OK, it's more than mildly weird.The book has been reprinted numerous times since 1991 and has achieved minor cult status. Reviewed and praised in dozens of electronics and educational magazines, it is used as a text by major corporations, colleges, high schools, military schools and trade schools. It has been studied by education programs at colleges across the United States. This book was making wise cracks in the corner before anyone thought of designing books for dummies and idiots; some say it helped to inspire that industry.It may be the only "introduction to electronics books" with back cover comments by Dave Barry, Ray Bradbury, Clive Cussler, and George Garrett, as well as recomendations from Robert Hazen, Bob Mostafapour, Dr. Roger Young, Dr. Wayne Green, Scott Rundle, Brian Battles, Michelle Guido, Herb Reichert and Emil Venere. As Monitoring Times said, "Perhaps the best electronics book ever. If you'd like to learn about basic electronics but haven't been able to pull it off, get There Are No Electrons. Just trust us. Get the book."

The Complete Guide to High-End Audio


Robert Harley - 1995
    With this book, discover how to get the best sound for your money, how to identify the weak links in your system and upgrade where it will do the most good, how to set up and tweak your system for maximum performance, and how to become a more perceptive and appreciative listener. Just a few of the secrets you will learn cover high-end sound on a budget, how to do it cheap and still do it right; five system set-up mistakes and how to avoid them; how to make your speakers sound up to 50% better, at no cost; how to choose and set up a computer-based music system; how to find the one speaker in 50 worth owning; and why all 100-watt amplifiers don't sound the same. Since the first edition's publication in 1994, The Complete Guide to High-End Audio has been considered the essential reference on high-quality music reproduction, with more than 150,000 copies sold in five languages.

Engineering Mechanics: Statics


J.L. Meriam - 1952
    Now in its new Sixth Edition, the book continues to help readers develop their problem-solving skills with an extensive variety of highly interesting problems related to engineering design. In the new edition, more than 50% of the homework problems are new. There are also many new sample problems. To help readers build necessary visualization and problem-solving skills, the book strongly emphasizes drawing free-body diagrams--the most important skill needed to solve mechanics problems.

Einstein's Heroes: Imagining the World Through the Language of Mathematics


Robyn Arianrhod - 2004
    Einstein's Heroes takes you on a journey of discovery about just such a miraculous language--the language of mathematics--one of humanity's mostamazing accomplishments. Blending science, history, and biography, this remarkable book reveals the mysteries of mathematics, focusing on the life and work of three of Albert Einstein's heroes: Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and especially James Clerk Maxwell, whose work directly inspired the theory of relativity. RobynArianrhod bridges the gap between science and literature, portraying mathematics as a language and arguing that a physical theory is a work of imagination involving the elegant and clever use of this language. The heart of the book illuminates how Maxwell, using the language of mathematics in a newand radical way, resolved the seemingly insoluble controversy between Faraday's idea of lines of force and Newton's theory of action-at-a-distance. In so doing, Maxwell not only produced the first complete mathematical description of electromagnetism, but actually predicted the existence of theradio wave, teasing it out of the mathematical language itself. Here then is a fascinating look at mathematics: its colorful characters, its historical intrigues, and above all its role as the uncannily accurate language of nature.

Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems


Gene F. Franklin - 1986
    Highlights of the book include realistic problems and examples from a wide range of application areas. New to this edition are: much sharper pedagogy; an increase in the number of examples; more thorough development of the concepts; a greater range of homework problems; a greater number and variety of worked out examples; expanded coverage of dynamics modelling and Laplace transform topics; and integration of MATLAB, including many examples that are formatted in MATLAB.

Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein's General Relativity


James B. Hartle - 2002
    Using a "physics first" approach to the subject, renowned relativist James B. Hartle provides a fluent and accessible introduction that uses a minimum of new mathematics and is illustrated with a wealth of exciting applications. KEY TOPICS: The emphasis is on the exciting phenomena of gravitational physics and the growing connection between theory and observation. The Global Positioning System, black holes, X-ray sources, pulsars, quasars, gravitational waves, the Big Bang, and the large scale structure of the universe are used to illustrate the widespread role of how general relativity describes a wealth of everyday and exotic phenomena. MARKET: For anyone interested in physics or general relativity.

Manufacturing Processes for Engineering Materials


Serope Kalpakjian - 2007
    The book carefully presents the fundamentals of materials processing along with their relevant applications, so that the reader can clearly assess the capabilities, limitations, and potentials of manufacturing processes and their competitive aspects. Using real-world examples and well-wrought graphics, this book covers a multitude of topics, including the mechanical behavior of materials; the structure and manufacturing properties of metals; surfaces, dimensional characteristics, inspection, and quality assurance; metal-casting processes including heat treatment; bulk deformation processes; sheet-metal forming processes; material removal processes; polymers, reinforced plastics, rapid prototyping and rapid tooling; metal powders, ceramics, glasses, composites, and superconductors; joining and fastening processes; microelectronic and micromechanical devices; automation; computer-integrated systems; and product design. For manufacturing engineers, metallurgists, industrial designers, material handlers, product designers, and quality assurance managers.

Advanced Engineering Mathematics


Erwin Kreyszig - 1968
    The new edition provides invitations - not requirements - to use technology, as well as new conceptual problems, and new projects that focus on writing and working in teams.

Fundamentals of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry


John McMurry - 1992
    Effectively coversthe essentials of allied health chemistry without excessive andunnecessary detail. Puts chemistry in the context of everyday life.Covers biochemistry thoroughly to allow for flexible treatment andplaces emphasis on its relevance to society. Updates and expandscontent throughout in topics such as DNA, genomics, chemicalmessengers, the new food pyramid, and the modern view of nucleicacid chemistry and protein synthesis. Revises illustrations throughoutfor increased effectiveness. Redesigned diagrams and bulleted lists fora clearer layout.

Quantum Computation and Quantum Information


Michael A. Nielsen - 2000
    A wealth of accompanying figures and exercises illustrate and develop the material in more depth. They describe what a quantum computer is, how it can be used to solve problems faster than familiar "classical" computers, and the real-world implementation of quantum computers. Their book concludes with an explanation of how quantum states can be used to perform remarkable feats of communication, and of how it is possible to protect quantum states against the effects of noise.

A First Course in General Relativity


Bernard F. Schutz - 1985
    This textbook, based on the author's own undergraduate teaching, develops general relativity and its associated mathematics from a minimum of prerequisites, leading to a physical understanding of the theory in some depth. It reinforces this understanding by making a detailed study of the theory's most important applications - neutron stars, black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmology - using the most up-to-date astronomical developments. The book is suitable for a one-year course for beginning graduate students or for undergraduates in physics who have studied special relativity, vector calculus, and electrostatics. Graduate students should be able to use the book selectively for half-year courses.

Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics


J.M. Smith - 2010
    This text provides a thorough exposition of the principles of thermodynamics and details their application to chemical processes. The new edition has been updated to reflect the growth in such areas as materials and electrochemicals.

Numerical Linear Algebra


Lloyd N. Trefethen - 1997
    The clarity and eloquence of the presentation make it popular with teachers and students alike. The text aims to expand the reader's view of the field and to present standard material in a novel way. All of the most important topics in the field are covered with a fresh perspective, including iterative methods for systems of equations and eigenvalue problems and the underlying principles of conditioning and stability. Presentation is in the form of 40 lectures, which each focus on one or two central ideas. The unity between topics is emphasized throughout, with no risk of getting lost in details and technicalities. The book breaks with tradition by beginning with the QR factorization - an important and fresh idea for students, and the thread that connects most of the algorithms of numerical linear algebra.

Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell


A. Zee - 2003
    A quantum field theory text for the twenty-first century, this book makes the essential tool of modern theoretical physics available to any student who has completed a course on quantum mechanics and is eager to go on.Quantum field theory was invented to deal simultaneously with special relativity and quantum mechanics, the two greatest discoveries of early twentieth-century physics, but it has become increasingly important to many areas of physics. These days, physicists turn to quantum field theory to describe a multitude of phenomena.Stressing critical ideas and insights, Zee uses numerous examples to lead students to a true conceptual understanding of quantum field theory--what it means and what it can do. He covers an unusually diverse range of topics, including various contemporary developments, while guiding readers through thoughtfully designed problems. In contrast to previous texts, Zee incorporates gravity from the outset and discusses the innovative use of quantum field theory in modern condensed matter theory.Without a solid understanding of quantum field theory, no student can claim to have mastered contemporary theoretical physics. Offering a remarkably accessible conceptual introduction, this text will be widely welcomed and used.