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All earnest and honest human quests for knowledge are efforts to understand Nature, which includes both human and nonhuman systems, the objects of study in science. Thus, broadly speaking, all these quests are in the science domain. The methods and tools used may be different; for example, the literary people use mainly their bodily sensors and their brain as the information processor, while natural scientists may use, in addition, measuring instruments and computers. Yet, all these activities could be viewed in a unified perspective OCo they are scientific developments at varying stages of maturity and have a lot to learn from each other. That OC everything in Nature is part of scienceOCO w...
There is a lot of confusion and misconception concerning science. The nature and contents of science is an unsettled problem. For example, Thales of 2,600 years ago is recognized as the father of science but the word science was introduced only in the 14th century; the definition of science is often avoided in books about philosophy of science. This book aims to clear up all these confusions and present new developments in the philosophy, history, sociology and communication of science. It also aims to showcase the achievement of China's top scholars in these areas. The 18 chapters, divided into five parts, are written by prominent scholars including the Nobel laureate Robin Warren, sociolog...
This textbook provides an introduction to the new science of nonlinear physics for advanced undergraduates, beginning graduate students, and researchers entering the field. The chapters, by pioneers and experts in the field, share a unified perspective. Nonlinear science developed out of the increasing ability to investigate and analyze systems for which effects are not simply linear functions of their causes; it is associated with such well-known code words as chaos, fractals, pattern formation, solitons, cellular automata, and complex systems. Nonlinear phenomena are important in many fields, including dynamical systems, fluid dynamics, materials science, statistical physics, and paritcel physics. The general principles developed in this text are applicable in a wide variety of fields in the natural and social sciences. The book will thus be of interest not only to physicists, but also to engineers, chemists, geologists, biologists, economists, and others interested in nonlinear phenomena. Examples and exercises complement the text, and extensive references provide a guide to research in the field.
Spatio-temporal patterns appear almost everywhere in nature, and their description and understanding still raise important and basic questions. However, if one looks back 20 or 30 years, definite progress has been made in the modeling of insta bilities, analysis of the dynamics in their vicinity, pattern formation and stability, quantitative experimental and numerical analysis of patterns, and so on. Universal behaviors of complex systems close to instabilities have been determined, leading to the wide interdisciplinarity of a field that is now referred to as nonlinear science or science of complexity, and in which initial concepts of dissipative structures or synergetics are deeply rooted. ...
The study of "soft matter" materials with complex properties has raised a number of interesting problems in basic physics, biology, and materials science, all of which promise new and important technological applications. After a review of chemical bonds and phase transitions, the authors treat topics such as surface phenomena, stability of colloidal systems, structural properties of polymers, and topological defects. The monograph's emphasis on underlying physical principles offers a coherent treatment of the great variety of research in the field.
Almost all real systems are nonlinear. For a nonlinear system the superposition principle breaks down: The system's response is not proportional to the stimulus it receives; the whole is more than the sum of its parts. The three parts of this book contains the basics of nonlinear science, with applications in physics. Part I contains an overview of fractals, chaos, solitons, pattern formation, cellular automata and complex systems. In Part II, 14 reviews and essays by pioneers, as well as 10 research articles are reprinted. Part III collects 17 students projects, with computer algorithms for simulation models included.The book can be used for self-study, as a textbook for a one-semester course, or as supplement to other courses in linear or nonlinear systems. The reader should have some knowledge in introductory college physics. No mathematics beyond calculus and no computer literacy are assumed.
All earnest and honest human quests for knowledge are efforts to understand Nature, which includes both human and nonhuman systems, the objects of study in science. Thus, broadly speaking, all these quests are in the science domain. The methods and tools used may be different; for example, the literary people use mainly their bodily sensors and their brain as the information processor, while natural scientists may use, in addition, measuring instruments and computers. Yet, all these activities could be viewed in a unified perspective — they are scientific developments at varying stages of maturity and have a lot to learn from each other.That “everything in Nature is part of science” wa...
This introductory text develops the fundamental physics of the behavior of granular materials. It covers the basic properties of flow, friction, and fluidization of uniform granular materials; discusses mixing and segregation of heterogeneous materials (the famous "brazil-nut problem"); and concludes with an introduction to numerical models. The presentation begins with simple experiments and uses their results to build concepts and theorems about materials whose behavior is often quite counter-intuitive; presenting in a unified way the background needed to understand current work in the field. Developed for students at the University of Paris, the text will be suitable for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduates; while also being of interest to researchers and engineers just entering the field.
Over the last decades, the study of surfactants (detergents, for example) has been profoundly changed by ideas and techniques from physics, chemistry, and materials science. Among these are: self assembly; critical phenomena, scaling, and renormalization; high-resolution scattering, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This book represents the first systematic account of these new developments, providing both a general introduction to the subject as well as a review of recent developments. The book will be a very useful tool for the biophysist, biochemist or physical chemist working in the field of surfactants.
Intended for researchers and students in physics, chemistry and materials science, this book provides the necessary background information and sufficient mathematical and physical detail to study the current research literature. The book begins with a survey of liquid crystal phases and field effects, together with an introduction to the basic physics of nuclear magnetic resonance. It then discusses orientational ordering and molecular field theories for various liquid crystal molecules and nmr studies of uniaxial and biaxial phases. Subsequent chapters consider spin relaxation processes and rotational, translational, and internal molecular dynamics of liquid crystals. The final chapter discusses two-dimensional and multiple- quantum nmr spectroscopies and their application in elucidating liquid crystal properties. This second edition, updated throughout, incorporates many new references and includes new mathematical appendices.