A Universe of Atoms, an Atom in the Universe

ISBN-13: 9780387954370 / Angielski / Twarda / 2002 / 418 str.

Mark P. Silverman

Opis

Approximately 10 years have passed since the publication of And Yet 1 It Moves: Strange Systems and Subtle Questions in Physics. During this time, the book has done very well, being received favorably by both readers and reviewers. The exhaustion of the last printing has given me the opportunity to make revisions. The present volume, updated and expanded by three new chapters containing a total of 17 additional essays on a wide range of questions that I have explored in quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, thermodynamics, general relativity, and astrophysics, has been given a new title to re?ect the broad thematic coverage and a new publisher (Springer-Verlag). The Introduction (The Fire Within) that follows, based on the preface to the original edition, explains fully the purpose and content of this book. I wish to note brie?y here, however, that time and the advance of physics have not dulled the scienti?c relevance of any of the essays. This book, like its predecessor, is not intended to be a popularization, a textbook, or a monograph of any ?eld of physics. Rather, it is a p- sonal account of the scienti?c underpinnings, motivations, lessons, and rami?cations of some of the many fundamental physical problems that have engaged me throughout my career to the present. These are essays that anyone with an interest in contemporary physics can read, although it is certainly the case that the more serious the interest, the more meaningful will be the essays.

Recenzje

From the reviews of the second edition:

"Mark Silverman has written a collection of very wide ranging essays for a very specialized audience. The title does justice to the breadth of topics, which range from physics toys to radioactive statistics, from planetary atoms to dark matter and the fate of the Universe. ... the book has something for everyone ... ." (Dr. B. Sauer, Contemporary Physics, Vol. 45 (6), 2005)

"This book is the second, revised and enlarged, edition of Silverman's 'And Yet it Moves'. ... This book is a real tour de force in that it presents, without unnecessary mathematical equations, a journey into many fields of both classical and modern physics. ... Undergraduate, graduate, and even post-graduate students will enjoy this book of beautifully written essays. I warmly recommend this book." (André Hautot, Physicalia, Vol. 26 (1), 2004)

"This collection of essays is the second edition of the And Yet It Moves, updated and enlarged by several additional chapters. ... the best choice is advanced level students and the general research and teaching readership in physics and related fields. Those interested in the epistemology of science ... will find a lot of points helpful in clarifying and systematizing. ... The book is well written ... . Each chapter ends with references, and the book concludes with the relevant bibliographies and index of authors." (Petar V. Grujic, Europhysics News, Vol. 36 (2), March/April, 2005)

Spis treści

Introduction: The Fire Within / 1. The Wirbelrohr's Roar / 2. Musical Bottles, Flying Balloons, and Hot Stoves: The Uncommon Physics of Common Things / 3. The Unimaginably Strange Behavior of Free Electrons / 4. Quantum Beats and Giant Atoms / 5. And Yet It Moves: Exotic Atoms and the Invariance of Charge / 6. Reflections on Light / 7. Two Worlds, Large and Small: Earth and Atom / 8. Computers, Coins, and Quanta: Unexpected Outcomes of Random Events / 9. A Universe of Atoms: Symmetry, Unity, Gravity, and the Problem of 'Missing Mass' / 10. Science and Wonder

O autorze

Mark P. Silverman is Professor of Physics at Trinity College. After earning a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University, he has pursued a wide range of research interests concerning the structure of matter, the properties of light, and the dynamics of stars and galaxies. He has held the Joliot Chair of Physics at the Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles in Paris, was Erskine Professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, and Chief Researcher at the Hitachi Advanced Research Laboratory (then) near Tokyo. Besides numerous articles on physics, Dr. Silverman has written of his educational experiments in "self-directed learning".