Scientific Cosmology is clearly one of the most active physics research fields at present, and likely to remain so in the near future. Shortly after the pioneering cosmological work of Einstein, Georges Lemaitre proposed a model which some years later to be known as the big-bang model. In the early fifties an alternative proposal, the so called steady-state (expansion at constant density) model, became the fashionable model in prominent academic circles. The discovery of the cosmic background microwave radiation (Penzias & Wilson, 1965) made the steady-state model almost untenable. A quarter...

This book begins by introducing the effective field approach, the simplest approach to phase transitions. It provides an intuitive approximation to the physics of such diverse phenomena as liquid-vapor transitions, ferromagnetism, superconductivity, order-disorder in alloys, ferroelectricity, superfluidity and ferroelasticity. The connection between the effective field approach and Landau's theory is stressed. The main coverage is devoted to specific applications of the effective field concept to ferroelectric systems, both hydrogen bonded ferroelectrics, like those in the TGS family, and...

Beginning with the famous Olber's paradox, a number of cosmological paradoxes, such as the missing mass, dark energy, and the baryon-to-photon ratio, have been and are today the subject of many scientific controversies. The Big Bang model, anticipated by Lemaitre in 1927 and reformulated twenty years later by Gamow, Alpher and Herman, is one of the most spectacular successes in the entire history of physics. It remains today surrounded by considerable theoretical speculation without sufficient observational support.

Beginning with the famous Olber's paradox, a number of cosmological paradoxes, such as the missing mass, dark energy, and the baryon-to-photon ratio, have been and are today the subject of many scientific controversies. The Big Bang model, anticipated by Lemaitre in 1927 and reformulated twenty years later by Gamow, Alpher and Herman, is one of the most spectacular successes in the entire history of physics. It remains today surrounded by considerable theoretical speculation without sufficient observational support.

The aim of this book is to analyze the all important implications of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle for a finite universe with very large mass-energy content such as ours. The earlier and main contributors to the formulation of Quantum Mechanics are briefly reviewed regarding the formulation of Heisenberg's Principle. After discussing “indeterminacy” versus ”uncertainty”, the universal constants of physics are reviewed and Planck's units are given. Next, a novel set of units, Heisenberg-Lemaitre units, are defined in terms of the large...

World Population: Past, Present, & Future uses a multidisciplinary approach to investigate in depth on important aspects of the evolution of world population not well addressed previously. The authors from the Universidad Autonoma, Madrid (Spain), professors Julio A Gonzalo, Manuel Alfonseca, and Félix-Fernando Muñoz, point out that the recent pronounced growth in world population (accompanied by an even more pronounced growth in agricultural production) was due mainly to the increase of life expectancy and not to the (inexistent) growth in fertility rate. Using a 'rate...

Beginning with the famous Olber's paradox, a number of cosmological paradoxes, such as the missing mass, dark energy, and the baryon-to-photon ratio, have been and are today the subject of many scientific controversies. The Big Bang model, anticipated by Lemaitre in 1927 and reformulated twenty years later by Gamow, Alpher and Herman, is one of the most spectacular successes in the entire history of physics. It remains today surrounded by considerable theoretical speculation without sufficient observational support.This book discusses such paradoxes in depth with physical and logical...

Beginning with the famous Olber's paradox, paradoxes such as the missing mass, dark energy, baryon to photon ratio and cosmic zero-point energy are examined in detail.