Physics

Cambridge University Press, 2009. New book as received from the publisher. A fully annotated edition of Abbott's classic "Flatland" with notes and commentary putting it in its historical and mathematical context. "Flatland", Edwin Abbott's story of a two-dimensional universe, as told by one of its inhabitants who is introduced to the mysteries of three-dimensional space, has enjoyed an enduring popularity from the time of its publication in 1884. This fully annotated edition enables the modern-day reader to understand and appreciate the many 'dimensions' of this classic satire. Mathematical notes and illustrations enhance the usefulness of Flatland as an elementary introduction to higher-dimensional geometry. Historical notes show connections to late-Victorian England and to classical Greece. Citations from Abbott's other writings as well as the works of Plato and Aristotle serve to interpret the text. Commentary on language and literary style includes numerous definitions of obscure words. An appendix gives a comprehensive account of the life and work of "Flatland"'s remarkable author. Soft Cover. New. 294 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Taylor & Francis, 2009. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: "Quantum Reality" cuts through much of the confusion to provide readers with an exploration of the theoretical machinery of quantum mechanics that is as authoritative and academically rigorous as it is intriguingly comprehensible. Requiring no more than school level physics and mathematics, this volume is accessible to everyone who has an interest in understanding how quantum theory came to be and the myriad ways it extends the reach of human knowledge.. Soft Cover. New. 558 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Institute of Physics Publishing, 1989. An International Journal Devoted to the Conceptual Bases and Fundamental Theories of Modern Physics, Biophysics, and Cosmology. New copy with light shelf wear (as received from the publisher). Soft Cover. Fine. 180 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Institute of Physics Publishing, 1989. New copy with light shelf wear (as received from the publisher). Soft Cover. Fine. 103 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Springer-Verlag, 1998. New book as received from the publisher. Hard Cover. New. 379 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Chocolate Tree Books, 2007. New book as received from the publisher. Relativity theory has become one of the icons of Twentieth Century science. It's reckoned to be a difficult subject, taught as a layered series of increasingly difficult mathematics and increasingly abstract concepts. We're told that relativity theory is supposed to be this complicated and counter-intuitive. But how much of this historical complexity is really necessary? Can we bypass the interpretations and paradoxes and pseudoparadoxes of Einstein's special theory and jump directly to a deeper and more intuitive description of reality? What if curvature is a fundamental part of physics, and a final theory of relativity shouldn't reduce to Einstein's "flat" 1905 theory? The book takes us on a whistlestop tour of Twentieth Century physics - from black holes, quantum mechanics, wormholes and the Big Bang to the workings of the human mind, and asks: what would physics look like without special relativity?. Soft Cover. New. 378 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Princeton University Press, 2002. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: Although we seldom think of it, our lives are played out in a world of numbers. Such common activities as throwing baseballs, skipping rope, growing flowers, playing football, measuring savings accounts, and many others are inherently mathematical. So are more speculative problems that are simply fun to ponder in themselves - such as the best way to score Olympic events. Here Robert Banks presents a wide range of musings, both practical and entertaining, that have intrigued him and others: How tall can one grow? Why do we get stuck in traffic? Which football player would have a better chance of breaking away - a small, speedy wide receiver or a huge, slow linebacker? Can California water shortages be alleviated by towing icebergs from Antarctica? What is the fastest the 100-meter dash will ever be run? The book's twenty-four concise chapters, each centered on a real-world phenomenon, are presented in an informal and engaging manner. Banks shows how math and simple reasoning together may produce elegant models that explain everything from the federal debt to the proper technique for ski-jumping. This book, which requires of its readers only a basic understanding of high school or college math, is for anyone fascinated by the workings of mathematics in our everyday lives, as well as its applications to what may be imagined. All will be rewarded with a myriad of interesting problems and the know-how to solve them. Soft Cover. Fine. 328 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Oxford University Press, 1991. New book as received from the publisher. The ultimate questions of how, when, and why the Universe came into being have fascinated thinkers for centuries. What have traditionally been philosophical and theological problems are now bing addressed by the mathematical speculations of a new generation of scientists, who have begun to take seriously the idea that there is an ultimate theory of the physical world which it is within our power to discover. If such a theory were discovered it would reveal the complete form of the most basic Laws of Nature, from which all others follow as particular simple cases. This book lays out and examines the different ingredients that are required to claim a full understanding of the physical universe that we observe, and shows how their status is being dramatically changed in modern physics and what aspects of them can or cannot be explained by a "Theory of Everything". Modern physicists believe they have stumbled upon a key which unlocks the mathematical secret at the heart of the Universe: a discovery that points towards a "Theory of Everything" - a single all-embracing pricture of the Laws of Nature from which the inevitability of all things seen must follow with unimpeachable logic. Is this confidence well-founded? Will our scientific theories one day tell us everything that was, is, and is to come about the Universe? These modern "Theories of Everything" claim they will tell us everything about the Universe in which we live. But will they?. Hard Cover. New/New. 223 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Harcourt, 1988. Second Edition. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: This book will not take the casual reader to the cutting edge of research. Nor is it meant to. What I am after in "Black Mischief" is the moment in which various lines in an intellectual field of force collect themselves into a kind of dense knot....A number of otherwise sympathetic reviewers have suggested that my real aim in "Black Mischief" was somehow to show the persistence of certain outmoded Newtonian forms of thought in economics, or psychology, or biology, or wherever. Not so. My intention has been to explore a tangle of connected concepts. "Black Mischief" is the cogent and absorbing story, of an unusually fertile period in contemporary, science. Irreverent, witty, skeptical, and always informative, it is an anecdotal potpourri of scientific thought and the people who shaped it. Berlinski takes a protean look at the science establishment - as well as the personalities behind the scenes - in such fields as behavioral psychology, linguistics, and economics, and in so doing enlightens and entertains us beyond measure. Soft Cover. New. 353 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Ivan R. Dee, 2001. New book with dust jacket rubbed at the corners (as received from the publisher). This collection of Bernstein's essays, some of which were written for the New Yorker, include his thoughts on Einstein, on Robert Oppenheimer, and on playwright Tom Stoppard's use of scientific and mathematical concepts. Hard Cover. New/Very Good. 245 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Cambridge University Press, 2008. New book as received from the publisher. Synopsis from the dust jacket: This book is a history of nuclear weapons. From their initial theoretical development at the start of the twentieth century to the recent tests in North Korea, Jeremy Bernstein seeks to describe the basic science of nuclear weaponry at each point in the narrative. At the same time, he offers accounts and anecdotes of the personalities involved, many of whom he has known firsthand. Dr Bernstein writes in response to what he sees as a widespread misunderstanding throughout the media and hence among the general public of the basic workings and potential impact of nuclear weaponry. For example, he points out that it has been nearly thirty years since anyone has even seen a nuclear detonation. Likewise, the Nagasaki bomb, primitive when compared to more modern devices, generated an explosion roughly the equivalent of eight thousand copies of the truck bomb used by Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City. Hard Cover. New/New. 299 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Ivan R. Dee, 2004. New book as received from the publisher. As a former colleague of Oppenheimer's, Jeremy Bernstein has written a biographical profile that is both personal and historical, bringing the reader close to the life and workings of an extraordinary and controversial man. Without Oppenheimer's totally remarkable leadership at Los Alamos, the atomic bomb would not have happened, and World War II would have ended very differently. Soft Cover. New. 223 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Columbia University Press, 1986. Unread, unmarked copy. Front cover has a small crease at the top, fore edge corner, otherwise as new. Soft Cover. Fine. 328 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

1st Books, 2000. New book as received from the publisher. "Cosmos and Consciousness" presents a simple idea with potentially profound implications not only for Science but also for Philosophy. It develops a new foundation at both a popular, and a technical level, for current fundamental theories of elementary particles, the Standard Model and SuperString Theory. Both of these theories can be placed on a quantum computer language foundation. The idea: elementary particles such as electrons, quarks and so on can be viewed as the "letters" or symbols of a cosmic alphabet, or cosmic code, in a computer grammar (language). A new view of reality emerges from this perspective: the universe is one "tremendous" word. This new theoretical basis is consistent with all known physical experiments and theory. Soft Cover. New. 363 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Writers Club Press, 2001. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: This fine example of critical writing examines the arrow of time as it is conceived by theoretical physicists. Exploring areas in science from quantum theory and relativity to cognitive science and philosophy, the book appeals to a more classical realism, approaching a work tempered for the conservative scientist while remaining provocative enough to challenge any reader. The arguments are build upon currently accepted theory, however, the radical conclusion reveals a surprisingly consistent view between classical and modern physics, illustrating how classical physics can be reasonably advanced, instead of replaced, to account for contemporary theory. To accomplish this coherent view, all that is required is a shift in the way we think about time. By simply demystifying the arrow of time, we can begin to see how the inexplicable nature of modern physics, such as "quantum weirdness," is not only comprehensible but is exactly what we would expect from our theories. Though this conclusion is counter to the consensus in the physics of the last century, the book is highly persuasive. Indeed, it may just compel every reader to rethink the predicament in today's theoretical physics. Soft Cover. New. 98 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Cambridge University Press, 2009. New book as received from the publisher. The Tarner Lectures delivered at Cambridge in November 1965. From the back cover: Professor Bondi discusses some of the myths that have grown up around various scientific theories and ideas, particularly special relativity and Mach's principle. His critical - and often light-hearted - approach to what are usually regarded as complicated ideas leaves the reader with the feeling that perhaps much of his subject is common sense after all. Professor Bondi's aim is to provoke thought, rather than to provide all the answers. He first discusses the limits of theory-making, the significance of depth and universality and the devising of effective tests for scientific theories. The relation of Einstein's theory to classical Newtonian mechanics is then considered, the author showing that relativity can be regarded simple as an extension of Newton's ideas on dynamics to the whole of physics. After deriving the equations of special relativity by the so-called k-calculus, he disposes rapidly of the 'clock paradox' and moves on to discuss general relativity, the significance of the result of Newman and Penrose concerning gravitational waves, the sources of gravitation and inertia, Mach's principles and the Hoyle-Narlikar relativity theory. Soft Cover. New. 88 Paged. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

iUniverse, 2007. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: "The Scientific Worldview" presents a balanced theoretical perspective that has profound implications for the social and physical sciences. Author Glenn Borchardt outlines the philosophical alternatives and those necessary for consistent scientific thinking. The balanced outlook requires beginning assumptions alien to classical mechanism and modern systems philosophy. The central concept of the resulting philosophical system is univironmental determinism-a new universal mechanism of evolution founded on the simple proposition that whatever happens to a thing is a result of the infinite variety of matter in motion within and without. Borchardt argues that the biased outlook of the twentieth century "scientific worldview," systems philosophy, which overemphasizes systems and neglects environments, taints our most fundamental theories about the universe. But with the philosophy of univironmental determinism, we can gain the feeling of control in our lives and achieve a newfound level of consciousness through which we will change the world for the betterment of all. Soft Cover. New. 380 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Springer-Verlag, 2000. New book as received from the publisher. Hard Cover. New. 319 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Dover Publications, 2008. New book as received from the publisher. This convenient single-volume compilation of two texts offers both an introduction and an in-depth survey. Geared toward engineering and science students rather than mathematicians, its less rigorous treatment focuses on physics and engineering applications. A practical reference for professionals, it is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Soft Cover. New. 558 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Springer Verlag, 1999. Still unopened in shrink wrap. Hard Cover. New. 240 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Springer-Verlag, 2000. Still unopened in shrink wrap. Hard Cover. New. 140 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

John Wiley & Sons, 2005. New book as received from the publisher. "The Unexpected Einstein" tackles many unexpected and rarely covered aspects of Albert Einstein’s life, thoughts, and personality. This fast-paced and informed account strips away the myths, rumors, and outright lies that continue to circulate about Einstein to offer readers a uniquely intimate portrait of the living, breathing man. Brian draws upon an impressive array of original sources including recently discovered documents and interviews - many previously unpublished - with Einstein’s relatives, colleagues, lovers, enemies, lifelong friends, and relative strangers. In their own words, these men and women share their memories of the "father of modern physics" and offer insight into his character. The profoundly complex man who emerges from these pages may be best understood in his own words: "I live and feel puzzled, and all the time I try to understand.". Hard Cover. New/New. 260 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

World Scientific, 2008. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: "An Introduction to Lagrangian Mechanics" begins with a proper historical perspective on the Lagrangian method by presenting Fermat’s Principle of Least Time (as an introduction to the Calculus of Variations) as well as the principles of Maupertuis, Jacobi, and d’Alembert that preceded Hamilton’s formulation of the Principle of Least Action, from which the Euler–Lagrange equations of motion are derived. Other additional topics not traditionally presented in undergraduate textbooks include the treatment of constraint forces in Lagrangian Mechanics; Routh’s procedure for Lagrangian systems with symmetries; the art of numerical analysis for physical systems; variational formulations for several continuous Lagrangian systems; an introduction to elliptic functions with applications in Classical Mechanics; and Noncanonical Hamiltonian Mechanics and perturbation theory. This textbook is suitable for undergraduate students who have acquired the mathematical skills needed to complete a course in Modern Physics. Soft Cover. New. 259 Pages. more information

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Atlas & Co., 2008. New book as received from the publisher. Leading and up-and-coming scientists and science writers cast their minds one million years into the future to imagine the fate of the human and/or extraterrestrial galaxy. This volume of fifteen new, specially commissioned essays by notable journalists and scholars such as Rudy Rucker, Jim Holt, and Gregory Benford presents a series of speculations on the most radical but well-grounded ideas they can conceive, projecting the universe as it might be in the year 1,000,000 C.E. Their collective effort--first attempted by H. G. Wells in his 1893 essay "The Man of the Year Million"--is an exploration into a barely conceivable distant future, where the authors confront far-flung possibilities, at times bordering on philosophy of science. How would the galaxy look if it were redesigned for optimal energy use and maximized intelligence? What is a universe bereft of stars? Contributors include Amara D. Angelica, Catherine Asaro, Gregory Benford, Robert Bradbury, Sean M. Carroll, Anne Corwin, Dougal Dixon, Robin Hanson, Steven B. Harris, Jim Holt, Lisa Kaltenegger, Wil McCarthy, Rudy Rucker, Pamela Sargent, and George Zebrowski. Soft Cover. New. 330 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Princeton University Press, 2008. New book with light rubbing to jacket (as received from the publisher). From the jacket: How do you draw a straight line? How do you determine if a circle is really round? These may sound like simple or even trivial mathematical problems, but to an engineer the answers can mean the difference between success and failure. "How Round Is Your Circle?" invites readers to explore many of the same fundamental questions that working engineers deal with every day--it's challenging, hands-on, and fun. John Bryant and Chris Sangwin illustrate how physical models are created from abstract mathematical ones. Using elementary geometry and trigonometry, they guide readers through paper-and-pencil reconstructions of mathematical problems and show them how to construct actual physical models themselves - directions included. It's an effective and entertaining way to explain how applied mathematics and engineering work together to solve problems, everything from keeping a piston aligned in its cylinder to ensuring that automotive driveshafts rotate smoothly. Intriguingly, checking the roundness of a manufactured object is trickier than one might think. When does the width of a saw blade affect an engineer's calculations - or, for that matter, the width of a physical line? When does a measurement need to be exact and when will an approximation suffice? Bryant and Sangwin tackle questions like these and enliven their discussions with many fascinating highlights from engineering history. Generously illustrated, "How Round Is Your Circle?" reveals some of the hidden complexities in everyday things. Hard Cover. New/Fine. 306 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Cambridge University Press, 1997. New book as received from the publisher. This is a book about the interpretation of quantum mechanics, in particular how to resolve the measurement problem introduced by the orthodox interpretation of the theory. The heart of the book is a new result that shows how to construct all possible "no collapse" interpretations, subject to certain natural constraints and the limitations imposed by the hidden variable theorems. From this perspective one sees precisely where things have gone awry and what the options are. Various interpretations, including Bohm's causal interpretation, Bohr's complementarity interpretation, and the modal interpretation are shown to be special cases of this result, for different choices of a "preferred" observable. A feature of the book is a novel treatment of the main hidden variable theorems, and an extended critique of contemporary "decoherence" theories of measurement. The discussion is self-contained and organized so that the technical portions may be skipped without losing the argument. This book will be of interest to advanced undergraduates and graduate students in philosophy of science, physics, and mathematics with interest in foundational problems in quantum physics. General readers with some technical sophistication will also find the book of value. Hard Cover. New/New. 298 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Penguin Books, 1990. Unread, unmarked copy with some shelf wear to covers and a touch of tanning to page edges. Spine not creased. Clean and tight copy. The Universe that Albert Einstein saw was an astonishing spectacle: a skyscape of curved lines, high speeds, black holes and exploding stars. Today we live in his universe - and often fail to understand it. Universally recognized for his ability to interpret scientific developments in a clear and understandable manner, Nigel Calder has here made Einstein's vision accessible. How can a black hole keep you young? Why does a failing person feel no force of gravity? Answering these and many other questions, Nigel Calder makes plain the debt that humanity owes to the man who revolutionized so completely our ideas of time and motion. Soft Cover. Very Good. 254 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

SUNY Press , 2009. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: In straightforward and nontechnical language, a philosopher of science goes to the very heart of what is still the central subject in modern physics, namely, quantum theory, with its astonishing ability to predict - yet not explain. There, he encounters and unravels the maze of bewildering puzzles that, for nearly a century, have locked our most eminent theoreticians in a whirlpool of ongoing controversy. Salvator Cannavo breaks radically with this tradition of searching for a generally acceptable interpretation of quantum theory by urging a complete withdrawal from the fray. In doing so, he first highlights the now established adjunctive role of quantum theory in the elaboration of string theory and other developing branches of explanatory physical theory, and then recommends a new focus for the channeling of creative effort in contemporary theoretical physics. Soft Cover. New. 173 Pages. more information

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Humanity Books, 1996. New book with shelf wear along edges and corners (as received from the publisher). From the back cover: This is a short biographical study of Michael Faraday, one of the most important scientists of the nineteenth century. Without his invention of the electric motor, transformer, and dynamo, life as we live it would not be possible. Yet Faraday's ideas, particularly his bold, encompassing vision of natural powers as fields of force - challenged the traditional Newtonian views and paved the way for the work of Einstein and Maxwell. This book describes, in nontechnical language, how this major scientist lived and worked and how his everyday scientific practice was informed by his abilities as an experimentalist, his religious beliefs, and the rapidly changing world of nineteenth century Europe. The authors show how Faraday himself contributed to that change by promoting science to the public, making important discoveries in almost every major area of chemistry and physics, so shaping the conceptions of science that we have all inherited. Students will find this overview of the life and work of one of the giants of scientific discovery immensely valuable. Soft Cover. Very Good. 111 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

World Scientific, 2007. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: This enlightening book, a sequel to "Quips, Quotes, And Quanta", helps readers to understand how physicists think about and look at the world. Starting with the discovery and investigation of cosmic rays, the book proceeds to cover some major areas of modern physics in laymen's terms. Unlike other books that deal with the history of physics, this volume concentrates on anecdotes about the physicists who created the new ideas, with a heavy emphasis on personal incidents and quotes. At the same time it presents, in every day language, the ideas created by these physicists. Both thematic and biographical in nature, readers will be entertained with humorous events in the lives of some famous scientists. Readers will also learn quite a lot about modern physics without the mathematical details, but with the important concepts intact. Soft Cover. New. 157 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Cambridge University Press, 2007. New copy as received from the publisher. From the back cover: Recent developments in cosmology and particle physics, such as the string landscape picture, have led to the remarkable realization that our universe - rather than being unique - could be just one of many universes. The multiverse proposal helps to explain the origin of the universe and some of its observational features. Since the physical constants can be different in other universes, the fine-tunings which appear necessary for the emergence of life may also be explained. Nevertheless, many physicists remain uncomfortable with the multiverse proposal, since it is highly speculative and perhaps untestable. In this volume, a number of active and eminent researchers in the field - mainly cosmologists and particle physicists but also some philosophers - address these issues and describe recent developments. The articles represent the full spectrum of views, providing for the first time an overview of the subject. They are written at different academic levels, engaging lay-readers and researchers alike. Hard Cover. New. 517 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Springer-Verlag, 2000. New book as received from the publisher. Soft Cover. New. 521 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Humanities Press, 1995. First Edition. Skimmed through once, gently. Clean, unmarked, tight copy. From the back cover: While most available works on Einstein trace the origins and evolution of his views and theories, David Cassidy focuses on Einstein's influence within and far beyond the confines of physics. Following a brief, nontechnical explanation of the significance of Einstein's achievements, Dr. Cassidy explores how Einstein's work spread throughout the physical sciences and led to a new conception of the theoretical physicist. It then engendered a new understanding of the physical world and ultimately provided the framework for a new and profound intellectual and technical mastery of nature. Dr. Cassidy takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the uses and abuses of Einstein's relativity theory in such widely diverse settings as political ideology, philosophy of science, literature, art religion, and the individual in an age of dictatorship, genocide, and weapons of mass destruction. Soft Cover. Fine. 100 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Pi Press, 2005. New book with some shelf wear to corners and edges. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who led the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb and ended World War II, forged the alliance between science and government that made the American Century possible. David C. Cassidy's biography is not merely the life story of a brilliant physicist, it tells the hidden story of the political and social forces shaping the world in our time: the rise of American science. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. 462 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Bellevue Literary Press, 2009. New book as received from the publisher. From dj flap: In 1992, David C. Cassidy’s groundbreaking biography of Werner Heisenberg, "Uncertainty", was published to resounding acclaim from scholars and critics. Michael Frayn, in the Playbill of the Broadway production of "Copenhagen", referred to it as one of his main sources and "the standard work in English". Richard Rhodes "The Making of the Atom Bomb") called it "the definitive biography of a great and tragic physicist", and the Los Angeles Times praised it as "an important book. Cassidy has sifted the record and brilliantly detailed Heisenberg’s actions". No book that has appeared since has rivaled "Uncertainty", now out of print, for its depth and rich detail of the life, times, and science of this brilliant and controversial figure of twentieth-century physics. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, long-suppressed information has emerged on Heisenberg’s role in the Nazi atomic bomb project. In "Beyond Uncertainty", Cassidy interprets this and other previously unknown material within the context of his vast research and tackles the vexing questions of a scientist’s personal responsibility and guilt when serving an abhorrent military regime.. Hard Cover. New/New. 480 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Springer-Verlag, 1999. Still unopened in shrink wrap. Hard Cover. New. 534 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Institute of Physics Publishing, 1998. New copy as received from the publisher. Hard Cover. New/New. 304 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Joseph Henry Press, 2006. New book as received from the publisher. The two towering achievements of modern physics are quantum theory and Einstein's general theory of relativity. Together, they explain virtually everything about the world we live in. But, almost a century after their advent, most people haven't the slightest clue what either is about. Did you know that there's so much empty space inside matter that the entire human race could be squeezed into the volume of a sugar cube? Or that you grow old more quickly on the top floor of a building than on the ground floor? And did you realize that 1 percent of the static on a TV tuned between stations is the relic of the Big Bang? These and many other remarkable facts about the world are direct consequences of quantum physics and relativity. Quantum theory has literally made the modern world possible. Not only has it given us lasers, computers, and nuclear reactors, but it has provided an explanation of why the sun shines and why the ground beneath our feet is solid. Despite this, however, quantum theory and relativity remain a patchwork of fragmented ideas, vaguely understood at best and often utterly mysterious. They have even gained a reputation of being beyond the understanding of the average person. Author Marcus Chown emphatically disagrees. As Einstein himself said, most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone. If you think that the marvels of modern physics have passed you by, it is not too late. In Chown's capable hands, quantum physics and relativity are not only painless but downright fun. So sit back, relax, and get comfortable as an adept and experienced science communicator brings you quickly up to speed on some of the greatest ideas in the history of human thought. Hard Cover. New/New. 200 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Adam Hilger, 1990. New book as received from the publisher. Quantum theory offers a strange, and perhaps unique, case in the history of science. Although research into its roots has provided important results in recent years, the debate goes on. Some theorists argue that quantum theory is weakened by the inclusion of the so called "reduction of the state vector" in its foundations. "Quantum Theory Without Reduction" present arguments in favor of quantum theory as a consistent and complete theory without this reduction, and which is capable of explaining all known features of the measurement problem. This collection of invited contributions defines and explores different aspects of this issue, bringing an old debate into a new perspective, and leading to a more satisfying consensus about quantum theory. . Hard Cover. New. 167 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Cambridge University Press, 2005. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was one of the greatest scientists of all time, a thinker of extraordinary range and creativity who has left enduring legacies in mathematics and the natural sciences. In this volume a team of distinguished contributors examine all the main aspects of Newton’s thought, including not only his approach to space, time, mechanics, and universal gravity in his Principia, his research in optics, and his contributions to mathematics, but also his more clandestine investigations into alchemy, theology, and prophecy, which have sometimes been overshadowed by his mathematical and scientific interests. Soft Cover. New. 500 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. New book as received from the publisher. As a young man Frank Oppenheimer followed in his famous brothers footsteps growing up in a privileged Manhattan household, becoming a physicist, working on the atomic bomb. Tragically, Frank and Robert both had their careers destroyed by the Red Scare. But their paths diverged. While Robert died an almost ruined man, Frank came into his own, emerging from ten years of exile on a Colorado ranch to create not just a multimillion dollar institution but also a revolution that was felt all over the world. His Exploratorium was a "museum of human awareness" that combined art and science while it encouraged play, experimentation, and a sense of joy and wonder; its success inspired a transformation in museums around the globe. In many ways it was Franks answer to the atom bomb. K. C. Cole - a friend and colleague of Frank's for many years - has drawn from letters, documents, and extensive interviews to write a very personal story of the man whose irrepressible spirit would inspire so many. Hard Cover. New/New. 396 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Icon Books, 2000. Appears unread. Clean, unmarked, tight copy. Price sticker on back. From the back cover: Stephen Hawking has achieved a unique position in contemporary culture, combining eminence in the rarefied world of theoretical physics with the popular fame usually reserved for film stars and rock musicians. Yet Hawking's technical work is so challenging, both in its conceptual scope and in its mathematical detail, that proper understanding of its significance lies beyond the grasp of all but a few specialists. How, then, did Hawking-the-scientist become Hawking-the-icon? Hawking's theories often take him into intellectual territory that has traditionally been the province of religion rather than science. He acknowledges this explicitly in the closing sentence of his bestseller, "A Brief History of Time", where he says that his ultimate aim is to `know the Mind of God'. "Hawking and the Mind of God" examines the pseudo-religious connotations of some of the key themes in Hawking's work, and how these shed light not only on the Hawking cult itself, but also on the wider issue of how scientists represent themselves in the media. Soft Cover. Fine. 74 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Icon Books, 1999. Appears unread. Clean, unmarked, tight copy. Price sticker on back. From the back cover: In ancient times, the duration of a total solar eclipse was a time of fear and wonder. The scientific revolution that began with Copernicus relegated these eclipses to the category of "understood" phenomena. Astronomers still relish their occurrence, not because of the event itself, but because of the opportunity it provides to carry out observations that would otherwise be impossible by day. This book is about a famous example of this opportunism: the two expeditions to observe the bending of starlight by the Sun - predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity - from Sobral in northern Brazil and the island of Principe in the Gulf of Guinea during the eclipse of 29 May 1919. As well as providing a simple way of understanding the key ideas of Einstein's theory, this story offers fascinating insights into the sociological conflicts between "Big Science" and popular culture that are as real today as they were 85 years ago. Soft Cover. Fine. 71 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Icon Books, 2000. Appears unread. Clean, unmarked, tight copy. From the back cover: Albert Einstein is the undisputed genius whose mathematical insights revolutionised cosmology. He ranks with the other giants of physics - Copernicus, Galileo, Newton - but more than any of them, he is instantly recognisable. Einstein is a "pop" totem, the Marilyn Monroe of science. How did this happen? What could possibly make Einstein a universal icon when his ideas remain in the abstruse domain of a few specialists? The answer lies in a cultural phenomenon, the birth of "Big Science". The 20th century has seen unparalleled advances in science and technology. But the search for knowledge has taken scientists into regions remote from everyday experience, accessible only to those with expensive experimental equipment. These farthest reaches of scientific study are the domain of "Big Science". As well as providing a simple introduction to Einstein's key ideas, this essay offers fascinating insights into the sociological conflicts between "Big Science" and popular culture that are as real today as they were in Einstein's day. Soft Cover. Fine. 73 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Oxford University Press, 2001. New book as received from the publisher. This book is a simple, non-technical introduction to cosmology, explaining what it is and what cosmologists do. Peter Coles discusses the history of the subject, the development of the Big Bang theory, and more speculative modern issues like quantum cosmology, superstrings, and dark matter. Soft Cover. New. 139 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Dover Publications, 2002. New book as received from the publisher. Self-contained treatment examines operational definition of charge and current; specification of arbitrary distributions of charge and current; definition of electromagnetic field and effect on general charge distributions; electric field produced by static charges; magnetic induction field produced by steady currents; Maxwell's equations in vacuum and much more. Soft Cover. New. 510 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Dover Publications, 1994. Second Edition. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: Classical mechanics is the study of the motion of particles and rigid bodies under the influence of given forces. It applies to the enormous range of motions between the atomic scale, where quantum effects dominate, and the cosmological scale, where general relativity provides the framework. Coupled with classical electromagnetic theory it provides the basis for sophisticated technologies such as plasma physics, accelerator design, space technology and more. In this edition, the authors have included the fundamental subjects of Lagrangian mechanics, Hamiltonian mechanics, rigid-body motion, action-angle variables, perturbation theory, and motion with speeds approaching that of light, showing how these theories can be applied to a variety of problems. They treat central motion, the motion of planets and satellites, in detail. They also develop the theory of small vibrations governing resonant systems of all kinds, analyze the motion of particles in high energy accelerators and describe the motion of spinning systems, important for space technology. Nonstandard topics like the Navier-Stokes equation and the inverted pendulum are included. A number of exercises are provided and most chapters contain references to relevant books and other literature. Soft Cover. New. 389 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Springer Verlag, 2008. Still unopened in shrink wrap. From back cover: Why is our world comprehensible? This question seems so trivial that few people have dared to ask it. In this book we explore the deep roots of the mystery of rationality. The inquiry into the rationality of the world began over two-and-a-half-thousand years ago, when a few courageous people tried to understand the world with the help of reason alone, rejecting the comforting fabric of myth and legend. After many philosophical and theological adventures the Greek concept of rationality laid the foundations of a revolutionary way of thinking: the scientific method, which transformed the world. But looking at the newest fruits of the world's rationality - relativity theory, quantum mechanics, the unification of physics, quantum gravity - the question arises: what are the limits of the scientific method? The principal tenet of rationality is that you should never stop asking questions until everything has been answered. Hard Cover. New. 165 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Dover Publications, 1994. New book with some wear to covers (as received from the publisher). Provides an introduction to the fundamentals of stellar astronomy, a history of astronomy, and an account of how the science of astronomy challenged traditional philosophical and theological beliefs. Throughout the text are readings from the writings of scientists who contributed most significantly to the development of astronomy. Soft Cover. Fine. 435 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)

Oxford University Press, 2008. New book as received from the publisher. From the back cover: This book introduces physics to a first year undergraduate in the language of mathematics. As such it aims to give a mathematical foundation to the physics taught pre-university, as well as extending it to the skills and disciplines approached during a first degree course in physical science or engineering. It bridges two gaps in modern education - between the level of difficulty in pre-university study and undergraduate study, and between mathematics and physics. Many of the concepts are revised or introduced in the course of ''workshop'' questions which are an integral part of the text. Fully explained solutions to these workshops are given as a substantial appendix to the book. The student will be enabled to study classical mechanics in terms of vector calculus, fields in terms of line and surface integrals, oscillations and waves in terms of complex exponentials and so on. As far as we are aware, this book is unique in its aim, its content, and its approach. Soft Cover. New. 225 Pages. more information

Bookseller: Chris Oliwa (Canada)