The Cavendish Laboratory is arguably the most famous physics laboratory in the world. Founded in 1874, it rapidly gained a leading international reputation through the researches of the Cavendish professors beginning with Maxwell, Rayleigh, J. J. Thomson, Rutherford and Bragg. Its name will always be associated with the discoveries of the electron, the neutron, the structure of the DNA molecule and pulsars, but these are simply the tip of the iceberg of outstanding science. The physics car...

Written for advanced undergraduates, physicists, and historians and philosophers of physics, this book tells the story of the development of our understanding of quantum phenomena through the extraordinary years of the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rather than following the standard axiomatic approach, this book adopts a historical perspective, explaining clearly and authoritatively how pioneers such as Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Pauli and Dirac developed the fundamentals of ...

Optical interferometry is a powerful technique to make images on angular scales hundreds of times smaller than is possible with the largest telescopes. This concise guide provides an introduction to the technique for graduate students and researchers who want to make interferometric observations and acts as a reference for technologists building new instruments. Starting from the principles of interference, the author covers the core concepts of interferometry, showing how the effects of t...

The twentieth century was defined by physics. From the minds of the world's leading physicists there flowed a river of ideas that would transport mankind to the pinnacle of wonderment and to the very depths of human despair. This was a century that began with the certainties of absolute knowledge and ended with the knowledge of absolute uncertainty. It was a century in which physicists developed weapons with the capacity to destroy our reality, whilst at the same time denying us thepossibi...

"Clear and elegant . . . Anyone who has tried to get through one of the many books on quantum theory, superstrings, and such, ought to give this book a try." — American WayNo one is more successful than John Gribbin when it comes to making the cutting edge of physics more accessible to a broad lay audience. In Schrodinger's Kittens, he took readers to the eerie world of subatomic particles & waves. Now, he explores the most exciti...

Quantum theory revolutionized physics at the beginning of the last century. Einstein was one of its originators, but as the implications of the theory emerged, he began to have doubts. Are the most basic physical processes based on probability? Is the Universe governed by chance? Do physical objects have an independent existence or do they exist only in our perception? The ramifications may appear bizarre but they are inherent to this perplexing subject.The Quantum Adventure deals with the...

Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom is the first book that focuses in detail on the birth and development of Bohr's atomic theory and gives a comprehensive picture of it. At the same time it offers new insight into Bohr's peculiar way of thinking, what Einstein once called his 'unique instinct and tact'. Contrary to most other accounts of the Bohr atom, the book presents it in a broader perspective which includes the reception among other scientists and the criticism launched against it by sci...

The fast and easy way to ace your statics courseDoes the study of statics stress you out? Does just the thought of mechanics make you rigid? Thanks to this book, you can find balance in the study of this often-intimidating subject and ace even the most challenging university-level courses.Statics For Dummies gives you easy-to-follow, plain-English explanations for everything you need to grasp the study of statics. You'll get a thorough introduction...

Logically organized, this book guides readers through all aspects of vibration analysis. Each chapter explains how to harness the problem-solving capabilities of today's popular engineering software, including Mathcad, Maple, Matlab, and Mathematica. Topics covered include vibration measurement, finite element analysis, and eigenvalue determination. Included are more than 300 solved problems--completely explained.

In this compelling introduction to the fundamental particles that make up the universe, Frank Close takes us on a journey into the atom to examine known particles such as quarks, electrons, and the ghostly neutrino. Along the way he provides fascinating insights into how discoveries in particle physics have actually been made, and discusses how our picture of the world has been radically revised in the light of these developments. He concludes by looking ahead to new ideas about themystery...

The renowned physicist and New York Times –bestselling author introduces the nonscientific reader to the mind-bending world of quantum physics."God does not play dice with the universe."So said Albert Einstein in response to the first discoveries that launched quantum physics, as they suggested a random universe that seemed to violate the laws of common sense. This 20th-century scientific revolution compl...

This text is aimed at people who have some familiarity with high-resolution NMR and who wish to deepen their understanding of how NMR experiments actually ‘work’. This revised and updated edition takes the same approach as the highly-acclaimed first edition. The text concentrates on the description of commonly-used experiments and explains in detail the theory behind how such experiments work. The quantum mechanical tools needed to analyse pulse sequences are introduced set by step, but th...