Atoms, Molecules and Photons

Atoms, Molecules and Photons

This introduction to Atomic and Molecular Physics explains how our present model of atoms and molecules has been developed over the last two centuries, both by many experimental discoveries and, from the theoretical side, by the introduction of quantum physics to the adequate description of micro-particles. It illustrates the wave model of particles by many examples and shows the limits of classical description. The interaction of electromagnetic radiation with atoms and molecules and its potential for spectroscopy is outlined in great detail and, in particular, lasers as modern spectroscopic tools are discussed thoroughly. Many examples and problems with solutions are offered to encourage readers to actively participate in applying and adapting the fundamental physics presented in this textbook to specific situations.

Atoms, Molecules and Photons

Exercises in Classical Ring Theory

Exercises in Classical Ring Theory

‘ This useful book, which grew out of the author’s lectures at Berkeley, presents some 400 exercises of varying degrees of difficulty in classical ring theory, together with complete solutions, background information, historical commentary, bibliographic details, and indications of possible improvements or generalizations. The book should be especially helpful to graduate students as a model of the problem-solving process and an illustration of the applications of different theorems in ring theory. The author also discusses ‘the folklore of the subject: the ‘tricks of the trade’ in ring theory, which are well known to the experts in the field but may not be familiar to others, and for which there is usually no good reference’. The problems are from the following areas: the Wedderburn-Artin theory of semisimple rings, the Jacobson radical, representation theory of groups and algebras, (semi)prime rings, (semi)primitive rings, division rings, ordered rings, (semi)local rings, the theory of idempotents, and (semi)perfect rings. Problems in the areas of module theory, category theory, and rings of quotients are not included, since they will appear in a later book. ‘

Exercises in Classical Ring Theory

Incest and the Medieval Imagination

Incest and the Medieval Imagination

Incest is a remarkably frequent theme in medieval literature; it occurs in a wide range of genres, including romances, saints’s lives, and exempla. Historically, the Church in the later Middle Ages was very concerned about breaches of the complex laws against incest, which was defined very broadly at the time to cover family relationships outside the nuclear family and also spiritual relationships through baptism. Medieval writers accepted that incestuous desire was a widespread phenomenon among women as well as men. They are surprisingly open about incest, though of course they disapprove of it; in many exemplary stories incest is identified with original sin, but the moral emphasizes the importance of contrition and the availability of grace even to such heinous sinners. This study begins with a brief account of the development of medieval incest laws, and the extent to which they were obeyed. Next comes a survey of classical incest stories and their legacy; many were retold in the Middle Ages, but they were frequently adapted to the purposes of Christian moralizers. In the three chapters that follow, homegrown medieval incest stories are grouped by relationship: mother-son (focusing on the Gregorius legend), father-daughter (focusing on La Manekine and its analogues), and sibling (focusing on the Arthurian legend). The final chapter considers the very common medieval trope of the Virgin Mary as mother, daughter, sister and bride of Christ, the one exception to the incest taboo. In western society today, incest has recently been recognized as a serious social problem, and has also become a frequent theme in both fiction and non-fiction, just as it was in the Middle Ages. This interdisciplinary study is the first broad survey of medieval incest stories in Latin and the vernaculars (mainly French, English and German). It situates the incest theme in both literary and cultural contexts, and offers many thought-provoking comparisons and contrasts to our own society in terms of gender relations, the power of patriarchy, the role of religious institutions in regulating morality, and the relationship between life and literature.

Incest and the Medieval Imagination

Mathematical Biophysics

Mathematical Biophysics

This book presents concise descriptions and analysis of the classical and modern models used in mathematical biophysics. The authors ask the question ‘what new information can be provided by the models that cannot be obtained directly from experimental data?’ Actively developing fields such as regulatory mechanisms in cells and subcellular systems and electron transport and energy transport in membranes are addressed together with more classical topics such as metabolic processes, nerve conduction and heart activity, chemical kinetics, population dynamics, and photosynthesis. The main approach is to describe biological processes using different mathematical approaches necessary to reveal characteristic features and properties of simulated systems. With the emergence of powerful mathematics software packages such as MAPLE, Mathematica, Mathcad, and MatLab, these methodologies are now accessible to a wide audience.

Mathematical Biophysics

Heuristic Strategies in the Speeches of Cicero

Heuristic Strategies in the Speeches of Cicero

This book introduces a new form of argumentative analysis: rhetorical heuremes. The method applies the concepts of heuristic thinking, probability, and contingency in order to develop a better understanding of complex arguments in classical oratory. A new theory is required because Greek and Roman rhetoric cannot provide detailed answers to problems of strategic argumentation in the analysis of speeches. Building on scholarship in Ciceronian oratory, this book moves beyond the extant terminology and employs a concept of heuristic reasoning derived from the psychology of decision making and mathematical problem solving. The author analyses selected passages from Ciceros forensic speeches where arguments of probability are deployed, and shows that the Sophistic concept of probability can link ancient rhetoric and modern theories of argumentation. Six groups of heuremes are identified, each of which represents a form of probabilistic reasoning by which the orator plays upon the perception of the jurors.

Heuristic Strategies in the Speeches of Cicero

Introduction to Thin Film Transistors

Introduction to Thin Film Transistors

Introduction to Thin Film Transistors reviews the operation, application and technology of the main classes of thin film transistor (TFT) of current interest for large area electronics. The TFT materials covered include hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), poly-crystalline silicon (poly-Si), transparent amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOS), and organic semiconductors. The large scale manufacturing of a-Si:H TFTs forms the basis of the active matrix flat panel display industry. Poly-Si TFTs facilitate the integration of electronic circuits into portable active matrix liquid crystal displays, and are increasingly used in active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays for smart phones. The recently developed AOS TFTs are seen as an alternative option to poly-Si and a-Si:H for AMOLED TV and large AMLCD TV applications, respectively. The organic TFTs are regarded as a cost effective route into flexible electronics. As well as treating the highly divergent preparation and properties of these materials, the physics of the devices fabricated from them is also covered, with emphasis on performance features such as carrier mobility limitations, leakage currents and instability mechanisms. The thin film transistors implemented with these materials are the conventional, insulated gate field effect transistors, and a further chapter describes a new thin film transistor structure: the source gated transistor, SGT.The driving force behind much of the development of TFTs has been their application to AMLCDs, and there is a chapter dealing with the operation of these displays, as well as of AMOLED and electrophoretic displays. A discussion of TFT and pixel layout issues is also included.For students and new-comers to the field, introductory chapters deal with basic semiconductor surface physics, and with classical MOSFET operation. These topics are handled analytically, so that the underlying device physics is clearly revealed. These treatments are then used as a reference point, from which the impact of additional band-gap states on TFT behaviour can be readily appreciated.This reference book, covering all the major TFT technologies, will be of interest to a wide range of scientists and engineers in the large area electronics industry. It will also be a broad introduction for research students and other scientists entering the field, as well as providing an accessible and comprehensive overview for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes.

Introduction to Thin Film Transistors

Cosmic Update

Cosmic Update

‘…The Multiversal book series is equally unique, providing book-length extensions of the lectures with enough additional depth for those who truly want to explore these fields, while also providing the kind of clarity that is appropriate for interested lay people to grasp the general principles involved.’ – Lawrence M. KraussCosmic Update Covers:A novel approach to uncover the dark faces of the Standard Model of cosmology.The possibility that Dark Energy and Dark Matter are manifestations of the inhomogeneous geometry of our Universe.On the history of cosmological model building and the general architecture of cosmological modes.Illustrations on the Large Scale Structure of the Universe.A new perspective on the classical static Einstein Cosmos.Global properties of World Models including their Topology.The Arrow of Time in a Universe with a Positive Cosmological Constant.Exploring the consequences of a fundamental Cosmological Constant for our Universe. Exploring why the current observed acceleration of the Universe may not be its final destiny.Demonstrating that nature forbids the existence of a pure Cosmological Constant.Our current understanding of the long term (in time scales that greatly exceed the current age of the Universe) future of the Universe.The long term fate and eventual destruction of the astrophysical objects that populate the universe — including clusters, galaxies, stars, planets, and black holes. The material is presented in a layperson-friendly language followed by addition technical sections that explain the basic equations and principles. This feature is very attractive to readers who want to learn more about the theories involved beyond the basic description. ‘Multiversal Journeys is a trademark of Farzad Nekoogar and Multiversal Journeys, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.’

Cosmic Update

Conformal Invariance

Conformal Invariance

Conformally invariance has proven spectacularly useful for the understanding of two-dimensional phase transitions of classical systems at equilibrium. This volume presents an introduction to non-local observables such as loops and interfaces. It is explained how they arise from specific physical contexts and how to use conformal invariance to determine their properties. Stochastic Loewner Evolution represents an important conceptual advance, whose consequences provoked considerable interest by physicists and mathematicians alike. In this book, after an introductory chapter on the elements of conformal invariance, both the conceptual foundations of Stochastic Loewner Evolution as well as extensive numerical tests will be described. This is followed by applications to geometric phase transitions such as percolation or polymer systems, with particular attention to surface effects. The informal style of the book makes its contents accessible to graduate students and non-specialist readers from other fields.

Conformal Invariance

Dynamic Systems Biology Modeling and Simulation

Dynamic Systems Biology Modeling and Simulation

Dynamic Systems Biology Modeling and Simuation consolidates and unifies classical and contemporary multiscale methodologies for mathematical modeling and computer simulation of dynamic biological systems from molecular/cellular, organ-system, on up to population levels. The book pedagogy is developed as a well-annotated, systematic tutorial with clearly spelled-out and unified nomenclature derived from the authors own modeling efforts, publications and teaching over half a century. Ambiguities in some concepts and tools are clarified and others are rendered more accessible and practical. The latter include novel qualitative theory and methodologies for recognizing dynamical signatures in data using structural (multicompartmental and network) models and graph theory; and analyzing structural and measurement (data) models for quantification feasibility. The level is basic-to-intermediate, with much emphasis on biomodeling from real biodata, for use in real applications.

Dynamic Systems Biology Modeling and Simulation

Computational Organometallic Chemistry

Computational Organometallic Chemistry

This work provides a how-to approach to the fundamentals, methodologies and dynamics of computational organometallic chemistry, including classical and molecular mechanics (MM), quantum mechanics (QM), and hybrid MM/QM techniques. It demonstrates applications in actinide chemistry, catalysis, main group chemistry, medicine, and organic synthesis.

Computational Organometallic Chemistry

The Wages of Whiteness

The Wages of Whiteness

Combining classical Marxism, psychoanalysis, and the new labor history pioneered by E. P. Thompson and Herbert Gutman, David Roedigers widely acclaimed book provides an original study of the formative years of working-class racism in the United States. This, he argues, cannot be explained simply with reference to economic advantage; rather, white working-class racism is underpinned by a complex series of psychological and ideological mechanisms that reinforce racial stereotypes, and thus help to forge the identities of white workers in opposition to Blacks.

The Wages of Whiteness

Interpreting the Images of Greek Myths

Interpreting the Images of Greek Myths

From the age of Homer until late antiquity the culture of ancient Greece and Rome was permeated by images of Greek myths. Gods and heroes were represented as statues, on vase and wall paintings, on temples, on sarcophagi as well as on other media. This book offers, for the first time, a concise introduction into the interpretation of images of Greek myths. Its main aim is to make the pictorial versions of the myths comprehensible on their own terms. Ancient artists were well aware of the potential – but also the limitations – of these ‘silent’ images and of the strategies that made them ‘speak’ to the audience/viewer. The book combines detailed explanation of theoretical and methodological issues with exhaustive discussion of case studies. It will be useful and stimulating for all undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in classical mythology and ancient art.

Interpreting the Images of Greek Myths

The Development of Arabic Mathematics

The Development of Arabic Mathematics

An understanding of developments in Arabic mathematics between the IXth and XVth century is vital to a full appreciation of the history of classical mathematics. This book draws together more than ten studies to highlight one of the major developments in Arabic mathematical thinking, provoked by the double fecondation between arithmetic and the algebra of al-Khwarizmi, which led to the foundation of diverse chapters of mathematics: polynomial algebra, combinatorial analysis, algebraic geometry, algebraic theory of numbers, diophantine analysis and numerical calculus. Thanks to epistemological analysis, and the discovery of hitherto unknown material, the author has brought these chapters into the light, proposes another periodization for classical mathematics, and questions current ideology in writing its history.

The Development of Arabic Mathematics

Moral Theory at the Movies

Moral Theory at the Movies

Moral Theory at the Movies provides students with a wonderfully approachable introduction to ethics. The book incorporates film summaries and study questions to draw students into ethical theory and then pairs them with classical philosophical texts. The students see how moral theories, dilemmas, and questions are represented in the given films and learn to apply these theories to the world they live in. There are 36 films and a dozen readings including: Thank you for Smoking, Plato’s Gorgias, John Start Mill’s Utilitarianism, Hotel Rwanda, Plato’s Republic, and Horton Hears a Who. Topics cover a wide variety of ethical theories including, ethical subjectivism, moral relativism, ethical theory, and virtue ethics. Moral Theory at the Movies will appeal to students and help them think about how philosophy is relevant today.

Moral Theory at the Movies

On Music

On Music

Opinionated and example-filled, this extremely concise and accessible book provides a survey of some fundamental and longstanding debates about the nature of music. The central arguments and ideas of historical and contemporary philosophers are presented with the goal of making them as accessible as possible to general readers who have no background in philosophy. The emphasis is on instrumental music, but examples are drawn from many cultures as well as from Western classical, jazz, folk, and popular music.

On Music

Algorithms on Trees and Graphs

Algorithms on Trees and Graphs

Graph algorithms is a well-established subject in mathematics and computer science. Beyond classical application fields, like approximation, combinatorial optimization, graphics, and operations research, graph algorithms have recently attracted increased attention from computational molecular biology and computational chemistry. Centered around the fundamental issue of graph isomorphism, this text goes beyond classical graph problems of shortest paths, spanning trees, flows in networks, and matchings in bipartite graphs. Advanced algorithmic results and techniques of practical relevance are presented in a coherent and consolidated way. This book introduces graph algorithms on an intuitive basis followed by a detailed exposition in a literate programming style, with correctness proofs as well as worst-case analyses. Furthermore, full C++ implementations of all algorithms presented are given using the LEDA library of efficient data structures and algorithms. Numerous illustrations, examples, and exercises, and a comprehensive bibliography support students and professionals in using the book as a text and source of reference

Algorithms on Trees and Graphs

Reactive Kripke Semantics

Reactive Kripke Semantics

This text offers an extension to the traditional Kripke semantics for non-classical logics by adding the notion of reactivity. Reactive Kripke models change their accessibility relation as we progress in the evaluation process of formulas in the model. This feature makes the reactive Kripke semantics strictly stronger and more applicable than the traditional one. Here we investigate the properties and axiomatisations of this new and most effective semantics, and we offer a wide landscape of applications of the idea of reactivity. Applied topics include reactive automata, reactive grammars, reactive products, reactive deontic logic and reactive preferential structures.

Reactive Kripke Semantics

Numerical Analysis of Vibrations of Structures under Moving Inertial Load

Numerical Analysis of Vibrations of Structures under Moving Inertial Load

Moving inertial loads are applied to structures in civil engineering, robotics, and mechanical engineering. Some fundamental books exist, as well as thousands of research papers. Well known is the book by L. Frba, Vibrations of Solids and Structures Under Moving Loads, which describes almost all problems concerning non-inertial loads. This book presents broad description of numerical tools successfully applied to structural dynamic analysis. Physically we deal with non-conservative systems. The discrete approach formulated with the use of the classical finite element method results in elemental matrices, which can be directly added to global structure matrices. A more general approach is carried out with the space-time finite element method. In such a case, a trajectory of the moving concentrated parameter in space and time can be simply defined. We consider structures described by pure hyperbolic differential equations such as strings and structures described by hyperbolic-parabolic differential equations such as beams and plates. More complex structures such as frames, grids, shells, and three-dimensional objects, can be treated with the use of the solutions given in this book.

Numerical Analysis of Vibrations of Structures under Moving Inertial Load

Knapsack Problems

Knapsack Problems

This book provides a full-scale presentation of all methods and techniques available for the solution of the Knapsack problem. This most basic combinatorial optimization problem appears explicitly or as a subproblem in a wide range of optimization models with backgrounds such diverse as cutting and packing, finance, logistics or general integer programming. This monograph spans the range from a comprehensive introduction of classical algorithmic methods to the unified presentation of the most recent and advanced results in this area many of them originating from the authors. The chapters dealing with particular versions and extensions of the Knapsack problem are self-contained to a high degree and provide a valuable source of reference for researchers. Due to its simple structure, the Knapsack problem is an ideal model for introducing solution techniques to students of computer science, mathematics and economics. The first three chapters give an in-depth treatment of several basic techniques, making the book also suitable as underlying literature for courses in combinatorial optimization and approximation.

Knapsack Problems

Human Landscapes in Classical Antiquity

Human Landscapes in Classical Antiquity

Human Landscapes in Classical Antiquity shows how today’s environmental and ecological concerns can help illuminate our study of the ancient world. The contributors consider how the Greeks and Romans perceived their natural world, and how their perceptions affected society. The effects of human settlement and cultivation on the landscape are considered, as well as the representation of landscape in Attic drama. Various aspects of farming, such as the use of terraces and the significance of olive growing are examined. The uncultivated landscape was also important: hunting was a key social ritual for Greek and hellenistic elites, and ‘wild’ places were not wastelands but played an essential economic role. The Romans’ attempts to control their environment are analyzed.

Human Landscapes in Classical Antiquity