Book Description

The moon spins in perfect resonance with its orbit around the Earth; millions of neurons fire together to control our breathing; every night along the tidal rivers of Malaysia, thousands of fireflies flash in silent, hypnotic unison. All of these astonishing feats of synchrony occur spontaneously -- as if the universe had an overwhelming desire for order. 

The tendency to synchronize may be the most mysterious and pervasive drive in all of nature. It has intrigued some of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, including Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Norbert Wiener, Brian Josephson, and Arthur Winfree. But only in the past decade have scientists from disparate disciplines come to the stunning realization that the study of synchrony could revolutionize our understanding of everything from the origin of life to certain types of human behavior. 

At once elegant and riveting, SYNC tells the story of the dawn of a new science. As one of its pioneers, Steven Strogatz, a leading mathematician in the fields of chaos and complexity theory, explains how enormous systems can synchronize themselves, from the electrons in a superconductor to the pacemaker cells in our hearts. He shows that although these phenomena might seem unrelated on the surface, at a deeper level there is a connection, forged by the unifying power of mathematics. 

Along with vivid explanations of cutting-edge theory, Strogatz provides an intimate and highly personal narrative filled with often humorous anecdotes about some of the visionary thinkers of our time. He also describes the startling applications of this new knowledge, such as the harnessing of synchronized electrons to create the world's most sensitive detectors, able to locate oil buried deep underground and to pinpoint diseased tissues associated with epilepsy and heart arrhythmias.

From life's little curiosities to the grandest unsolved mysteries of science, SYNC explores such questions as:

-- Why traffic jams can occur even when there's no accident or other apparent cause
-- Why women roommates sometimes find that their menstrual periods occur in sync
-- What caused hundreds of Japanese children to fall into seizures while watching an episode of Pokemon
-- What triggers riots, fads, and mass hysteria
-- How synchrony in the solar system may have been responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs
-- How consciousness arises from the interplay of millions of mindless brain cells 

A tour de force of science and prose, SYNC reveals the hidden but beautiful order that governs the rhythms of nature and the rhythms of ourselves.  ... Read more

Reviews (28)

A "Must Read" book!
Review of Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order, by Steven Strogatz

Reviewer: Mark Lamendola, IEEE Senior Member and author of over 3500 articles.

Two thumbs up! This entertaining and informative book is one of the few I would read twice. You know those lists of books you'd want to have if you were stranded on a desert island? Sync made my list.

While Sync is fact-filled, it's far from dry. Throughout the text, Strogatz made me laugh out loud-reminding me very much of the engaging, "can't put it down" writing style used by Bill Bryson (author of Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail and The Lost Continent).

Strogatz takes a complex topic, and explains it in a way that even folks with no innate interest in the topic will find enjoyable. I learned quite a bit about how and why everything from atoms to planets will suddenly act in unison-or not do so. My newly-gained understanding of the relationship between sleep cycles and body temperature cycles has already helped me make some positive changes. Then there's the explanation of traffic....
Not once did Strogatz use an intimidating equation-or any equation at all. Instead, he treats the reader to rich metaphors, analogies, and examples. And instead of dry history on how sync got where it is today, Strogatz shares the frustrations, peculiarities, and human drama of the people behind the developments. Strogatz keeps a pace that is more in line with a Tom Clancy novel than a book focused on a science topic.

The ending made me go back to the beginning-to the dedication, actually. I never cared about dedications, before. However this one really meant something to me after I read Sync. Strogatz dedicated Sync to his departed friend Art Winfree, without whom Strogatz would never have taken his fabulous journey and without whom such a marvelous book would not have been possible.

SYNC a "group mind"
Have you ever wondered how a flock of seagulls can synchronize as though it had a "group mind"? Or even stranger, how various pieces of machinery can appear to conspire together?
Prof. Steven Strogatz shows lucidly, and without written math, that there is a solid mathematical basis leading toward a natural tendency for everything from atoms and galaxies to living organisms to synchronize their behavior and spontaneously form ordered structures. Beginning with the uncanny spectacle of thousands of fireflies flashing in unison, and demonstrating the same principles, heart cells, and civilizations, Sync is filled with fascinating accounts of seemingly - mysterious self-organizing behavior. And computer studies have shown that this appears to be built into nature itself. A unifying theme is "coupled oscillators", as basic a concept as vibrating guitar strings, and how different notes can vibrate parts of the room walls. Such resonance effects exist in all the Universe, and weak though they may be they can produce profound effects in a large group.
After reading Sync, you may initially feel that synchronous "group mind-like" behavior in everything from fireflies to economic cycles is less mysterious, knowing that there's a mathematical foundation. But upon reflection, the mystery even deepens: mathematics is the study of possible relationships among pure numbers, yet when applied to simple vibrating objects, the results pertain to both "dumb" particles and intelligent humans. And while Prof. Strogatz sticks to known science, I'm left speculating on exactly what's so "dumb" about nature!

Find out the origin of sync!!!
The craving of nature for synchronization is fundamental. To understand the origin of this basic trait of nature you should also read Eugene Savov's book Theory of Interaction the Simplest Explanation of Everything. It appears that oscillations are intrinsic property of every bit of reality from atoms to galaxies and the universe as whole. Everything vibrates at frequencies of its own as shown in the theory of interaction. This qualitatively new theory reveals why the vibrations become faster deeper into the structure of every body. For example, your heart beats faster than you breathe.

My review...
Good book on the subject, the physics part in the middle with super-fluid was difficult when stoned. This is one of the first books which is leading to the convergence of science and religion ( science being the religion of cause and effect ). I especially liked how the book ends with brain-sync to create thoughts and emotions. I've just finished the book "Mind wide Open" because I wanted to know more about how the brain worked because of it. I'm now starting "Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity (Advances in Systems Theory, Complexity, and the Human Sciences)", all because of this book. So I liked this book as you can tell. But good books written by Math professors are rare.

Considering how cycles are coordinated and humans affected
'Sync' is the emerging science of spontaneous order, studying the elements of synchrony and chaos and complexity theory and considering how cycles are coordinated and humans affected. This is a relatively new science and in Sync: The Emerging Science Of Spontaneous Order, author and mathematician Steven Strogatz (one of its early pioneers), provides invaluable and informative insights into how enormous systems can synchronize themselves and draw upon underlying connections. ... Read more

Book Description

The two volumes that comprise String Theory provide an up-to-date, comprehensive account of string theory. Volume 1 provides a thorough introduction to the bosonic string, based on the Polyakov path integral and conformal field theory.The first four chapters introduce the central ideas of string theory, the tools of conformal field theory, the Polyakov path integral, and the covariant quantization of the string.The book then treats string interactions: the general formalism, and detailed treatments of the tree level and one loop amplitudes.Toroidal compactification and many important aspects of string physics, such as T-duality and D-branes are also covered, as are higher-order amplitudes, including an analysis of their finiteness and unitarity, and various nonperturbative ideas.The volume closes with an appendix giving a short course on path integral methods, followed by annotated references, and a detailed glossary. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Enlightening text on a murky topic
This book succeeds in what seems to be the impossible. It actually presents a clear, up to date, and entertaining version of a field that is still very much in a state of active research and is still, after all these years, on quite uncertain ground. By studying this, the reader who thinks intelligently about the material presented will be able to form his/her own opinions on this still somewhat controversial topic and will be able to converse intelligently with others who have opinions on the topic. I know that for me personally, this text opened up beautiful ideas which, to a large extent, are still unexplored. Before I read this book, my gut feelings about the topic were that it was rather dubious at best, but now that I understand (I think) the basic ideas of the field, I feel quite comfortable in it, indeed almost as if it is completely natural. What I think is one of the best things about this book is that it does not assume the pretense that string theory is on firm ground, that everything is quite certain and that string theory HAS to be the final theory of nature in all its glory. I find this attitude EXTREMELY pretensious and annoying. Instead, it simply covers what we know about string theory, and explains in detail just why it is consistent, and why it offers an explanation for what we see in nature. In short, it leaves just enough room for the imagination of an intelligent reader to philosophize as to the meaning of the theory and as to its ultimate place in nature
As for practical details, it seems to me that the reader should at the very least have a firm understanding of Quantum Field Theory (at least at the level of Weinberg's first volume, see my review on that modern masterpiece), and to a lesser extent of General Relativity, before even attempting to tackle this. I know that I myself, despite the fact that I have read several texts on QFT, had to reread several sizeable chunks of the book to fully digest it.

Good try, but too dense
Lets face it, string theory is a difficult subject. But the only reason this book is the best string theory text is because they are all lousy. What it comes down to is string theory is too new for a good textbook writer to have tackled the task. What has happened, is string theory is currently populated by a small group of elite geniuses. So some of these elite geniuses take to writing a book, which turns out to be clear to other geniuses, but maybe not so clear to others, who are nonetheless capable of learning the theory. This happens in all fields, you will find that modern quantum mechanics books are much more readable than volumes written by the founders of the theory. Polchinski has clear writing, but can you solve the problems? If it seems clear but solving the problems is a mystery, it isn't a good book. Why can't people put in lots of examples? Why can't they include solutions to at least odd numbered problems? If they went to all the trouble to write the book they could at least do that. After all the goal is to teach, not to be mysterious. What needs to happen is some physicist with a talent for writing needs to A)Write an undergraduate level text on field theory, and B)write a more accessible book about string theory aimed at people who aren't at the level of Weinberg intelligence wise.

very thorough and complete
Polochinski presents upto date developments (mostly in 2nd volume) in string theory such as D-branes and dualities that are not discussed in Green, Witten, Schwarz's Superstring theory text. However, I found GWS's arguments easier to follow because they were intuitively and physically motivated. Although Polchinski's books lack physical insights, he more than makes up for them by completeness of the material, mathematical rigor and helpful exercises. However, I highly recommend that you first get Di Francesco's conformal field theory and read chapters 3-7 , 10 and 12 to get a better feel for stuff like state-operator mappings, Virasoro algebra, OPE's, etc. Although Polchinski claims the books are pretty much self-contained, I would say QFT (probably around lvl of 1st vol. of Weinberg) and GR are min prereq and some knowledge of SUSY, rep. theory of Lie alg, alg. toplogy wouldn't hurt. Lastly, the first edition had many many typos but corrections are frequently updated and you can download them through a website whose address is given in the book (the address in the book has a typo and should read "ucsb").

Very thorough and upto date
The two volumes introduce many important recent developments in string theory not covered in Green, Schwarz & Witten's Superstring text such as D-branes, dualities, etc. However, I found GSW's treatment of basic materials easier to follow because the authors try to explain things intuitively. Although many physical insight in Polchinski's book is sacrificed, it makes up for them through completeness and mathematical rigor. However, I highly recommend that you read Di Francesco et al's conformal field theory book (read chapters 3-7, 10 and 12-13) to get a better feel for stuff like operator state mapping, OPE's, Virasoro algebra, vertex operators, etc. Of course a good course in QFT, GR and some basic familiarity with SUSY, Rep. theory, & some algebraic topology are probably a prereq although Polchinski claims the book is pretty much self-contained. Lastly, the book suffers a little from numerous typos (atleast the 1st edition) but corrections are updated frequently on a ucsb website address.

The best introduction to strings.
I think there is no other book with so clear and precise explanations of string theory. All equations are carefully derived, all non-trivial conclusions are reached by a sequence of trivial thoughts. It exhibits the author's great pedagogical talent. ... Read more

Book Description

"An exceptionally complete overview. There are numerous examples and the emphasis is on applications to almost all areas of science and engineering. There is truly something for everyone here. This reviewer feels that it is a very hard act to follow, and recommends it strongly. [This book] is a jewel." ---Applied Mechanics Review (Review of First Edition)  This expanded and revised second edition is a comprehensive and systematic treatment of linear and nonlinear partial differential equations and their varied applications. Building upon the successful material of the first book, this edition contains updated modern examples and applications from areas of fluid dynamics, gas dynamics, plasma physics, nonlinear dynamics, quantum mechanics, nonlinear optics, acoustics, and wave propagation. Methods and properties of solutions are presented, along with their physical significance, making the book more useful for a diverse readership.Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers, Second Edition is an exceptionally complete and accessible text/reference for graduate students, researchers, and professionals in mathematics, physics, and engineering. It may be used in graduate-level courses, as a self-study resource, or as a research reference. ... Read more

Book Description

A revision of a successful junior/senior level text, this introduction to elementary quantum mechanics clearly explains the properties of the most important quantum systems. Emphasizes the applications of theory, and contains new material on particle physics, electron-positron annihilation in solids and the Mossbauer effect. Includes new appendices on such topics as crystallography, Fourier Integral Description of a Wave Group, and Time-Independent Perturbation Theory. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Clarity makes this book ideal.
This book served as the text for an undergraduate course in quantum physics. It is very readable; Eisberg uses the perfect mix of formal mathematics and qualitative analysis to paint a very coherent picture of quantum mechanics. Each argument is thoughtfully constructed to be both rigorous and lucid. Well worth the price to any serious student of physics.

Clear Introduction to Quantum Physics
I am using Eisberg's and Resnick's text to review quantum physics. I am particularly impressed by the author's development of plausibility arguements for the mathematics before developing the mathematics itself. I found the first couple of chapters a bit laborious, but the succeeding chapters are very well-written. I was particularly impressed by the chapter on Schroedinger's Theory of Quantum Mechanics and the chapter on Solutions of Time-Independent Schroedinger Equations. I found the text particularly useful for self-instruction and review.

Buy Griffiths Instead
This book was confusing, chaotic, and utterly disapointing. If your professor assigns this book I suggest you do not buy it but borrow from a friend. Instead use Griffiths to learn QM. Since moving onto graduate school I have learned just how little I learned from this book. Moreover, I was confused about simple issues in QM which Cohen-Tannoudji quickly and clearly dispelled. This book actually hurt my education. I can not for the life of me understand how anyone could give this book 3, 4, or even 5 stars.

Great introduction, focused on understanding
This book is an excellent introduction to Quantum Physics. This book gives the non-expert reader an insight into the tremendous explanatory power of quantum mechanics. It describes why and how Quantum Mechanics was developed, and it is primarily concerned with the understanding of concepts and ideas, rather than focusing on mathematical techniques. For this reason it might appear a little verbose to some readers.

The first five chapters gives the reader a good insight into the history of Quantum Physics and to why classical mechanics was insufficient. Chapter 6 is an excellent overview of how to solve the Schroedinger Equation in a few specific cases, at the same time as the reader is given a very good "feeling" for how Quantum Mechanics works. The remainder of the chapters focuses on specific situations, applications and phenomena's.

There are plenty of books that use less mathematics, but I do not believe they give a good understanding of the topic. There are also plenty of books that uses a lot more complex mathematics, but they are not for beginners. I recommend this book as an introduction to Quantum Physics for undergraduate physics students, engineers, science professionals, and mathematically literate others.

For reference, these are the chapters in the book:
(1) Thermal Radiation and Plank's Postulate
(2) Photons--Particlelike Properties of Radiation
(3) De Broglie's Postulate--Wavelike Properties of Particles
(4) Bohr's Model of the Atom
(5) Schroedinger's Theory of Quantum Mechanics
(6) Solutions of Time-Independent Schroedinger Equations
(7) One-Electron Atoms
(8) Magnetic Dipole Moments, Spin, and Transition Rates
(9) Multielectron Atoms--Ground States and X-Ray Excitations
(10) Multielectron Atoms--Optical Excitations
(11) Quantum Statistics
(12) Molecules
(13) Solids--Conductors and Semiconductors
(14) Solids--Superconductors and Magnetic Properties
(15) Nuclear Models
(16) Nuclear Decay and Nuclear Reactions
(17) Introduction to Elementary Particles
(18) More Elementary Particles

I liked Appendix A, "The Special Theory of Relativity". In only sixteen pages, the authors succeed to correctly explain the special theory of relativity. I also liked Appendix C, "The Boltzmann Distribution", which was good concise description of classical statistical mechanics (you need to understand it, to understand why it was not good enough).

One of the best
This is one of the best introductory quantum mechanics textbooks. Since the mid-twentieth century, the tendency to avoid philosophical problems in favor of sheer calculation--a tendency supported by Dirac's famous maxim "follow the mathematics"--has resulted in increasingly terse books laden with practical formulae. There may be no returning to the period in which calculation and meditation went hand in hand, but at least this book has enough prose to raise issues of realism and reality, calculability and motivation, discovery and error. I can't imagine the attitude of students (and reviewers!) who prefer the equations alone. ... Read more

Book Description

One appealing feature of string theory is that it provides a theory of quantum gravity. This volume is a self-contained, pedagogical exposition of this theory, its foundations and its basic results. Due to the large amount of background material, actions, solutions and bibliography contained within, this unique book can be used as a reference for research as well as a complementary textbook in graduate courses on gravity, supergravity and string theory. ... Read more

Book Description

This is an introduction to statistical mechanics, intended to be used either in an undergraduate physical chemistry course or by beginning graduate students with little undergraduate background in the subject. It assumes familiarity with thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, the kinetic theory of gases, quantum mechanics and spectroscopy, at the level at which these subjects are normally treated in undergraduate physical chemistry. Highly illustrated with numerous exercises and worked solutions, it provides a concise, up-to-date treatise of statistical mechanics and is ideally suited to use in one semester courses. ... Read more

Amazon.com

How is the human brain like the AIDS epidemic? Ask physicist Albert-László Barabási and he'll explain them both in terms of networks of individual nodes connected via complex but understandable relationships. Linked: The New Science of Networks is his bright, accessible guide to the fundamentals underlying neurology, epidemiology, Internet traffic, and many other fields united by complexity.

Barabási's gift for concrete, nonmathematical explanations and penchant for eccentric humor would make the book thoroughly enjoyable even if the content weren't engaging. But the results of Barabási's research into the behavior of networks are deeply compelling. Not all networks are created equal, he says, and he shows how even fairly robust systems like the Internet could be crippled by taking out a few super-connected nodes, or hubs. His mathematical descriptions of this behavior are helping doctors, programmers, and security professionals design systems better suited to their needs. Linked presents the next step in complexity theory--from understanding chaos to practical applications. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Dimensions and Implications of Global Interconnectedness
Frankly, I found this to be an unusually challenging book to read the first time and therefore re-read it before organizing my thoughts for this review. The Five Star rating correctly indicates my high regard for what Barabasi has accomplished as he attempts to help his reader to think in terms of networks in new and different (probably unfamiliar) ways. His book "is about how networks emerge, what they look like, and how they evolve." With meticulous care, he presents "a Web-based view of nature, society, and business, a new framework for understanding issues ranging from democracy on the Web to vulnerability of the Internet and the spread of deadly viruses." Along the way, Barabasi challenges the concept of "The Random Universe," asserting instead that everything is connected to everything else. He devotes most of his book to explaining the significance of that global interconnectedness to business, science, and everyday life.

As a non-scientist, I am unqualified to comment on much of the material which Barabasi shares. Perhaps he wrote this book for non-scientists such as I who nonetheless struggle to understand what Barabasi characterizes as the "mystery of life" which begins with the intricate web of interactions and thereby integrates the millions of molecules within each organism. "The enigma of the society starts with the convoluted structure of the social network....[For that reason] networks are the prerequisite for describing any complex system, indicating that complexity theory must inevitably stand on the shoulders of network theory. It is tempting to step in the footsteps of some of my predecessors and predict whether and when we will tame complexity." Given all that has been accomplished thus far with regard to disentangling the networks following the discovery of scale-free networks, Barabasi concludes, "Once we stumble across the right vision of complexity, it will take little to bring it to fruition. When [in italics] that will happen is one of the mysteries that keeps many of us going."

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Mark Buchanan's Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks, Stanley Kaufman's At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity as well as The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution, Steven Strogatz' Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order, Duncan J. Watts' Six Degrees: the Science of a Connected Age, and Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind of Science.

I probably should add Ed Regis' The Info Mesa: Science, Business, and the New Alchemy on the Santa Fe Plateau. Regis devotes almost all of his attention to individuals and events who and which, over several decades, had a profound impact on essentially the same subjects as those discussed in the books previously recommended. Also, Regis examines in much greater detail than do the other authors how core concepts about networks and their complexity were introduced to the commercial marketplace by various entrepreneurs.

Great explanatory power!
Nowadays, everybody talks about networks. Yet, what networks really are and how they function, often remains rather vague in conversations. This book offers great insight into the evolution, the structure and the relevance of networks. The author, Albert Barabási, himself a creative and important contributor to network science, makes the rapid and fascinating advances made in this field comprehensible.

Our world is filled with complex networks, webs of highly connected nodes. Not all nodes are equal, however. In fact, in many real-world complex networks, there is a typical hierarchy of nodes (called a POWERLAW DISTRIBUTION). This means there are a few extremely well connected nodes (these are called HUBS), there are quite a few moderately connected nodes and there are large numbers of tiny nodes (having very few connections to other nodes). The Internet, for instance, has only several hubs - like amazon.com and Yahoo - and countless tiny nodes -like my own website :-(.

The structure of networks with a powerlaw distribution is called a SCALEFREE TOPOLOGY. Such a scale free topology is found in networks that 1) are GROWING (extra nodes and links emerge), and 2) are characterised by PREFERENTIAL ATTACHMENT (this means that some links are far more likely to get linked than others). Preferential attachment, is driven by two factors: 1) the number of links the node already has (this is in fact the first mover advantage: a nodes that has been there since the early development of the network gets the biggest chance to get connected), and 2) the node's fitness (for instance a new website offering a truely unique service has an excellent chance to get many links).

A fascinating characteristic of scale free networks is the following. The density of the interconnectivity paradoxically creates two properties at the same time: 1) ROBUSTNESS (removing nodes will not easily lead to the breakdown of the network, precisely because of the fact that all nodes are connected. Only simultaneous removal of the largest hubs will break down the network), and 2) VULNERABILITY TO ATTACK (because of the fact that all nodes are indirectely connected to each other failures, like viruses, can very easily spread through the whole network. This phenomenon is called 'cascading failures'.

Reading this book made me realise that the recently acquired knowledge about networks is revolutionizing many fields of science, like biology, medical science and economics. Also, the practical applications will be numerous, like protecting the internet, fighting terrorist networks, finding a cure for cancer (!), and developing new organizational forms.

A complex world in simple words
This is an excellent book. The author is extremely able to explain difficult concepts about complex systems in a simple and precise manner, using examples from a variety of domains. The richness of applications -- ranging from spread of epidemics to the internet-- is the first strength of the book and of the theory of scale free networks that appear to be a very promising and original tool to understand the web of interactions of complex systems. The second strength is the clarity of writing: a rarity in the scientific world. This book is an example of good writing with the objective of being understood and making science accessible.

A captivating read
I first heard the author speak on NPR. Not only was I enthralled with his intelligence and clarity of thought, I was captivated by the promise of a new perspective on the connectedness of all things, from the sizes of stars in a galaxy to the revolution in internet search engines to the biology of the cell. This book delivers on that promise with insight, wit and style.

Reduction to nodes and links
Albert Barabasi presents the lay reader with a stimulating description of the origins of network theory and recent applications. He describes random networks, small world and scalefree networks. In nonrandom networks the importance of hubs is emphasized. Small world networks are the ones with a well defined averge number of links, and in scalefree ones the density of links scales as a power law. For the many interesting examples discussed, I would like to have seen graphs showing scaling over at least three decades in order to be convinced of scaling. However, in practice, whether a network scales or not may not be so important. I liked best the discussions of terrorism, AIDS, and biology. If one could locate the hubs, then a small world network could be destroyed, but as the author points out there is no systematic method for locating the hubs. Also, destroyed hubs in a terror network might be replaced rather fast, whereas airline hubs could not be replaced so quickly. The book might be seen as indicating a starting point to try to develop a branch of mathematical sociology. For example, the maintainance of ethnic identity outside the Heimat is discussed in terms of networking. Now for a little criticism.

I did not find the discussion of ‚the rich get richer' very helpful because network theory at this stage deals only with static geometry, not with empirically-based dynamics. In fact, the dynamics of financial markets have been described empirically accurately without using any notion of networking. In the text the phrase „economic stability" is used but stability is a dynamic idea, and there is no known empirical evidence from the analysis of real markets for any kind of stability. The absence of dynamics on networks means that complexity is not described at all: there is nothing complex about the geometry of a static network! Suggesting that cell biology can be described by networking is empty so long as dynamics are not deduced from empirics. Nonempirical models of dynamics will probably not be of much use for making advances in understanding or treating cancer, e.g. Everything we know about cell biology and cancer was discovered via reductionism, by isolating cause and effect the way that a good auto mechanic does in order to repair a car.

Unfortunately, the author lets his enthusiasm get the best of him when he proclaims „laws of self-organization" and the need to go beyond reductionism. First, there are no known laws of „self-organization". The only known laws of nature are the laws of physics and consequences deduced from the laws, namely, chemistry and cell biology. Worse, every mathematical model that can be written down is a form of reductionism. Quantum theory reduces phenomena to (explains phenomena via) atoms and molecules. All of chemistry is about that. Cell biology attempts to reduce observed phenomena to DNA, proteins, and cells. Believers in self-organized criticality try to reduce the important features of nature to the equivalent of sandpiles. Network enthusiasts hope to reduce phenomena to nodes and links. In order to try to isolate cause and effect, there is no escape from reductionism of one form or another, holism being an empty illusion. So I did not at all like the assertion on pg. 200 that globalization (via deregulation and privatization) is inevitable, because there is no law that tells us that it is.

Summarizng: there is no complexity without dynamics, there are no known „laws of self-organization", and reductionism is the only hope for doing science. Anyone who disagrees with this is welcome to explain to me and others the alternative (jmccauley@uh.edu). ... Read more

Book Description

Directed towards students without in-depth mathematical training, this text is intended to assist engineering and physical science students in cultivating comprehensive skills in linear static and dynamic finite element methodology. Included are a comprehensive presentation and analysis of algorithms of time-dependent phenomena plus beam, plate, and shell theories derived directly from 3-dimensional elasticity theory. An ideal primer for more advanced works on this subject. Brief Glossary of Notations.
... Read more

Reviews (12)

An excellent book on FEM for graduates or professionals
The Finite Element Methodology though conceptually simple (eat the elephant by chopping it up into mouthfuls), becomes somewhat invloved when applied, because the of tricks used to get solutions, after all you still may have to solve 100,000 PDEs to get your approximate solution to an otherwise intractable problem. So in its own way FEM can become a bit of a pachyderm itself.

This book is very good, but be aware that this book is aimed at graduate physical-science/engineering students. This means that you know how to solve basic second order differential equations and understand how to perform path integrals for example.

This book is aimed at people who would like to be able to write their own FEM solver. If you are looking to gain some backgrounding in how to construct finite element models using a program to solve problems, this book is probably much more than you need. You might want to try the "Schaum's Outline of Finite Element Analysis" if this is your objective.

DLearn is available from the www.zace.com/dlearn.htm or by typing
"Dlearn program"
into google and following the link.

Great Buy, good value for your $$$
An excellent reference book from one of the gurus of FEM. It's more mathematically oriented than most, but it gives you a good insight into the math , which is the foundation of all FEM.
Great bargain for the price.

Response to Sylmar, CA reviewer
The reviewer who said that the software is not available from the ZACE website is incorrect. Go to www.zace.com and click on "Home Page." There you will be able to download DLEARN for free in addition to a
C++ finite element code.

excellent book
an excellent,and also one of the best several books in FEM, definitely. But you need to invest much time to read and understand those math and theories behind the FE, then you can only get the really good insight into the subject.

Good, but....
The first reviewer states that the code is available for download. The text references this non existant code throughout the entire volume but it cannot be found anywhere. The site referenced in the book;
"NOTE: The software described in this book may be downloaded from www.zace.com",
does not have the download although it does have a reference to a high cost seminar in Europe by the author. Also, this site refuses eMail inquiries. I finally gave up and purchased the older hard copy version which at least has the "old" source for DLEARN. Other than this frustrating nonsence by the author, it is a good FEA study. ... Read more

Book Description

'An excellent text....The postulates of quantum mechanics and the mathematical underpinnings are discussed in a clear, succint manner.'--American Scientist, from a review of the First Edition The author introduces major additions and updates key presentations in the long-awaited new edition of this classic text. New features of the Second Edition include an entirely rewritten mathematical introduction, a discussion of Time-reversal invariance, and extensive coverage of a variety of path integrals and their applications. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Pure delight!
Shankar's text is a true marvel. I could never expect to come across such a clear and thrilling expose of quantum mechanics for undergraduates. This book deserves much appraisal because it is extremely self-contained, reasonably rigorous, and the tour is but wholly satisfying. The book starts with a good chapter on the algebra used in QM, the mathematical principles. This is followed by a review of classical mechanics, which reminds us of the limitations of classical physics and where and when QM comes into play. Then, Feynman's path integral formulation follows immediately, and further chapters deal with perturbation theory (time dependent and independent), and scattering theory. The last chapter, which is the most exciting, covers more material of path integrals. This book is well-suited for those who want to learn quantum mechanics the modern way, without sacrificing relevant details and harmony. I started with Messiah's QM text, itself a classic, but after having read the first 3 chapters in Shankar's, I couldn't but put Messiah's aside and give myself to the pleasure of studying this beautiful book. But with Shankar's, Messiah's and Feynman's (Lectures on Physics vol3) texts, one can easily master quantum mechanics in a most delightful way.

A very thorough and readable introduction to QM.
Dr. Shankar's book on Quantum Mechanics is the best introduction to QM I've ever read (and I've tried to read several!). Although the book contains a very thorough first chapter introducing the mathematical machinery of QM, it doesn't get bogged down in mathematical details that mystify the beginner. As a second year master's student in physics, I was delighted to discover a book that I could read on my own so as to fill in the (unfortunately many!) gaps in my understanding of QM. I recommend it to anyone trying to learn QM on their own and encourage any professor teaching an advanced undergraduate course on the subject to seriously consider using this book as the course text. I only wish that I had seen it as an undergrad!

Excellent
This is a great book, one of the two best science books I read (the other is Willard's "General Topology"). Shankar delivers the correct combination of mathematical rigor and physical intuition. Also, the book covers a great deal of material.

Some specific suggestions, especially for someone new to QM:

1) Pay special attention to Chapters 5 and 7. They are somewhat more difficult than the other chapters in the first part of the book, but are VERY important.

2) One of the book's many advantages is that it's self-contained. But if you're looking for a complement, or rather a different approach, I suggest to also look at the Feynman Lecture Notes, Vol. 3.

Remarkably clear and self-contained
One major complaint I have about many textbooks is that they are not particularly self-contained: often times the texts simply don't develop the subjects you need to know to read the book, instead depending on other texts to do so. To some extent I understand this, you can't teach somebody everything they need to know about differential equations in the first chapter of a classical mechanics book and still leave space for classical mechanics.

This text addresses that issue perfectly. The introductory section on linear algebra stands by itself very well, and in my opinion is at least as good as the opening sections of Sakurai on linear algebra. It also provides a section on Hamiltonian and Lagrangian mechanics, which the reader can either skip and refer to later or read through, without really disrupting the continuity of the book.

All well and good, it sets up the background for quantum mechanics very well, but the key point is how it addresses quantum mechanics itself. And I have to say that it addresses the subject elegantly. It provides well-written sections that are actually entertaining to read, and presents each problem with the brevity it deserves. With the free particle, Shankar simply gives the propagator and procedes to the next section, which is about all that can be done for the free particle, since the energy eigenstates are not normalizeable. The treatment of the quantum harmonic oscillator is among the most complete I've ever seen, approaching it from every possible angle and devoting an entire chapter to the varied solutions.

And all this is done with a great deal of clarity. If the text comes across something you might not understand, Shankar stops and discusses it for a page, going into the physical implications of various solutions and theorems, making you feel comfortable that you actually understand the results and are not merely quoting them.

In some areas it seems like Shankar holds back on things, and if you want a little group theory in your quantum you'll have to go to another source to supplement, Sakurai comes to mind. But the Shankar can stand alone as the best overall quantum mechanics textbook I have ever read.

best quantum mechanics book
Quite simply this is the best quantum mechanics textbook yet written. The clarity in this book is astounding. Things that had previously seemed completely obscure and difficult are explained here perfectly. Nice layout puts all mathematical background first so you can tackle the physics more efficiently later. Excellent review of lagrangian and hamiltonian mechanics before diving into QM. Again, that part of the book is clearer than any other I've read. Personally, I don't understand why this book isn't being used to teach QM everywhere. Its simply heads and shoulders above all other books. Sakuri, Griffiths, Cohen-Tannoudji, Liboff, they all seem like haphazard messy books compared to this one in my view. If you are a grad student, get it as a supplementary self-study book. For an undergrad its a must. Well actually I'd say its a must for grad students too. Would be nice if the author wrote more textbooks on other areas of physics, because clearly he is gifted in this area, and writing and explaining well is something sorely lacking among most physicists. ... Read more

Book Description

This book focuses on the technology of D-branes in Superstring and M-theory, presenting the main ideas and recent discoveries in a pedagogical manner. It will serve as an introduction to welcome and guide newcomers to this exciting field, and an indispensible reference for seasoned practitioners. The book starts by introducing the key features of string theory and the theoretical tools needed to get to grips with D-branes. It then builds up the subject in a logical way, discussing further aspects of string theory and advanced applications as the text progresses. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great book... once all the errors are corrected.
While it provides a (in some sense) self-contained introduction to string theory, it is no secret that this was not the intended focus of this text (as indicated even by its title), so prior knowledge of string theory would be highly beneficial. It does however provide a novel viewpoint from which it introduces string theory, and it is so far the best/only text on D-Branes, which is a subject that has become vitally entangled with string theory, so it is worth reading for anyone in the field.

Unfortunately, the deal-breaker is that there are many non-trivial errors throughout the text, which makes it difficult to be sure you understand what you think you are learning. A positive outlook comes from the fact that the author has an errata webpage where errors are being collected, so maybe there will be a future printing with most errors corrected that would deserve 4 or 5 stars.

A very good introduction
I haven't read this book in any great detail, but I have read certain sections of it, and leafed through the entire content. I think this is a very good introduction to certain aspects of string theory with an emphasis on D-branes. There is no way that any single textbook can cover the entire theory, starting from the oscillator formalism, and all the way to the most recent developments. The subject is simply too enormous for that.

This book is a highly commendable effort by the author. We need more such books.

Really Useful!
This is the book I was waiting for. I know some string theory before, and this got me back into it fast, and then on to D-branes and supergravity and things like that. String duality and D-brane black holes is what I wanted to know more about and it is introduce and explained just great! And there is lots of discussion and other explanation of many other topics. The book is good at connecting many topics together in a useful way.

An great introduction to the subject
...If you want an intoduction to string theory, sure you should start with G,S & W or Polchinski. However, D-branes are hardly covered in these texts and I found this book a great entry point for this subject. How are you going to learn about AdS/CFT, black holes, F-theory etc by sticking to those other books?

Superficial
Stick to Polchinski, and Green, Schwarz, Witten. Books written by authors that actually have a grasp of the subject. ... Read more

Book Description

The purpose of this book is to provide an introduction to the concepts of statistical analysis of data for students at the undergraduate and graduate level, and to provide tools for data reduction and error analysis commonly required in the physical sciences.The presentation is developed from a practical point of view, including enough derivation to justify the results, but emphasizing methods of handling data more than theory.The text provides a variety of numerical and graphical techniques. Computer programs that support these techniques will beavailable on an accompanying website in both Fortran and C++. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

misprint and misleading!!
There are lots of misleading in Ch. 3. - Specific error formulas. See the original Bevington's 1st ed., and compare the formulas. I think this misleading should be corrected. Standard deviation is ALWAYS positive!!..

Great Book
I make measurements frequently and this book is great for providing the background to analyze your data.

I took undergraduate level statistics and it never really gave the practical applied background in how to analyze data. It merely presented concepts and presumed you knew how and why to apply them. This book is very good at helping you to understand the how and why.

I have read a number of other statistics book in search of the practical applied information provided in this book and did not find it in the other books.

The writing is clear and consice. There is enough background provided for even those unexposed to statistics.

I have not tried the software. Most of the formulas are easy to apply and can be implemented in simple programs or spreadsheets in very little time.

In short, I recommend this book to anyone making measurements of any kind.

"Updated" classic, but still vintage '92
Robinson's second edition continues the late Bevington's tradition of clear and concise writing, making this book a priceless reference for scientists. Robinson has added discussions of modern problems such as resolving closely-spaced peaks in a spectrum. The new version also adds chapters on Monte Carlo techniques and maximum-likelihood analysis, both powerful tools for data analysis made possible by better computers.

The chapter structure has been modified considerably, so those who have grown comfortable with the first edition over the past decades may not be able to find things as easily. Other than that, most of the weaknesses are computer-related. Much has changed even since 1992.

Robinson added an appendix on graphical presentation. This sounds promising but is a pretty trivial discussion of when to use linear or logarithmic axes and the advantages of a historgram. Might be useful for a very young student, but these days playing with such things is easy in any graphing program.

Many of the computer code snippets have been removed. Most of them were only a few lines of code with lots of comment lines anyway. The codes that remain have been moved from the main text to a densely-packed appendix, which makes them more difficult to study while reading the text.

The codes themselves have been updated from old FORTRAN to a structured language, but I would have preferred C or FORTRAN 90 over the chosen PASCAL. The latter may be useful for undergraduate students, but I've never seen a PASCAL compiler in a working physics lab.

The included disk is a now-obsolete 5.25" floppy. I had to hunt for a machine that could read it and copy over to a 3.5" disc. The text claims repeatedly that the disc has both FORTRAN 77 and PASCAL routines on it, but my copy only has the PASCAL.

In the end, it's the textual content that is important, and this book is a fantastic basic discussion of data analysis and statistics for students and a great reference for the practicing scientist.

A classic returned!
Bevington's first edition of this book dates to the late 60's when Fortran ruled the world. I was crushed when I lost my copy in the mid 70's and am delighted to find he's written a modern updated edition! ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (5)

Clear but technical
This book, of which I studied the first four chapters for an independent study course (I'm a senior undergrad) are very clear, very full, but beware it is mathematics and it is technical.

To appriciate the material you really should have a year of "advanced calculus" also called "intro. real analysis" at some places. This means the formalities of limits, continuity, derivatives, integration and series. This will prepare you to understand and work through the proofs in the text.

The problems are nice since they are varied (computational, physics, and proofs) and they do come with many answers and some hints, but you might find that having a mechanics book at your side motivates some of the problems.

Work hard, be thorough and there's a lot of important ideas in this text, with chapter 4 being especially relevant to physicists (lots of mechanics and conservation theorems!).

The best "introductory" book in Variational Calculus.
Readable books on Calculus of Variations are hard to come by, if not non-existent. This is one of the clearest and most readable and self-contained books in the topic. I used it in a fourth year course at Simon Fraser University, BC, Canada. This is an introductory book meant for undergraduates and it is very well suited for this level. I strongly recommend that all serious students in Physics, Chemistry, engineering, and computing science to take a serious look at the book as a starting point in studying this most underated and relevant topic as a necessary mathematical foundation. Virtually all fundamental laws of Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering have their origins from some form of variational prinicples. If anyone is interested in pursuing this topic, this should definitely be the first book one should read. The student should be equipped with at least one introductory course in Real Ananlysis in order to start studying Variational Calculus. Otherwise, the readable may not find this book readable. Just a practical (cook-book) style applied mathematics course in Calculus and Differential Equations is inadequate as preparation to study this topic. I most sincerely congratulate the author in having done such a superbly well organized job in writing such a highly readable book in this challenging and important topic.

A great book by a great mathematician
Gelfand was one of the leaders of the great school of mathematics which, somehow, thrived in Soviet Union. I used uncountable times the copy of our library, as the original English edition, in the excellent translation of R. Silvermann, became very hard to find. I put it in the top of the list of books I wanted to buy. Now Dover put it into their catalogue. Great choice. I already ordered my copy!
This is the best book on the Calculus of Variations. It contains, for instance, a wonderful treatment of Noether's theorem, hardly to be surpassed. The Hamilton-Jacobi equation is also treated with brilliance and clarity. Gelfand (and Fomin!) developed a style in which the precision of the mathematics does not interfere with the general panorama. The applications are very well selected and perfectly illustrate the theory. A great book, a great mathematician who can write, a great translator, by less than 10 bucks!

Another great Silverman translation from the russian
I used this book for a first year grad course in the calculus of variations some years ago. I found the book to be clear and pretty readable. I found the problem sets to be quite workable and covered the material well. I liked the fact that there were answers to many of them. The book is more rigourous than the treatments of this subjects found in math methods books like arfken but it is not highly abstract. (a style found in many math books at this level, and more difficult for me, not a professional mathematician, but a scientist) In fact I have found this quality to be a characteristic of most of the russian applied mathematics books translated by Richard Silverman, many of which are now published by Dover. This practical, clear, and rigourous approach of these books is excellent and I think almost all of these books on Dover have found their way onto my shelves.

an excellent introduction into the subject
This book is intended primarily for graduate students with math background who wish to expand their applied math skills. Originally a Russian textbook, it offers an excellent overview of the theoretical background for the field without real heavy mathematics. All that is required is knowledge of calculus and a little ODE/PDE. Many classical examples, has an introduction to applications such as analytical mechanics, optimal control theory and approximate solution methods. The last edition I am aware of is pretty old, so this book should be tough to come by. A new edition would be welcome, with more examples and other applications. ... Read more

Book Description

The best way to penetrate the subtleties of the theory of integration is by solving problems. This book, like its two predecessors, is a wonderful source of interesting and challenging problems. As a resource, it is unequaled. It offers a much richer selection than is found in any current textbook. Moreover, the book includes a complete set of solutions.

This is the third volume of Problems in Mathematical Analysis. The topic here is integration for real functions of one real variable. The first chapter is devoted to the Riemann and the Riemann-Stieltjes integrals. Chapter 2 deals with Lebesgue measure and integration.

The authors include some famous, and some not so famous, inequalities related to Riemann integration. Many of the problems for Lebesgue integration concern convergence theorems and the interchange of limits and integrals. The book closes with a section on Fourier series, with a concentration on Fourier coefficients of functions from particular classes and on basic theorems for convergence of Fourier series. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The product of an agreeably dotty cleric named Edwin Abbott Abbott and first published in 1884, Flatland distills all that the Victorian era knew of higher mathematics--and then some--into a witty, complex novel of ideas.

Ian Stewart, the author of the equally witty sequel, Flatterland--which adds to Abbott's store of science the key discoveries made since--does a superb job of explaining the original book's enigmas, allusions, ironies, implausibilities, and what Douglas Hofstadter would call "metamagical themas." Among other things, Stewart comments on Abbott's comments on such things as the nature/nurture controversy, the fourth dimension and beyond, the role of multidimensional spaces in economic systems, infinite series and perfect squares, celestial mechanics, and other matters close to the hearts of cosmologists and science buffs alike.

Stewart's notes make an entertaining and learned addition to an already classic bit of writing--one that has never been out of print since its first publication. For both devoted Abbott fans and newcomers to his work, this is the edition to have. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A true classic!
Written over a hundred years ago, this book by Edwin A. Abbott is still by far the best introduction to the mathematics of many dimensions. This does not mean that it is a college-text-type of math books that contain complicated derivations and proofs. It is a novel. Ian Stewart's commentary makes it even easier to understand. Even the appendix written by Stewart is a valuable read which gives a brief intro to 4-dimensional mathematics.

A book for all philosophy fans
I understand this book was written by a mathematician and possesses a juvenalian look at Victorian satire- but this book is so much more!! It is philosophy embedded in delicious metaphor and social commentary threaded in the tapestry of extended metaphor. And who said math was boring? This book is a must for every intellectual!!

Intellectual Fun with Commentary
Flatland is a novel originally published in 1884 by Edwin A. Abbott. It is told from the point of view of A. Square, that four-sided resident of the titular country. The first part of the book consists of a description of what it is like to live in a two-dimensional world. The second part concerns A. Square's encounter with a sphere and his subsequent "visions" of pointland, lineland and spaceland.

The purpose of this novel is two-fold: to introduce the casual reader into the concepts of multi-dimensional spaces (i.e. what will become the concept of four dimensional space-time) and to provide social commentary on Victorian society. I cannot comment much on what he achieves in terms of opening the eyes of the Victorian reader to the ills of that society; however, I find his ability to illuminate the concepts of dimensionality extra-ordinary. As a math and physics teacher, I am always looking for ways to open my students' minds to visualizing what they are doing. Even after well over 100 years, few people have approached Abbott's clarity in helping people visualize the difference between different dimensions. One of the best examples: a square only "looks" like a square to someone who can see in three dimensions. A square itself, trapped in a plane, would see another square (or, indeed, any figure) only as a line. This leads to intriguing thoughts on what creatures who live in higher dimensions than our own see as they look at us.

Of course, the story of Flatland alone is wonderful but Stewart's annotation and commentary take the book to another level. On nearly every page, Stewart offers insight and background into the text. Unable to resist the pun: he added another dimension to the book. Having read Flatland many years ago and enjoyed it, I felt I understood the book much better this time around with Stewart's help. Anyone with an interest in math and physics should not pass up the opportunity to read this edition of Flatland.

An Excellent Classic
Contrary to this silly form I am actully 14. I am an eighth grader and I read this for my Algebra 1 class. I fell in love with it instanly. The themes, ideas, and satires all intertwined create one of the best books ever written. The paralle of the unique twist between Euclidian and Non-Euclidian and the satire of Victorian England are wonderful. This book makes you both laugh-out-loud and cry, but most of all it makes you think. Edwin Abbot Abbot was not only a mathamatican but also a brillent liggest. His pros style makes the book all the better... BUY THIS BRILLENT BOOK

Flatland is boring
Flatland is for advanced students -seniors and up- who are participating in a physchological study class. This book warps your thinking about the geometric rules. Unfortunately, it is written in such a way that even if you are a very concentrated reader, you cannot read a paragraph withouth being distracted. The diction in this story is made to be boring. A teacher assigned freshmen students-in high school- to read this and everyone complained because it literally takes and hour to get through a couple of pages. You must also reread the text to find some sort of meaning. This book is not meant for anyone under 18 and is certainly not enjoyable for leisurely purposes. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

courant studied mechanics and mathematics
i noted this book (the asia private edition) when i was a junior student taking engineering math III. now i note vol.1 is for vibration phenomenon, while vol.2 is for wave phenomenon. the material is over a century. birth day is 1924, while the golden age of quantum mechanics is 1925. a modern mathematican wrote the biography of courant said that many physictists surprised that courant could write the tool for quantum mechanics (wave mechanics) before the birth of quantum mechanics. i do not surprised ,because vol.1 is for vibration phenomenon of mechanics, it is also over a century ago knowledge. the real thing is that man use the usual form of thinking and used the unique avaiable tool for the formulation of quantum mechanics. but there exist another state vector, matrix form of quantum mechanics. this advanced classis is for math phD and researcher. one way to study this classic is via mathematics, while another way is via mechanics concept, but when you can study it via both ways, you are great.

This book is a classics, but perhaps not exhaustive
I think that this book is better in its original german than in english langauge. As to its content, it may perhaps not include all items of this thema, but the items include are treated with genius. The lack of problems to solve may be a draw back, but for me that is not much trouble because there are many books with many problems to solve. The interest of this book lies in its being a source book, though historically written down in 1924, it still mantains its beauty and its present mathematical value.

This bookisfamous, but cannnot be described as classics.
I brought this book ( volume 2 also as well ) because of its " fame ", but when I read it, it has several draw backs. First, may be the original vesion is in German, so even with good translation, it seem does not fit in the usual English style we get used to .Also the topics it choose is too few and also the area covered is too narrow and not well co-ordinated. For example, the whole volumme I is almost dedicated to Calculus of variation only. In volume 2, the whole book is dedicted to differentiation equations. But that is not the greatest drawback. The most bad point is that the book just presents formulae after formulae, equations after equations, without giving examples of how to use it,and also no exercise for me to practice. Compared the the timeless classic " A course of mordern analysis " by Whittaker and Watson, it is definitely at a lower level. This book cannot be described as " classics ". ... Read more

Book Description

All there is to know about functional analysis, integral equations and calculus of variations in a single volume.

This advanced textbook is divided into two parts: The first on integral equations and the second on the calculus of variations. It begins with a short introduction to functional analysis, including a short review of complex analysis, before continuing a systematic discussion of different types of equations, such as Volterra integral equations, singular integral equations of Cauchy type, integral equations of the Fredholm type, with a special emphasis on Wiener-Hopf integral equations and Wiener-Hopf sum equations.

After a few remarks on the historical development, the second part starts with an introduction to the calculus of variations and the relationship between integral equations and applications of the calculus of variations. It further covers applications of the calculus of variations developed in the second half of the 20th century in the fields of quantum mechanics, quantum statistical mechanics and quantum field theory.

Throughout the book, the author presents over 150 problems and exercises ¿ many from such branches of physics as quantum mechanics, quantum statistical mechanics, and quantum field theory ¿ together with outlines of the solutions in each case. Detailed solutions are given, supplementing the materials discussed in the main text, allowing problems to be solved making direct use of the method illustrated. The original references are given for difficult problems. The result is complete coverage of the mathematical tools and techniques used by physicists and applied mathematicians

Intended for senior undergraduates and first-year graduates in science and engineering, this is equally useful as a reference and self-study guide. ... Read more