MOTION MOUINTAIN - The Adventure of Physics
Un’opera divulgativa, ma nemmeno troppo, di oltre 1300 pagine, disponibile gratuitamente in formato PDF (in inglese):
http://www.motionmountain.net/benvenuti.html
Contents
Preface 20
An appetizer 23
First Part : Classical Physics – How Do Things and Images Move?
Chapter I Galilean Motion 28
- Why should we care about motion? 28
- Galilean physics – motion in everyday life 42
- Global descriptions of motion – the simplicity of complexity 175
- From the limitations of physics to the limits of motion 271
Chapter II Special Relativity 283
- Maximum speed, observers at rest, and motion of light 283
Chapter III Gravitation and Relativity 357
- Maximum force – general relativity in one statement 357
- ¿e new ideas on space, time and gravity 385
- Motion in general relativity – bent light and wobbling vacuum 405
- Why can we see the stars? – Motion in the universe 445
- Black holes – falling forever 484
- Does space dieer from time? 499
- General relativity in ten points – a summary for the layman 505
Chapter IV Classical Electrodynamics 525
- Liquid electricity, invisible elds and maximum speed 525
- What is light? 568
- Charges are discrete – the limits of classical electrodynamics 607
- Electromagnetic eeects 610
- Classical physics in a nutshell – one and a half steps out of three 628
Intermezzo The Brain, Language and the Human Condition 647
Second Part : Quantum Theory – What Is Matter? What Are Interac-
tions?
Chapter V Quanta of Light and Matter 720
- Minimum action – quantum theory for poets 720
- Light – the strange consequences of the quantum of action 735
- Motion of matter – beyond classical physics 753
- Colours and other interactions between light and matter 771
Chapter VI Permutation of Particles 791
- Are particles like gloves? 791
- Rotations and statistics – visualizing spin 800
Chapter VII Details of Quantum Theory and Electromagnetism 813
- Superpositions and probabilities – quantum theory without ideology 813
- Applied quantum mechanics – life, pleasure and the means to achieve them 836
- Quantum electrodynamics – the origin of virtual reality 876
- Quantum mechanics with gravitation – the rst approach 890
Chapter VIII Inside the Nucleus 919
- ¿e structure of the nucleus – the densest clouds 919
- ¿e strong nuclear interaction and the birth of matter 943
- ¿e weak nuclear interaction and the handedness of nature 959
- ¿e standard model of elementary particle physics – as seen on television 964
- Grand unication – a simple dream 964
Chapter IX Advanced Quantum Theory (not yet available) 971
Chapter X Quantum Physics in a Nutshell 973
Intermezzo Bacteria, Flies and Knots 991
Third Part : Motion Without Motion – What Are Space, Time and
Particles?
Chapter XI General Relativity Versus Quantum Theory 1018
- Does matter dieer from vacuum? 1020
- Nature at large scales – is the universe something or nothing? 1053
- ¿e physics of love – a summary of the rst two-and-a-half parts 1076
- Maximum force and minimum distance – physics in limit statements 1088
- ¿e shape of points – extension in nature 1119
- String theory – a web of dualities 1146
Chapter XII Unification (not yet available) 1153
Chapter XIII The Top of the Mountain (not yet available) 1155
Fourth Part : Appendices
Appendix A Notation and Conventions 1158
Appendix B Units, Measurements and Constants 1170
Appendix C Particle Properties 1190
Appendix D Numbers and Spaces 1210
Appendix E Sources of Information on Motion 1244
Appendix F Challenge Hints and Solutions 1250
Appendix G List of Illustrations 1306
Appendix H List of Tables 1323
Appendix I Name Index 1326
Appendix J Subject Index 1352