Customer Reviews (2)

A masterpiece
It isn't often that one comes across books of this calibre: Friedman has put together nothing short of a masterpiece. His depth and clarity of exposition are laudable, and so are his findings.

In an impressive effort, Friedman has found his way through the intricate and tangled maze--or mess--that spacetime physics and philosophy has become. The most important revelation to be learnt is in what sense theoretical spacetime remains an absolute and literal reality despite its unobservability: on the one hand, general relativity did not achieve a relativization of all motion (or Mach's programme), and in it acceleration remains an absolute concept; on the other, spacetime can be granted physical reality (rather than it being a mere mathematical representation) due to its theoretical unifying power.

Friedman's book exceeded my already high expectations. In a time in which lousy scientific writing has become commonplace, it is an utmost pleasure to stumble upon a book such as this one. To put it in a nutshell, this book is enlightening in an extraordinary way. Superb!

Comfort food for the scientific scrounger
The complexity of the mathematics of General Relativity produce an unfortunate side-effect: however satisfying they are from an aesthetic viewpoint, dealing with their rigour obscures the philosophical basis of their development.

Friedman does an admirable job of investigating the currents of early twentieth century thought that led Einstein down the particular road he chose, via a number of useful visualizations made by clear and surprisingly elegant prose and clean math, without dumbing down the science involved in the name of science 'popularization.'

In short, Friedman does an excellent job of presenting the 'why' of relativity, rather than just the 'how'. ... Read more

Product Description
The theorems of Hawking and Penrose show that space-times are likely to contain incomplete geodesics. Such geodesics are said to end at a singularity if it is impossible to continue the space-time and geodesic without violating the usual topological and smoothness conditions on the space-time. In this book the different possible singularities are defined, and the mathematical methods needed to extend the space-time are described in detail. The results obtained (many appearing here for the first time) show that singularities are associated with a lack of smoothness in the Riemann tensor. While the Friedmann singularity is analysed as an example, the emphasis is on general theorems and techniques rather than on the classification of particular exact solutions. ... Read more

Product Description
Fundamentals of Space Systems was developed to satisfy two objectives: the first is to provide a text suitable for use in an advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate course in both space systems engineering and space system design. The second is to be a primer and reference book for space professionals wishing to broaden their capabilities to develop, manage the development, or operate space systems. The authors of the individual chapters are practicing engineers that have had extensive experience in developing sophisticated experimental and operational spacecraft systems in addition to having experience teaching the subject material. The text presents the fundamentals of all the subsystems of a spacecraft missions and includes illustrative examples drawn from actual experience to enhance the learning experience.It included a chapter on each of the relevant major disciplines and subsystems including space systems engineering, space environment, astrodynamics, propulsion and flight mechanics, attitude determination and control, power systems, thermal control, configuration management and structures, communications, command and telemetry, data processing, embedded flight software, survuvability and reliability, integration and test, mission operations, and the initial conceptual design of a typical small spacecraft mission. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Experts Define the State of the Art in Spacecraft Design
This book is on the design of spacecraft. In order to have the most up to date information available, each chapter is written by an expert in the particular field covered by that chapter. Looking at the brief introduction of the writers shows that most of them have been involved in the design of actual spacecraft for the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. These people have been actually working on the subjects they discuss.

This is the second edition of the book, published in 2005 to reflect the latest changes in the technology and science of spacecraft systems engineering that have occurred since the publication of the first edition.

Second an attempt has been made to make the material more suitable for a space systems course as a prerequisite to a senior class project to design and perhaps build and launch a spacecraft or spacecraft instrument.

The structure of the book is to break down the spacecraft into a number of sub-systems to a depth that should permit the reader to carry out a conceptual design.

This book describes the state of the art as it exists for spacecraft design. ... Read more

Product Description
These notes are the contents of a lecture course given tothird year physics undergraduates at the Imperial College who aretaking the theoretical physics option. The subject of "Algebra andGroups'' is of considerable importance in a number of branches ofmodern theoretical physics, and therefore one major objective of thecourse is to introduce the students to the basic ideas on the subject,bearing in mind the potential applications to quantum theory. However,another equally important aim of the course is to introduce thestudent to the art of genuine "mathematical'' thinking. The notes aretherefore written in a more precise mathematical style than is usuallythe case in courses aimed at physics students. Quite apart from thegeneral educational value of such an exposure to abstract thinking, itis also the case that much modern theoretical physics draws onsophisticated ideas from pure mathematics and therefore it is mostimportant that a perspective graduate student can approach thesesubjects without experiencing a total culture shock! The course isdivided into three parts. The first is a short introduction to generalgroup theory, with particular emphasis being placed on the matrix Liegroups that play such a crucial role in modern theoreticalphysics. The second part deals with the theory of vector spaces, withparticular attention being paid to the theory of Hilbert spaces andthe basic analytical techniques that are needed to handle the infinitedimensional situation. The final part of the course is a shortintroduction to the theory of group representations and the associatedtheory of characters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

EXCELENT INTRO to general group theory for physicists
The book has 3 parts: 50 pages of basic introduction to general group theory including matrix Lie groups, 50 pages on vector spaces including infinite dimensional Hilbert spaces, and 50 pages on group representations and characters. Also there are 40 problems (at the necessary beginner level to help you digest the new concepts) with detailed solutions. The material was selected as a preparation to group theory in Quantum Mechanics. It is NOT a discussion of the usage of groups in QM and Elementary Particles.

Amazingly, the book combines rigor (almost all theorems are proven, also you are asked to construct proofs in the exercises) with ahuman-language motivation of the definitions. Thus, the typical dryness of a mathbook or the typical hand-waving of a physics book have been avoided.

Before reading that book, I have had a one quarter course in group theory that covered approximately the same topics. Compared to the course, the book not only gives you the definitions but also makes you understand why a concept is important, thus beating the hell out of the course.

If you learned about Hilbert spaces from a Quantum Mechanics course and you think you know everything about them - you are deeply wrong - read and see ...

You can read that slim book and solve all the problems in a reasonable pace for one month - 3 times faster than a course and you will know the same material at better level.

I am amazed that nobody has written a review on that book before but as usually happens good things are not necessarily well known. ... Read more

Product Description
Designed as a text for upper-level undergraduate and first-year graduate students, this volume attempts to establish the curriculum for the modern student entering the fledgling field of space physics. The book provides a broad, yet selective, treatment of the subject, covering virtually all aspects of space plasmas in the solar system.There are sections on the sun and solar wind, the magnetized and unmagnetized planets, and the fundamental process of space plasmas including shocks, plasma waves, ULF waves, wave-particle interactions, and auroral processes.In addition to emphasizing analysis, the authors also place importance on underlying phenomenology with extensive attention to observations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Unbelievable
This book has everything that anyone could ever want as a reference for anything related to Space physics.Love the graphics and easy tounderstand text.

Great book but needs to be updated
This book is an excellant introduction to the field of Space Physics. Unfortunately, it has not been updated since its original publication. It would be nice to have the results of the extensive research that has been done since then incorporated into a new edition of this book. Even so, I have not come across any other books published since then that are nearly as good. When I bought my copy ten years ago, I would certainly have given it 5 stars.

Space Physics?OH YEAH!
When I'm in the mood for a little exploration of stellar structure or maybe some light magnetohydrodynamics, this is the first thing I grab off the shelf.It's kept me interested and not at all wanting to gouge my eyeballs out for weeks!

Introduction to Space Physics
This is a very comprehensive book. It is excellent if you are beginer who knows basic electricity and magnetism, but have not dealt with space plasmas. ... Read more

Product Description

This book is a comprehensive guide to the physics and observations of Radio Recombination Lines from astronomical sources, written for astronomers, physicists, and graduate students. It is suitable for a graduate-level textbook. It includes the history of RRL detections, the astrophysics underlying their intensities and line shapes including topics like departures from LTE and Stark broadening, the maximum possible size of an atom, as well as detailed descriptions of the astronomical topics for which RRLs have proved to be effective tools.

The text includes more than 250 equations and 110 illustrations. It also contains hundreds of specific references to the astronomical literature to enable readers to explore additional details. The appendix includes supplementary information such as the detailed physics underlying the Bohr atomic model, tables of RRL frequencies including fine structure components, techniques for calculating hydrogenic oscillator strengths, FORTRAN code for calculating departure coefficients, and a discussion with formulas for converting observational (telescope) intensity units to astrophysical ones.

"We now have a splendid book written by two of the pioneers, M.A. Gordon of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Tucson and R.L. Sorochenko of the Lebedev Institute. In their Preface the authors say that the book was written by exchanging email. They give a fascinating account of the history of the subject, a detailed discussion of the atomic physics required for the interpretation of the observations, and describe astronomical results obtained using RRL observations for a wide range of astronomical objects." Mike Seaton, Former President, Royal Astronomical Society, 1979-1981

Product Description
This textbook deals with the requirements of space physics. The first part starts with a description of the Earth's plasma environment, followed by a derivation of single particle motions in electromagnetic fields, with applications to the Earth's magnetosphere. Then the origin and effects of collisions and conductivities, formation of the ionosphere, magnetospheric convection and dynamics, and solar wind-magnetosphere coupling are discussed.

The second part of the book presents a more theoretical foundation of plasma physics, starting from kinetic theory. Introducing moments of the distribution function permits derivation of the fluid equations, followed by an analysis of fluid boundaries, with the Earth's magnetopause and bow shock as examples. Finally, fluid and kinetic theory are applied to derive the relevant wave modes in a plasma.

A representative selection of the many space plasma instabilities and relevant aspects of nonlinear theory is given in a companion textbook, Advanced Space Plasma Physics, by the same authors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not a bad introductory book
Quite useful tool for students intending to go on in the area of space plasmas, but it is also good reference book for those working in the area, when they need to recall some basic information. However, some parts couldbe treated in more detail, and some parts are not explained in the bestway. And main problem is that some parts should be in different order, thenin third or fourth chapter would need to be coments like: "We willshow it later in the fifth chapter". This might be not a problem for aresearcher in the area who uses the book as a reference tool, however,students who are new in the area, be aware. Overall, it is quiteinteresting reading. ... Read more

Product Description
The theory of relativity describes the laws of physics in a given space-time. However, a physical theory must provide observational predictions expressed in terms of measurements, which are the outcome of practical experiments and observations. Ideal for readers with a mathematical background and a basic knowledge of relativity, this book will help readers understand the physics behind the mathematical formalism of the theory of relativity. It explores the informative power of the theory of relativity, and highlights its uses in space physics, astrophysics and cosmology. Readers are given the tools to pick out from the mathematical formalism those quantities that have physical meaning and which can therefore be the result of a measurement. The book considers the complications that arise through the interpretation of a measurement, which is dependent on the observer who performs it. Specific examples of this are given to highlight the awkwardness of the problem. ... Read more

Product Description

Developments in three-dimensional cloud radiation over the past few decades are assessed and distilled into this contributed volume. Chapters are authored by subject-matter experts who address a broad audience of graduate students, researchers, and anyone interested in cloud-radiation processes in the solar and infrared spectral regions. After two introductory chapters and a section on the fundamental physics and computational techniques, the volume extensively treats two main application areas: the impact of clouds on the Earth's radiation budget, which is an essential aspect of climate modeling; and remote observation of clouds, especially with the advanced sensors on current and future satellite missions.

Product Description
Ionospheres provides a comprehensive description of the physical, plasma and chemical processes controlling the behavior of ionospheres. The relevant transport equations and related coefficients are derived in detail and their applicability and limitations are described. Relevant wave processes are outlined and important ion chemical processes and reaction rates are presented. The various energy deposition and transfer mechanisms are described in some detail, and a chapter is devoted to the various processes controlling the upper atmosphere and exosphere. The second half of the book presents our current understanding of the structure, chemistry, dynamics and energetics of the terrestrial ionosphere, and other solar system bodies. The final chapter describes ionospheric measurement techniques. The book will form a comprehensive and lasting reference for scientists interested in ionospheres, and it will also prove an ideal textbook for graduate students. It contains extensive student problem sets, and an answer book is available for instructors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An invaluable textbook
For anyone who's at Postgrad or Postdoc level, this book is an invaluable addition to your library.Undergraduates may struggle with some of it, but I'm sure that any bright student could pick it up because it's written in clear, concise language.My only gripe is that the production quality of this paperback isn't what it should be for the money & I really wish I had bought the hardback version. ... Read more

Product Description
Within the national German geoscientific research and development programme "GEOTECHNOLOGIEN", funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG), the research theme "Observation of the System Earth from Space" was selected as one of 13 key areas in this programme. During the first research phase for this theme from 2002 to 2004 six projects were accomplished covering Earth gravity field and Earth rotation research. These six projects are related to the data exploitation and preparation of analysis techniques for the gravity field satellite missions CHAMP, GRACE and GOCE, to the integration of geodetic observation techniques for a user centre within the International Earth Rotation Service and to improvements in observation and analysis techniques for airborne gravimetry and ring lasers. This book provides a detailed summary of the obtained results, which are relevant for a broad scientific community working in gravity field and Earth rotation research. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume introduces and systematically develops the calculus of 2-spinors. This is the first detailed exposition of this technique which leads not only to a deeper understanding of the structure of space-time, but also provides shortcuts to some very tedious calculations. Many results are given here for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Complete introduction to spinors and space-time physics
This book provides a very comprehensive account of two-spinor calculus, along with some of its applications to physics. This material is intrinsically interesting and has some applications to physics, in addition it also provides the background needed to study volume II. The second volume covers applications to physics in more detail and twistors too.

Spinors unquestionably play a central role in quantum mechanics. Some problems in general relativity are certainly more transparent when approached with spinors, as compared to the usual tensor analysis. This combined with the fact that one can roughly view a spinor as the square root of a null vector and considering things like Dirac's scissors suggest the possibility that spinors are more fundamental than tensors and may provide a deeper insight into the nature of space-time than tensors do. This is one of the main themes of the book, I personally find the arguments intriguing.

The first two chapters establish the geometry and algebra of spinors. The pace is reasonable and the approach is very geometrical. Then the correspondence between tensors and spinors is developed. First the authors show how to represent tensors as spinors and then they show how to represent spinors as tensors. As an application of this they show how a Lorentz transformation is represented by two spin transformations. This is followed by a chapter that takes many concepts from differential geometry and puts them in spinor form, including Einstein's equation.

The final chapter mostly considers fields formulated in terms of spinors. This includes the electromagnetic field, Yang-Mills fields (a nice introduction to fibre bundles is included) and general relativity.

On the whole I think this book provides an excellent development of two-spinor calculus, with a nice emphasis on the geometry of spinors. It takes some familiar fields, such as the electromagnetic field, and formulates them in terms of spinors. However, one thing I thought was missing was more extended discussions of the known situations in general relativity where spinor methods prove more useful than tensor methods, e.g. the classification of the Weyl tensor or Witten's proof of the positive energy theorem. More material like this is presented in volume II. This book also gives some general arguments that spinors may be more fundamental than tensors and hence provide more insight into the nature of space-time, in fact this is one of the central themes of the book. I find the arguments to be very plausible, but I think it's safe to say that even twenty years after the publication of the book that it has yet to be demonstrated. ... Read more

Product Description

Space and Time are the prison bars of reality. Space Time Physics and Fractality is an attempt to tunnel through the rigidity of it all – by turning everything into dust or smoke. These two ancient traditions are brought together here for the first time – in the spirit of Democritus and Anaxagoras. Mohamed El Naschie, the sexagenarian, is the "dust dragon". The book contains papers by people who are infected by the same virus of desperately wanting to understand, and represents an incomparable breakthrough. Not for the feebleminded, however.

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Built around the common core of physics A Level syllabuses this book, which is one of a series of eight titles, covers all the compulsory content with the aim of promoting independent learning for post-16 students. ... Read more

Product Description
This Second Edition provides solid state scientists, who are not necessarily experts in crystallography, with an understandable and comprehensive guide to the new International Tables for Crystallography. The basic ideas of symmetry, lattices, point groups, and space groups are explained in a clear and detailed manner. Notation is introduced in a step-by-step way so that the reader is supplied with the tools necessary to derive and apply space group information. Of particular interest in this second edition are the discussions of space groups application to such timely topics as high-temperature superconductors, phase transitions, semiconductor superlattices, incommensurate modulation, and icosahedral symmetry.

Key Features
* Explains the use of space groups to non-crystallographers
* Applies space groups to current topics, such as high-temperature superconductors and phase transitions
* Includes extensive appendixes, covering all aspects of space groups, including incommensurate modulations and disorder ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not for beginners
If you have never taken a basic crystallography course then this book will not make any sense.Although the authors attempt to make crystallography understandable, they fail miserably.Their style is very fractured and there is little transition between chapters so it seems as if nothing is connected.In short, the book makes perfect sense if you are ALREADY a crystallographer, but if you are new to the field then I would recommend some other text.

Best pedagogical book on Space Groups
This book provides a good, clear introduction to Space Groups that will make using International Tables straightforward.The applications are almost entirely crystallographic (very few applications to solid state physics), but a reader can move to that area after studying this book.
I like this treatment better than any I've seen for graduate students and practicing nontheorists.

An excellent book for applied scientists & engineers
If I needed to characterize this book in a single word, I would say...excellent. Space groups are a rather abstract discipline in crystallography and hence, many books dealing with the subject are usually very theoretical. Burns' book is written for the applied scientist or engineer who needs a working knowledge on a sophisticated concept such as Space groups. The book is structured in a quite pedagogical style which lends itself to a pleasant self-study perfectly well. Worked-out examples are plenty which helps the reader to familiarize him/herself with the use of the International Tables for Crystallography. The level of the treatment is elementary, yet its scope is comprehensive and the treatment is rigorous. The book is ideally suited for those working in the solid state sciences.

excellent for the beginner
Great book for the beginner who does'nt know very much about space groups or the International tables.The book goes through and shows you examples and step by step of what all that stuff means. It's got some examples at the end, but I skipped that.One annoying thins about this book is that all the settings are in 1st setting for monoclinic so you get p21/a instead of the standard p21/c.If you become a crystallographer you'll know what I mean.Besides that though, it's a great book, very easy reading.Recommended for the beginner. ... Read more

Product Description
Over the years, a large body of knowledge has developed regarding the ways in which space flight affects the health of the personnel involved. Now, for the first time, this clinical knowledge on how to diagnose and treat conditions that either develop during a mission or because of a mission has been compiled by Drs. Michael Barratt and Sam L. Pool of the NASA/Johnson Space Center. Complete with detailed information on the physiological and psychological affects of space flight as well as how to diagnose and treat everything from dental concerns to decompression to dermatological problems encountered, this text is a must have for all those associated with aerospace medicine. ... Read more

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This comprehensive compendium provides information on nearly every U.S. doctoral program in physics and astronomy, plus data on most major master's programs in these fields. Information on many major Canadian programs is also included. In addition, the Graduate Programs directory lists a substantial number of related-field departments, including materials science, electrical and nuclear engineering, meteorology, medical and chemical physics, geophysics, and oceanography.

This thirty first annual edition contains information valuable to students planning graduate study and faculty advisors, including each program's research expenditures and sources of support. A number of helpful appendices make navigating the directory a simple task.

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This book gives an introduction to modern geometry. Starting from an elementary level, the author develops deep geometrical concepts that play an important role in contemporary theoretical physics, presenting various techniques and viewpoints along the way. This second edition contains two additional, more advanced geometric techniques: the modern language and modern view of Algebraic Geometry and Mirror Symmetry.

Customer Reviews (1)

Worth reading, but vastly overpriced and under-edited
This book presents a worthwhile overview of many aspects of Riemann surfaces and (what is the same thing viewed from a specific point of view) algebraic curves.The author sometimes takes a conversational tone (The first sentence under the section entitled Sheaves is: "They are nothing mysterious.")

It presents definitions and theorems, often omitting details of proofs.This is in the obvious sense a disadvantage, but in another sense a great advantage, allowing the reader to acquire a broad overview of the subject relatively quickly. There are also extensive suggestions, at the end of each chapter, for supplementary reading.Often the author offers advice about a reference (such as that it uses an unnecessarily complicated proof of a basic theorem).

What strikes this native English speaker is that no one has bothered to translate this book into professional-grade English.97% of the English is fine, and the rest of it is easily comprehensible.Butlack of careful editing makes this reader feel that the $80.xx Amazon price (discounted from its $89.xx list price!!!) is vastly too high for this 220-page book. ... Read more

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This concise, class-tested book was refined over the authors’ 30 years as instructors at MIT and the University Federal of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil. The approach centers on the conviction that teaching group theory along with applications helps students to learn, understand and use it for their own needs. Thus, the theoretical background is confined to introductory chapters. Subsequent chapters develop new theory alongside applications so that students can retain new concepts, build on concepts already learned, and see interrelations between topics. Essential problem sets between chapters aid retention of new material and consolidate material learned in previous chapters.