Product Description

Students and researchers in physics, engineering and other sciences will find this compilation of more than 3,000 physics formulas and tables invaluable. All the information included is practical, rarely used results are excluded. Topics range from elementary to advanced - from classical mechanics, thermodynamics and electromagnetism to optics and atomic physics. Great care has been taken to present all results concisely and clearly. Excellent to keep as a handy reference!

Customer Reviews (2)

Don't bother
This is not what I though it would be given the title and above review...in fact 1-star is too generous. It is correct to state that this e-book has physics formulas and tables related to thermodynamics, optics, quantum physics, etc and BEGINNING students may find it somewhat useful since it does have some rather vague explanations of the formulas.However, as a reference it falls and it is practically useless compared to the "Cambridge Handbook of Physics Formulas" or the "Physicist's Desk Reference"...both of which I use on a day to day basis.

My recommendation: If the Cambridge Handbook of Physics Formulas is available as an e-book, get it instead.

Excellent reference ebook
Physics Formulas and Tables. FREE Laws of Science and Weights and Measures chapters in the trial version

This is an excellent reference and self-study guide. And for the price, it's an absolute steal. If you've been wanting a concise, yet relatively complete Physics ebook, and one that is well-written and easy to follow, I highly suggest Physics Formulas and Tables by MobileReference. ... Read more

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The speed of light, the fine structure constant, and Newton's constant of gravity -- these are just three among the many physical constants that define our picture of the world. Where do they come from? Are they constant in time and across space? In this book, physicist and author Harald Fritzsch invites the reader to explore the mystery of the fundamental constants of physics in the company of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and a modern-day physicist. The conversation that the three scientists are imagined to have provides an entertaining introduction to the constants and covers topics ranging from atomic, nuclear, and particle physics to astrophysics and cosmology.

Contents: The Constants of Nature; Elementary Interactions Elementary Interactions and Quantum Theory; Atomic Nuclei and Particles; Big Accelerators; Colorful Quarks and Gluons; The Standard Model; The Standard Model and the Natural Constants; The Grand Unification; In the Garden of San Marino; On the Road to El Captain Beach; In Esalen; At the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; A Strange Big Bang. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good tool for engingeers and scientists
I have used this book often during my studies. It includes formulas in most areas of physics for example mechanical, electric and nuclear formulas. While it cannot be your only book in physics, it gives an easy way to find the formulas you know exist from studies of other books. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume can be justified by the following three facts, the need to provide, from time to time, a co-ordinated set of lectures which present the relevant progress in Metrology, the increasing intertwining between Fundamental Physics and the practice of Metrological Measurements, and, third, the flurry of new and unexpected discoveries in this field, with a correlated series of Nobel Prizes bestowed to individuals working in Fundamental Constants research and novel experimental methods. One of the most fascinating and exciting characteristics of metrology is its intimate relationship between fundamental physics and the leading edge of technology which is needed to perform advanced and challenging experiments and measurements, as well as the determination of the values and interrelations between the Fundamental Constants. In some cases, such as the caesium fountains clocks or the optical frequency standards, the definition of the value of a quantity is, in the laboratory, in the region of 10-16 and experiments are under way to reach 10-18. Many of these results and the avenues leading to further advances are discussed in this volume, along a major step in metrology, expected in the near future, which could change the 'old' definition of the kilogram, still based on a mechanical artifact, toward a new definition resting on a fixed value of a fundamental constant.

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Now in its sixth printing (first in paperback), this book remains an excellent reference for anyone who works in applied physics, engineering, or chemistry. It gives a systematic account of the theory of dielectric properties, and the reader is assumed to have only an acquaintance with calculus, complemented by an elementary knowledge of atomic and molecular physics, statistical mechanics, and electrostatics. ... Read more

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Reality as we know it is bound by a set of constants—numbers and values that dictate the strengths of forces like gravity, the speed of light, and the masses of elementary particles. In The Constants of Nature, Cambridge Professor and bestselling author John D.Barrow takes us on an exploration of these governing principles. Drawing on physicists such as Einstein and Planck, Barrow illustrates with stunning clarity our dependence on the steadfastness of these principles. But he also suggests that the basic forces may have been radically different during the universe’s infancy, and suggests that they may continue a deeply hidden evolution. Perhaps most tantalizingly, Barrow theorizes about the realities that might one day be found in a universe with different parameters than our own. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

COMPLEX BUT EASY TO READ
Nature's Constants. Holy cow, what are those? Are they the inch, the foot, the yard, the mile? The answer to that question is...a definite maybe.

John D. Barrow, in his fascinating book, The Constants of Nature: The Numbers that Encode the Deepest Secrets of the Universe, tells us that our system of measurements, such as the inch, the foot, the yard and the mile are rather useless in defining nature, because they center around human beings--what he calls, anthropometrics. For instance, consider the concept of length. Originally, lengths were derived from the length of the king's arm or the span of his hand. The yard was the length of a tape drawn from the tip of a man's nose to the farthest fingertip of his arm when stretched horizontally to one side. Distances were reckoned as a day's journey. Likewise, time followed from rising and setting of the sun and the moon. Weights were quantities that could be carried in our hands or slung over our backs. Like the man said, all those things are anthropometric, or, man-centric; and they worked just fine as long as everybody used the same system. That's all fine and dandy, but what happens when one tries to understand the entire universe including all the worlds, all the stars, and all the galaxies and all the empty space? At that level, anthro...pro...whatever, just doesn't cut it anymore. We need something else, and that's where the Constants of Nature come into the picture.

At that point, the author takes us right into the discussion of these so-called constants of nature? In a nutshell, they're the fine structure numbers that give our universe its distinctive character--an attempt to create order out of chaos. Several constants have been defined, but to name four: Pi is a constant ( = 3.14159). Newton's law of gravity is a constant (GN = 6.67259 x 10-11m3s-2kg-1). The speed of light is a constant (c = 299,792,458 m/s), and the charge of an itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny electron is another constant (e = 1.602x10-19C). Get the idea? Nobody knows why those things are what they are--don't even ask. But who cares? What's important is that wherever you go in our universe, they're the same. And that ladies and germs, is why the constants of nature are the true measuring rods of our universe.

Now notice that in the previous paragraph that I refer to our universe. I said ours because as scientists learned to define the constants of nature they began to realize that there could be more than just one universe (Twilight Zone). There could be a whole bunch of universes, and they could all be defined by their very own constants of nature. That's right. The force of gravity could be slightly stronger in another universe. Of course, that could have extreme ramifications. The stars may have collapsed sooner, and the universe itself may have completely died out without so much as a trace of its former self. So how would we know it ever existed? I don't know.

So that's a small piece of this 292-page book. First you try to understand the idea of nature's constants, and how they shaped our universe, and then you try to figure out what it would be like if they were different. Gulp. A lot of heavy thinkers worry about this stuff. By the way, the book's author, John D. Barrow, is no lightweight, anthropometrically speaking, of course. He's a Cambridge professor, so I think he knows what he's talking about.

Obviously, I couldn't write about everything in the thirteen chapters of this book. For one thing, my I.Q. is way too low. For another, there's just too much information. In my opinion, the author did a good job of spoon-feeding the information in small, easy to swallow bites, and he threw in a few tidbits of info here and there to keep the reader sharp. For instance, the author spends a lot of time telling us that the constants of nature are always the same. But then towards the end of the book he tells us that the constants may have changed. What? Does he mean that Pi hasn't always been 3.14159...? I guess so, but I can't even begin to imagine a circle where the diameter is exactly one inch and the circumference is exactly three inches. Can you? It's just too weird. So the bottom line, it seems, is that we're right back at the opening question: Are inches, yards and miles constants? Read the book. Maybe you can figure this stuff out.

Changing Constants
In order to explain physical reality, physicists measure and determine physical quantities/parameters/information related to the object/subject in question using well defined laws such as; the laws of classical physics (theory relativity), quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics. Physicists do not know the details of all the laws, and their interpretations/explanations often vary, but the physical laws themselves are the same across the universe. Einstein's principle of covariance states that laws of nature should appear the same for all observers in the universe no matter where they are located or how they are moving. The equations and the fundamental constants that write these laws are universal, but as physicists try to explain how the universe works, it is increasingly becoming apparent to a few physicists that some fundamental constants such as the speed of light (c), fine-structure constant, proton-electron mass ratio, and gravity (G) have changed over the last 13.7 billion light years.

The author chronicles the historical development in the physics research of universal constant and touches upon the most fundamental part of creation. How do these constants that are a part of an equation could have impacted a functional universe that supports life? Mathematician Ramanujan once said that "An equation has no meaning unless it expresses the thought of God." The dimensionless constant is certainly the thought of God. Time variation of fundamental constants is subjected to theoretical and experimental research by a number of physicists such as; Arthur Eddington, Paul Dirac, George Gamow, Robert Dicke, Brendan Carter and others. The fine-structure constant was originally introduced in 1916 by Arnold Sommerfeld, as a measure of the relativistic deviations in atomic spectral lines of the Bohr's atomic model. This constsnt is interpreted as a measure of electromagnetic force that holds the atoms together or the strength of the interaction between electrons and photons; the ratio of two energies, the energy needed to bring two electrons from infinity to a distance against their electrostatic repulsion, and the energy of a single photon. It is also defined as the ratio of the strengths of the electromagnetic and gravitational interactions. This constant is a dimensionless quantity (1/137.035999679); hence its numerical value is independent of the system of units used. Many physicists have wondered why God would have created such an odd number for this constant (value of Pi is another example.) One explanation is the cosmological evolution of a quintessence-like scalar field coupled to gauge fields and matter would have effectively modified the coupling constants and particle masses over time. However, the anthropic principle states that the value of the fine-structure is what itis because stable matter could not have existed in the universe if that was any other number. In other words, galaxies, stars, planetary systems and life forms would not have evolved. For instance, if this constsnt was changed by 4%, carbon and oxygen would not have been produced in stars.

Since fine-structure constant is present wherever electromagnetism is, it is determined by various methods from atomic spectra. One is by analyzing the atomic spectra of distant galaxies and stars. The second one is the natural reactor of Oklo has been used to check if the atomic fine-structure constant might have changed over the past 2 billion years. That is because it influences the rate of nuclear reactions. For example, Samarium(149) captures a neutron to become Samarium(150), and since the rate of neutron capture depends on the value of this constant, the ratio of the two samarium isotopes in samples from Oklo can be used to calculate the value of this constant that existed 2 billion years ago. The results are conflicting and it is not clear if these constant are changing. Despite the fact that this book has many irrelevant quotations from unorthodox figures such as; Joan Rivers, Woody Allen, Brooke Shields, W.C. Fields, and George Bush, it is highly recommended.

1. The Cosmology of Extra Dimensions and Varying Fundamental Constants
2. The Role of Neutrinos, Strings, Gravity and Variable Cosmological Constant in Elementary Particle Physics
3. Cosmic Jackpot: Why Our Universe Is Just Right for Life
4. The Constants of Nature: From Alpha to Omega--the Numbers That Encode the Deepest Secrets of the Universe
5. FINE STRUCTURE CONSTANT AND FRAGMENTATION OF THE ELECTRON AND THE INTERCOSMIC RELATIONS.

Historical and Baffling at times!
Barrow's has a good humour about philosophy but also takes it seriously enough to explain all concepts clearly. Numbers are not my thing but this one pulled me in pretty tight. This bloke knows his stuff but the book is very readable. If you're interested in math and M Theory stuff, this a good one. It starts from the beginning when measurements were first used and numbers' significance in the universe, thus spiralling into some fairly complex and modern issues.

Are there any constants in the universe?
In considering physics, Einstein once asked whether God had any choice in laying out the rules.

After discussing the history of human measurements (historically a product of chance), Barrow turns his attention to the so called physical constants of measurement and ultimately asks the question of whether they too are a product of chance (albeit on a different scale).

Though admittedly he makes errors along the way (like saying it takes 3 seconds for light to reach Earth from the sun instead of eight minutes), Barrow nonetheless manages to create a physics book that accessible makes cutting edge insights available to the casual reader.

And what Barrow has to say about the "constants of the universe" and perhaps their ultimately changeable nature speaks mightily to the boundless enigma that is the universe (perhaps one of many) in which we live.

Good book
This was an entertaining book but a little tedious at times. Also it was not exactly what I expected. I thought it would be more of a description of different physical phenomena, while this is more like a survey of different historical approaches to uniting all constants with one theory, which constantly failed but shed light on many side issues along the way. ... Read more

Product Description
This text describes the precision of reality in terms of constraints provided by the four fundamental constants, and opens the possibility of discovering other constants in the future that will again change our image of the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not a special title, doesn't meet its promise.
I bought this book because I was doing research on the history of the constants.The book reads more like a high schooler's term essay than a book of history.There are historical inaccuracies and blatant typographical errors.Later, but not at the end, the author launches into his own research theories.It would be an extremely confusing read if you weren't already well-versed in the history of physics.

Its most redeeming quality is that it occasionally sites important sources.But, I can't endorse a book with factual errors.The translation (from french) is very good though.Its short and not a boring read otherwise.I do like how he keeps the chapters very short and narrow.It might be best for a person to read if they are trying to learn what type of mistakes to avoid making when writing a history of physics book.It also doesn't meet its promise of Universal Constants in Physics; in fact, it only discusses four: h, k, G and c.Quite limited. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume, the proceedings of the Coral Gables Conference,held December 12-16, 2000, contains some recent developments in thetheory of gravitation, and discusses, in particular, the fact thatgravity, like electrodynamics, is both attractive and repulsive. Thisproperty of gravitation enables us: (1) to explain the observedexpansion of the universe, and, at the same time, its increasingacceleration; (2) to clarify the reasons for the expansion of theuniverse, together with competing forces of repulsive quintessence andthe gravitational force of ordinary matter. Furthermore, given verystrong gravitational forces of black holes, particles reach highenergies and copiously emit gamma rays as well as neutrinos. The factthat these gamma rays burst at cosmic regions does imply that gravitycan be a source of electromagnetism. We have thus obtained anexperimental fact that the two long-range forces of gravity andelectricity are unified. The conference also had discussions onneutrino masses, the cosmological constant, and violation of theLorentz invariance. ... Read more

Product Description
The exchange between physics and metrology is always fascinating and exciting. Many are the open problems in physics that call for extremely precise standards, many are the advances in metrology made possible by a deep and assiduous study of the underlying physics. One has just to think of the enormous sophistication required in the measurements of some absolute quantities such as the Avogadro, the gas, or the gravitational constants. It is also worth noticing that not only the units of a metrological system are interrelated through the fundamental constants, but also the latter find their full significance when they are determined through the most exacting metrological experiments. Over the past decade many improvements took place and these are discussed in this book; from one side the old caesium SI second definition has found a new realisation, with the "fountain" approach, replacing the classical thermal atomic beam. The use of "cold" atom techniques, in which bunches of inert atoms are collected, slowed down, and cooled, has opened a number of new and unexpected avenues for metrology and fundamental constants; one of these possibilities being the atom interferometry. Another important "quantum jump" was the demonstration of the possibility of performing a direct frequency division in the visible, using ultra short femtosecond pulses. In addition, the possibility of "counting" electrons or photons gave a fundamental support to the development of single-electron capacitance standards and to new scenarios in the absolute calibration of photo-detectors ... Read more

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Nuclei Far from Stability and Atomic Masses and Fundamental Constants 1992 presents a collection of 200 papers presented at two conferences that were held concurrently. Particular attention is paid to developments in the field of nuclear physics with energetic secondary beams and the increase of precision in the determination of atomic masses. Topics covered include nuclear spectroscopy and nuclear shapes, the heaviest elements, fission and cluster radioactivity, beta decay, coupling constants, neutrino mass, moments and radii, nuclei near the drip line and their structure, atomic masses, nuclear aspects in astrophysics, and experimental developments. ... Read more

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Precision measurement is of crucial importance for the progress of science and technology. This is the second subvolume of the series to deal with the significance of fundamental constants, focusing on the status of their determination. ... Read more

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This brief and witty book, by the award-winning science writer Donald Goldsmith, takes on key questions about the origin and evolution of the cosmos. By clearly laying out what we currently know about the universe as a whole, Goldsmith lets us see firsthand whether modern cosmology is in a state of crisis. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Understanding the stars
This book is all about the stars, where they came from, how they got there, and how long they'll be there plus the methods scientists (astronomers) figured these things out.For anyone with a science-geared brain, this book is great.I'm currently taking physics at my high school, this book really helped me to understand the concepts and formulas in a "behind the scenes" way.The language used by the author is occasionally hard to understand but it's a book you have to read slowly in order to understand it all.The concepts that involve things from later discussed topics have references to the chapter they can be found in.It's a really in-depth and well-written book for anyone with an interest in astronomy or science in general.Some of the concepts discussed are the age of stars which can be determined according to their surface temperature and luminosity, the doppler effect which explains the motion of stars and planets due to the fact that wavelengths shorten when an observer or source moves toward the other and lengthen in the opposite way, the kind of star or star group and what thecharacteristics of each are, and the nature of gravity in space according to several astronomers and scientists like Newton, Einstein, Galileo, etc.The book also includes many pictures and diagrams to help the average reader understand the specific topics of each chapter.

Understanding the stars
This book is all about the stars, where they came from, how they got there, and how long they'll be there plus the methods scientists (astronomers) figured these things out.For anyone with a science-geared brain, this book is great.I'm currently taking physics at my high school, this book really helped me to understand the concepts and formulas in a "behind the scenes" way.The language used by the author is occasionally hard to understand but it's a book you have to read slowly in order to understand it all.The concepts that involve things from later discussed topics have references to the chapter they can be found in.It's a really in-depth and well-written book for anyone with an interest in astronomy or science in general.Some of the concepts discussed are the age of stars which can be determined according to their surface temperature and luminosity, the doppler effect which explains the motion of stars and planets due to the fact that wavelengths shorten when an observer or source moves toward the other and lengthen in the opposite way, the kind of star or star group and what thecharacteristics of each are, and the nature of gravity in space according to several astronomers and scientists like Newton, Einstein, Galileo, etc.The book also includes many pictures and diagrams to help the average reader understand the specific topics of each chapter. ... Read more

Product Description

The question of a possible temporal variation of the fundamental constants was raised by Paul Dirac in his "large number hypothesis" in 1937. Today it appears in the context of the search for a unified theory of the fundamental interactions. It touches both fundamental and applied physics, as the postulate of the unalterability of the constants is the foundation for modern metrology. The book presents reviews written by leading experts in the field. Focussing on the question of variations of the fundamental "constants" in time or space, the chapters cover the theoretical framework in which variations are expected and the search for variations of quantities like the fine-structure constant, the electron/proton mass ratio, g-factors of proton and neutron etc. in astrophysical and geophysical observations and in precision experiments with atomic clocks and frequency standards.

Product Description

Constants, such as the gravitational constant and the speed of light, are present in all the laws of physics. Recent observations have cast doubt on one of them. Does this mean that the structure of physics will crumble? Are we seeing the dawn of a scientific revolution? This book is written in the form of an enquiry into the importance of a possible variation in fundamental constants. Jean-Philippe Uzan and Bénédicte Leclercq ask such questions as:

What is a constant? What role do constants play in the laws of physics? How can we verify that they are indeed constants?

The authors take us though the history of the ideas of physics, evoking major discoveries from Galileo and Newton to Planck and Einstein and raising questions provoked by ever more current accurate observations. They approach physics by way of its constants in order to distinguish the fundamental from the particular, and to recognise different physical forces, but these cannot be drawn together into one unique force, as those seeking a unified theory would like. The book shows how the development of theories leads to simplification, analogy and the regrouping of phenomena. It describes how physicists seek to explain why the world is as it is and why can they cannot explain the values of the mass of elementary particles such as the electron and the proton. The authors ask if we can have confidence in the promising theory of superstrings, which would reinterpret these particles as states of vibration of the strings, extended objects appearing only in macroscopic dimensions. 

This highly instructive survey of physics, from the laboratory to the depths of space, explores the paths of gravitation, general relativity and new theories such as that of superstrings. It is complete and coherent, and goes beyond the subject of constants to explain and discuss many ideas in physics, encountering along the way, for example, such exciting details as the discovery of a natural nuclear reactor at Oklo in Gabon.