The physical sciences and mathematics are extraordinarily useful in explaining the material world. People and society are constrained by physical reality, but we are often unclear on what constraints are absolute, which may be relative, and those that are simply a matter of taste. Bandwidth explains how limitations in the movement and perception of information constrain human behavior, cognition, interaction, and perspective. How fast can we learn? How much? Why are habits and biases unavo...

In the hard sciences, which can often feel out of grasp for many lay readers, there are "great thinkers" who go far beyond the equations, formulas, and research. Minds such as Stephen Hawking philosophize about the functions and nature of the universe, the implications of our existence, and other impossibly fascinating, yet difficult questions. Stuart A. Kauffman is one of those great thinkers. He has dedicated his lifetime to researching "complex systems" at prestigious institutions and n...

What mathematical modeling uncovers about life in the cityX and the City, a book of diverse and accessible math-based topics, uses basic modeling to explore a wide range of entertaining questions about urban life. How do you estimate the number of dental or doctor's offices, gas stations, restaurants, or movie theaters in a city of a given size? How can mathematics be used to maximize traffic flow through tunnels? Can you predict whether a traffic light wi...

Computational Fluid Dynamics, Second Edition, provides an introduction to CFD fundamentals that focuses on the use of commercial CFD software to solve engineering problems. This new edition provides expanded coverage of CFD techniques including discretisation via finite element and spectral element as well as finite difference and finite volume methods and multigrid method. There is additional coverage of high-pressure fluid dynamics and meshless approach to provide a broader overview of t...

'Chemical engineering is the field of applied science that employs physical, chemical, and biological rate processes for the betterment of humanity'. This opening sentence of Chapter 1 has been the underlying paradigm of chemical engineering. Chemical Engineering: An Introduction is designed to enable the student to explore the activities in which a modern chemical engineer is involved by focusing on mass and energy balances in liquid-phase processes. Problems explored include the design o...

This book develops the mathematical tools essential for students in the life sciences to describe interacting systems and predict their behavior. From predator-prey populations in an ecosystem, to hormone regulation within the body, the natural world abounds in dynamical systems that affect us profoundly. Complex feedback relations and counter-intuitive responses are common in nature; this book develops the quantitative skills needed to explore these interactions.Differential equat...

Erroneous information is widespread regarding the meeting of national energy requirements. This book examines the various proposed energy sources in a factual manner and outlines a totally viable solution.

How does a scientist go about solving problems? How do scientific discoveries happen? Why are cold fusion and parapsychology different from mainstream science? What is a scientific worldview? In this lively and wide-ranging book, Gregory Derry talks about these and other questions as he introduces the reader to the process of scientific thinking. From the discovery of X rays and semiconductors to the argument for continental drift to the invention of the smallpox vaccine, scientific work h...

Marc King is a solid state semiconductor device physicist by education. He holds the Bachelor of Physics (B.Phys.) and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (M.S.E.E.) degrees from the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. He is also an experienced writer and technical writer.He is a Silicon Valley, California professional with more than 30 years experience in sequential technical, managerial, and executive roles with successful leading edge semiconductor companies....

This book provides an overview of the rapidly growing and developing field of nanotechnology, focusing on key essentials and structured around a robust anatomy of the subject. The newcomer to nanotechnology, who may well have a strong background in one of the traditional disciplines such as physics, mechanical or electrical engineering, chemistry or biology or who may have been working in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, is confronted with a bewildering range of informatio...

The contributions to this volume attempt to apply different aspects of Ilya Prigogine's Nobel-prize-winning work on dissipative structures to nonchemical systems as a way of linking the natural and social sciences. They address both the mathematical methods for description of pattern and form as they evolve in biological systems and the mechanisms of the evolution of social systems, containing many variables responding to subjective, qualitative stimuli.The mathematical modeling of...

Computational properties of use to biological organisms or to the construction of computers can emerge as collective properties of systems having a large number of simple equivalent components (or neurons). The physical meaning of content-addressable memory is described by an appropriate phase space flow of the state of a system. A model of such a system is given, based on aspects of neurobiology but readily adapted to integrated circuits. The collective properties of this model produce a ...