Book Description
The main difference between this text and many others is that an attempt is made here to present material in a rather relaxed and informal way without omitting important concepts. The text demonstrates the wide range of relevant issues and questions that can be addressed with the help of statistical analysis techniques by presenting over 1,750 realistic problems that arise often in health care, the social and physical sciences, education, business and economics, engineering, and leisure activities. It also convinces your students that statistics is "do-able" by including real data that students have collected and analyzed for class assignments and projects. Additionally, the text utilizes an intuitive, common sense approach (including occasional humorous situation or ridiculous name) to develop concepts whenever possible. Statistics: A First Course employs widely available, inexpensive technologies--particularly Minitab and the TI-83 graphing calculator. We also explore the use of the World Wide Web to collect data, providing students with the means to obtain up-to-date information without leaving their desks.
In short this book is written to communicate with students rather than to lecture to them, and its intent is to convince readers that the study of statistics can be a lively, interesting, and rewarding experience!
Customer Reviews:
You don't need to be afraid of Statistics.......2000-12-15
This is a very friendly statistics book. It is easy to read and understand. The authors also throw in some humorous comments now and then that is something you wouldn't expect to find in a statistics book and this seemed to help with the reading. Many real world business examples are used in the book. The example problems and the end of section or chapter problems are from different areas of study such as business, political, social sciences, and science. This is great for understanding how to apply statistics in real life. I would have to say that all the topics and formulas are explained very well. In some cases there are more then one way to write a formula and Sanders and Smidt makes a point of giving you both formulas. You can decide which formula works for you. The book comes with a CD loaded with the data files for all the problems so you don't have to spend time keying in data. There are copies of the data files come in a variety of formats such as Minitab, Excel Windows, and Macintosh. For most of the example problems the book takes you through the steps using Minitab Statistical software and the TI-83 graphing calculator. You are not only learning statistics, but you are also learning how to use Minitab and the TI-83 graphing calculator. In this day and age if you are going to do statistics you need to be able to do it with a computer. I wish they would have also included examples using Microsoft Excel, which more people are apt to have then Minitab. Personally I use both Minitab and Excel. I actually enjoyed reading this book and looked forward to studying. Even though my statistics class is over this book will not be collecting dust for a while as I plan on going back through it to reread or finish reading what I missed or skimmed over. There are still a lot of the problems that I want to do to reinforce what I have already learned. This is a great statistics book to keep as a reference. More then once I have found coworkers looking up stuff in my book.
Book Description
The only text to cover both thermodynamic and statistical mechanics--allowing students to fully master thermodynamics at the macroscopic level. Presents essential ideas on critical phenomena developed over the last decade in simple, qualitative terms. This new edition maintains the simple structure of the first and puts new emphasis on pedagogical considerations. Thermostatistics is incorporated into the text without eclipsing macroscopic thermodynamics, and is integrated into the conceptual framework of physical theory.
Customer Reviews:
Wrong Edition Sent.......2007-09-24
Although the edition was correct, the book was a paperback when I specifically paid for hardbound. Even more frustrating was the fact that it was not eligible for return.
Key to undestanf statistical physics.......2006-10-26
The postulational approach is really great. This book tooks away all the question I had about the connection between thermodynamics and statistical physics. I think it's a good idea to read Fermi's thermodynamics also. To see how smart one can be when using thermodynamics.
nice book, nice service.......2005-09-16
I am both satisfied with amazon service and with the book.
Excellent.......2005-03-30
Beautiful simple straightforward approach to thermodynamics. The postulates are well explained and the use of the axioms is highlighted. Challenging questions make this book a joy to use, great a student text as well as a reference.
Insightful Postulational Approach to Thermodynamics.......2004-05-19
Why did I buy an older thermodynamics text, one first published in 1960? I trusted the advice of earlier reviewers.
They say: 1) The best treatment of classical thermodynamics that I have seen. The chapters on phase transitions are excellent and the mechanical model used to illustrate critical phenomena is brilliant. 2) It is far better than most books on the subject. 3) I think this book has no competition as a text in thermodynamics. It is the ideal preparation for a book like Landau's Statistical Physics. 4) The overview of the fundamentals of thermodynamics is without rival. 5) I think this book is a great option if you feel disappointed with the standard treatment of thermodynamics.
A few reviewers argued that Callen's text was less suitable for engineering students (too few heat-mechanical energy conversion problems) and chemical engineers (too few chemical mixture problems).
My trust was not misplaced. Thermodynamics, an Introduction to the Physical Theories of Equilibrium Thermostatics and Irreversible Thermodynamics, is an exceptional text. I give it five stars.
H. B. Callen offers a fascinating and insightful postulational approach to thermodynamics rather than the conventional inductive approach. He targets first year graduate students and advanced undergraduates; however, even readers proficient with advanced thermodynamics should find Callen's approach stimulating.
The text has three primary sections: General Principles of Classical Thermodynamics (200 pages), Representative Applications (65 pages), and Fluctuations and Irreversible Thermodynamics (50 pages). An extensive appendix, some 50 pages, offers a useful review of pertinent mathematics and other relevant topics. Answers are not provided to the chapter problems.
Interspersed throughout are brief chapters that review useful mathematical techniques. I appreciated the discussions of the Euler equation, the Legendre transformations, the extremum principle in the Legendre transformed representations, and the Maxwell relations (not the Maxwell EM equations). Callen provides useful tools like a thermodynamic mnemonic diagram (first introduced by Max Born) and associated procedures for reducing the formal manipulation of partial derivates to "a simple recipe".
Callen's text has been widely used. I reviewed the 1960 first edition, eighteenth printing. A second edition published in 1984 is easier to find and is often used today as a supplementary text.
Thanks again for the advice from previous reviewers.
Book Description
The most successful theory in all of science--and the basis of one third of our economy--says the strangest things about the world and about us. Can you believe that physical reality is created by our observation of it? Physicists were forced to this conclusion, the quantum enigma, by what they observed in their laboratories. Trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics and found, to their embarrassment, that their theory intimately connects consciousness with the physical world. Quantum Enigma explores what that implies and why some founders of the theory became the foremost objectors to it. Schrodinger showed that it "absurdly" allowed a cat to be in a "superposition" simultaneously dead and alive. Einstein derided the theory's "spooky interactions." With Bell's Theorem, we now know Schrodinger's superpositions and Einstein's spooky interactions indeed exist. Authors Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner explain all of this in non-technical terms with help from some fanciful stories and bits about the theory's developers. They present the quantum mystery honestly, with an emphasis on what is and what is not speculation. Physics' encounter with consciousness is its skeleton in the closet. Because the authors open the closet and examine the skeleton, theirs is a controversial book. Quantum Enigma's description of the experimental quantum facts, and the quantum theory explaining them, is undisputed. Interpreting what it all means, however, is controversial. Every interpretation of quantum physics encounters consciousness. Rosenblum and Kuttner therefore turn to exploring consciousness itself--and encounter quantum physics. Free will and anthropic principles become crucial issues, and the connection of consciousness with the cosmos suggested by some leading quantum cosmologists is mind-blowing. Readers are brought to a boundary where the particular expertise of physicists is no longer a sure guide. They will find, instead, the facts and hints provided by quantum mechanics and the ability to speculate for themselves.
Customer Reviews:
Importance of Einstein's inquisitiveness........2007-10-03
Remember "Blue Velvet" movie and frequently shouting "don't you f@#$ look at me!!" Frank (played with raving mania by Dennis Hopper)? Maybe Frank knew something we do not. But.. jokes aside - it is again about Einstein mostly, and about his two famous quips: "I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it" and: "God does not play dice". He related to measurement/observation problem and Nature's randomness. His questions, musings and skepticism spawned further research into "what is going on?" bringing quantum physics and consciousness enigma into the light. As we read the text, we learn that physicists can be divided into two groups: these who does not want to enter the hazy border of physics and philosophy, and much smaller but not less respected cluster of open-minded scientists who are not afraid to investigate and ask dipper questions. Second group consist(ed) among others Schrodinger himself and John Wheeler - dreamer and colleague of Einstein. There is something wrong with the way science is conducted, and authors clearly point at it quoting many names and opinions. For example: reductionism may be soon in retreat and reasoning by induction has logical problems. Mathematics is not always a panacea for theory -says Stephen Hawking: "The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe" (string cosmologists take heed!). Even philosopher and physicist Victor Stenger ("The Unconscious Quantum") - strong believer in empirical facts/observations and total critic of consciousness admits that we do not live in deterministic Newtonian clockwork universe. I mention him here because I read several of his books not without pleasure. In conclusion: "Quantum Enigma" is a fascinating and provocative book. The only small disappointment comes from marginal treatment of Roger Penrose's interpretation of quantum weirdness that goes without any need to invoke observers or parallel universes. For details one may check June 2005 Discover magazine. Soon after this book was published, May 12th 2007 New Scientist magazine printed information about planned experiments at the University of California , Santa Barbara. The researchers believe they will have ruled out one of the most popular explanations for how quantum things turn classical and that decoherence theory cannot be correct. Experiment will offer an inside into the fundamental nature of quantum measurement, and possibility to take a quick peek inside the box, glimpse the cat's state and observe "superposition" marching one step at a time. This could be a very profound discovery..stay alerted.
Quantum questions at their best.......2007-09-12
A good concise format for the most pressing quantum questions.
A very good read. Recomended for anyone needing more input on how our peception of reality, changes as quantum questions arise..
IM
Absolute must-read.......2007-08-24
I just finished reading Quantum Enigma and it has left me stunned.
Although I am sure many folks would not agree, I think the topic of this book examines the most important questions facing us humans -- the fundamental nature of consciousness and "reality", and how the two interact. The authors explain how quantum theory clearly shows that microscopic particles behave in a way that does not "make sense". Not only can those particles exist in two places at once, but the theory shows that they only exist when observed by something or someone. And since our everyday macroscopic objects are theoretically made up of those tiny particles, what does that mean about the chair I am sitting on? Is it there only because I am here? As stated on page 156, "There is no way to interpret quantum theory without in some way addressing consciousness."
This is not a "pop-quantum" book like the Tao of Physics or The Dancing Wu Li Masters. Nor does it present nonsensical extrapolations of quantum theory to spiritual phenomena, as in the "What the Bleep..." movie. But it does explore realms where most physics text books do not go -- the juncture of physics and philosophy. It shines a bright light on physicists' "skeleton in the closet", the enigmatic meaning of quantum theory.
The book is written in a friendly and entertaining manner, without sacrificing depth or seriousness. I enjoyed the photos of the great minds of quantum theory - Bohr, Heisenberg, Einstein, etc - the guys who knew from the start that quantum theory required a different world view.
It may be true, in some sense, that nothing exists unless and until "observed"! How can that possibly be? The authors don't provide an answer, but the beauty of this book for me was the courageous and competent way in which it asks the questions. And they freely admit that "The more deeply you think about quantum mechanics, the more strange it seems." No kidding.
--Joel Nisson
A perspective shaking journey.......2007-08-14
The concepts are simple but profound, mind creates matter. This book takes this idea and a few other mind bending, and mind blowing concepts that quantum physics has shown us about ourselves, and our universe and expands on them in a readable format. The astonishing realization for me is the apparent direct correlation between what quantum physics has told us about reality, and what mystics have been saying for thousands of years, especially the Buddha. This book is a must buy for any inquiring minds out there. It will change the way you look at yourself, and the world!!
Excellent treatment of the subject.......2007-08-10
The authors do a great job of presenting the issue. Some of the basic quantum concepts seem a bit dumbed-down, but their focus on the subject of quantum physics vs. consciousness is precise and well-thought-out. Refreshingly free of all the wooly-headedness that plagues other discussions of this type ("The Holographic Universe" comes to mind as a particularly bad example), which hijack science, broadly and clumsily applied, to justify belief in everything from ESP to reincarnation. They stick to the science, and properly so. Quantum mechanics is already so weird, it doesn't need to be conflated into anything else.
Average customer rating:
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ASIN: 0124823602 |
Book Description
A prior knowledge of probability theory would be helpful for the material in Part I; likewise, a previous introduction to the engineered safety features of a nuclear reactor makes portions of Part II easier to understand. For those without this background, introductory material is provided in Chapter 2 and the appendixes.
Book Description
The worldwide bestseller Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach brings further refinement to an approach that emphasizes a physical understanding of the fundamental concepts of thermodynamics. The authors offer an engineering textbook that "talks directly to tomorrow's engineers in a simple yet precise manner, that encourages creative thinking, and is read by the students with interest and enthusiasm."
The new edition features an early introduction of the first law of thermodynamics, separate coverage of closed systems energy analysis, combined coverage of control volume mass and energy analysis, and revised coverage of compressible flow. Over 300 comprehensive problems have been added to this physically intuitive text, many of which come from industrial applications.
The media package for this text is extensive, giving users a large variety of supplemental resources to choose from. A Student Resources DVD is packaged with each new copy of the text and contains the popular Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software, Physical Experiments, and an Interactive Thermodynamics tutorial. An Online Learning Center is also available to students and instructors at http://www.mhhe.com/cengel. Instructors also have access to an Instructor Resource CD-ROM that provides useful tools in order to optimize in-class presentations.
Customer Reviews:
Textbook.......2007-01-12
It was the correct textbook. It's an old version but that is what the prof required. Books are Books.
Ivestigation and extra help.......2007-01-07
This book provide a excellent definition of Thermodynamic that help you to understand all concepts that you need to learn this subjet, the problems are very clear to understand the process to resolve they.
A book for chemical engineers written by mechanical engineers..........2007-01-04
My class used only the first eleven chapters, but it was clear that the chapters were written more with a mechanical engineering bent of mind. The theory part was great, but the examples could use more work, especially for the thermodynamic cycle problems, which would have been much easier if an accompanying entropy-temperature graph was present. also, a few of the worked out solutions were incorrect. Overall, a good book, but keep a look out for alternates. Maybe the updated edition is better..
Also, make sure your copy has the property table accompanying it, because they are really important and for many problems, it is easier to use the slim tables than the heavy book.
Good product.......2006-11-10
I got my book that I ordered in the time they specified and it was ing good condition.
Fantastic.......2006-10-29
Frankly, I think that this was one of the best engineering texts I have had. Granted, I am only a stupid mechanical engineer, but this book gives your all that you need for as a basis for heat transfer and other courses. Also included in the special topics are refrigerators. Yes, they are random, but they actually connected pulling values out of tables with real life. The book had good examples, and enough of them. The text was readable and straightforward.
Something that I rather like is that the pictures were in red, black, and white. I think it makes the pages less distracting and easier to read (although sometimes it does take an extra minute to figure out the diagram).
I am not sure what the DVD was--some software, I believe, but no professor ever bothers to use it. That is what I wish they had cut to save money.
Product Description
Statistical Mechanics: Entropy, Order Parameters and Complexity (Oxford Master Series in Physics)
Customer Reviews:
Good for professors, not for students.......2007-03-08
This book is great, if you've already got an advanced physics degree and want a new/fresh look at Statistical Mechanics with a modern bent. The problems are very long and wordy, but that ususally means there's a lot of explanation...which is because none of it is explained in the text.
Excellent Advanced Statistical Mechanics Book.......2006-10-20
I immensely enjoyed studying this statistical mechanics book. I think that the author, James Sethna, has a "Feynman-like" ability to explore his subject matter with much depth, insight, and many playfully creative excursions. The exercises cover such topics as the thermodynamics of Dyson Spheres and black holes; of how many shuffles it takes to fully randomize a card deck; and of whether an advanced, intelligent being or civilization can, from a thermodynamic standpoint, manage to process an infinite number of thoughts before the heat death of the universe, or whether they are limited to a finite number of thoughts. I think that there is a lot of wisdom and insights in this book which is missing in other books I've read on statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, where I often feel overwhelmed by a zoo of partial derivatives and thermodynamic equations with little guidance given on how the entire structure fits together. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who has studied some statistical mechanics and/or thermodynamics in a lower-level undergraduate course, and is looking for more advanced upper-level undergraduate or graduate-level text.
Terrific breadth, but many grains of salt needed.......2006-06-17
I haven't yet had a chance to read this book from cover to cover. However, after several hours with it, some of its strengths and weaknesses became evident. Many of these complement each other.
It covers an exciting range of contemporary applications -- take a look at the table of contents. The problems are long, discursive, and even more intriguing than the main text, covering topics like the cosmic microwave background, origami microstructures, Langevin equations, snowflakes, biochemical reaction rates and NP-completeness. The book is rich in illustrations, and in footnotes that give an informal commentary on the main text.
One downside is that, being so wide, the coverage is also a bit thin in places. Many of the most interesting contemporary topics, such as the statistical mechanics of networks, are covered *only* in exercises. Thermodynamics is dismissed in less than 10 pages in the middle of the book, owing to that subject's being "cluttered" with a "zoo of partial derivatives, transformations and relations."
The exercises look to be more fun and tempting than usual in books on this subject. So it's a definite bummer that the book neither includes answers or hints, nor states problems in closed form ("Show that this stuff = X"). The book's web site contains only some hints for computational exercises, plus a bunch of additional problems (again, without answers). If you're interested in self-study, this tease is frustrating - an automatic one-star deduction.
There's more good news/bad news with the author's aim to be relevant to fields outside traditional physics -- e.g. in econophysics and social science. This certainly makes the book up-to-date and attractive, and was one of the reasons I bought it. But applying physics to social science is a tricky business. There's a couple hundred years of failed attempts, because people blithely modeled stuff without thinking enough about the limits within which such an analogy might be appropriate. And many who do think about those limits when deriving a model often forget about them when applying it.
An example is the Black-Scholes model of option pricing. The model's results are "simply wrong" (B. Mandelbrot). Its assumptions about volatility and the structure of the option contract aren't empirically justified. Its blind application contributed to the 1987 stock market break. And the investment fund run by one of its Nobel-laureate inventors went bust in flames in 1998. In this book, there's an exercise that walks you through some of the underlying concepts of Black-Scholes (pp. 32-33). But the author only praises the model, without so much as a footnote mentioning its darker side.
Even when doing "traditional" physics, one ignores philosophical issues at one's peril. A lot of the great physicists of the past century weren't being stupid to fret over them. On the other hand, there are lots of folks like my QM professor in the 1970s, who explained that the only reason Bohr, Heisenberg and Einstein discussed philosophy was that they didn't understand QM, "but today we understand it very well, so we don't need to worry about that stuff."
Unfortunately, this book continues that gung-ho, what-me-worry tradition. A disappointing example is the discussion of information and entropy (pp. 85 ff). The author states that interpreting entropy "not as a property of the system, but of our knowledge of the system ... cleanly resolves many otherwise confusing issues" (@ 85). This "cleanly" is a bit disingenuous, since plenty of people wouldn't agree with this interpretation (see, e.g., J. Bricmont's 1995 paper "Science of Chaos, or Chaos in Science?", available on the arXiv). The discussion of the arrow of time (pp. 80-81) does mention a couple of nuggets of relevant history, but the level of treatment is more suitable for a pre-med physics survey class than for a graduate course in stat mech.
A couple of pages later (pp. 87-90), the author slides from a discussion of Shannon entropy to discussing an algorithm for helping your roommate find her keys by asking her questions. Without acknowledging it, he introduces the notion of meaning into "information" -- but meaning wasn't relevant for Shannon. Indeed, the historical background for why Shannon called his quantity "entropy" -- John von Neumann advised him to use the term because "nobody understands entropy" -- suggests one should be very cautious about mashing up the various scientific and colloquial meanings of "information".
It's just this kind of unreflective enthusiasm when applying physics techniques outside their usual domain that leads to so many junk "Physics and Society" papers on the arXiv. At least one-half star deduction, for an upper bound of 3.5 stars.
NOTE ADDED 2007/03/27: I recently received a very gracious email from the author addressing some of the above comments. I wasn't convinced by him about Black-Scholes or entropy (which he claimed to understand "in the broad context" better than Claude Shannon or J. Bricmont), but I do appreciate his engaging me on those points. He's also prepared an answer key to the exercises, though you'll need to write to him and convince him that you aren't taking the course for credit before he'll send them to you. (In my case my review apparently was credible evidence enough; not sure what it might take in yours, but from his note it sounds like it's not an impossible task.) I can't say that this materially changes my rating of the book, but I certainly give five stars to the author for his sincerity.
Book Description
An accessible introduction to string theory, this book provides a detailed and self-contained demonstration of the main concepts involved. The first part deals with basic ideas, reviewing special relativity and electromagnetism while introducing the concept of extra dimensions. D-branes and the classical dynamics of relativistic strings are discussed next, and the quantization of open and closed bosonic strings in the light-cone gauge, along with a brief introduction to superstrings. The second part begins with a detailed study of D-branes followed by string thermodynamics. It discusses possible physical applications, and covers T-duality of open and closed strings, electromagnetic fields on D-branes, Born/Infeld electrodynamics, covariant string quantization and string interactions. Primarily aimed as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, it will also be ideal for a wide range of scientists and mathematicians who are curious about string theory.
Customer Reviews:
An undergraduate's textbook.......2007-03-09
For any advanced undergraduate student in physics who is interested in string theory, this book is ideal. It starts off very easily, reviewing concepts of free point particle actions in special relativity and then gradually introduces classical strings, which are then quantised in the light-cone gauge. It doesn' get too technical, but it provides one with a good foundation in string theory's concepts. The topics are discussed very clearly, both in words and in formulae. At the end of the book, black holes are discussed very briefly (in connection with the Hagedoorn temperature) in an easy way, covariant quantisation (as an "improvement" on the light-cone gauge, which does not preserve Lorentz invariance all the way through), and D-branes.
This book is intended for advanced undergraduates, but for those who find beginning graduate courses in string theory too complicated at the outset, buy this one, read it and you'll probably understand more of the classics by Polchinski or Green/Schwarz/Witten. Those who have a solid knowledge of QFT might go passed this book, but it might be a good back-up for what more standard textbooks might call "trivial calculations".
The long way to learning string theory.......2007-03-08
Until chapter 10, the book is a pleasure to read. It is very systematic, everything is explained in great detail, and the different concepts are very clear and well exposed. The author succeeds in turning a rather obscure scientific topic into an exciting adventure. If I should judge the book only for this first part, I would give it 5 stars. In fact the book is misleading since when you start reading, you get the illusion string theory can be made accessible even for beginners with an average background.
However, this illusion is in vain since the panorama changes dramatically in chapter 10, where the author enters directly into quantum field theory, without any further preparation. An this is the real problem, because the author who developed from the ground up the classical approach to strings mechanics, takes for granted the reader is highly knowledged in quantum mechanics. In spite of his efforts to introduce the subject in successive approximations, all is in vain because the subject is too intricate. The book is not any more systematic for readers lacking adequate quantum theory background.
Certainly this is not a book for beginners. The book requires previous deep understanding of quantum mechanics. Beginners can still learn some interesting concepts from the first part of the book, but a complete reading would require deep study of less advanced quantum mechanics bibliography. That said, I must also point out if the level of the book is maintained in its second part, it may become a top ten for more advanced readers.
Hopelessly dated.......2007-01-27
In spite of being published only two years ago, this book does not make any mention of Professor Susskind's Landscape theory, the single most important advancement in string theory since anomaly cancellation was discovered. The book does a disservice to the students it is intended for, letting them think they understand string theory while depriving them of key mathematical and physical concepts, such as the Lanscape or Calabi Yau manifolds.
Satisfy curiosity but not envision advancement.......2006-11-10
I still think advanced physics needs advanced mathematics to explain and explore. With limited depth of mathematics in this book, even though lots of ideas can be expressed, the process is tedious. This introductory book can satisfy my curiosity but not enough to envision the potential study advancement.
Emanuel Degni.......2006-11-10
Top quality and well revised.
To emit my opinion I will have to complete the readings, but before that I am studying Quantum mechanics and Relativity
Book Description
Atom-Photon Interactions: Basic Processes and Applications allows the reader to master various aspects of the physics of the interaction between light and matter. It is devoted to the study of the interactions between photons and atoms in atomic and molecular physics, quantum optics, and laser physics. The elementary processes in which photons are emitted, absorbed, scattered, or exchanged between atoms are treated in detail and described using diagrammatic representation. The book presents different theoretical approaches, including:
* Perturbative methods
* The resolvent method
* Use of the master equation
* The Langevin equation
* The optical Bloch equations
* The dressed-atom approach
Each method is presented in a self-contained manner so that it may be studied independently. Many applications of these approaches to simple and important physical phenomena are given to illustrate the potential and limitations of each method.
Customer Reviews:
Very useful.......2000-06-26
Atom Photon Interactions is an excellent text for atomic and optical physics. I refer back to the review material---transition amplitudes, quantum electrodynamic fundamentals, etc--- over and over again. Naturally, these sections are very brief, and the book works best along side Cohen-Tannoudji's more elementary texts Quantum Mechanics and Photons and Atoms, or their equivalents.
The later chapters are rich in techniques and intuition applicable to atom-trapping, spectroscopy, laser theory, etc. Cohen-Tannoudji covers a lot of material, and manages to link it all to a few basic fundamental principles. The book is extremely well-organized, with bite-sized sections and appendices to each chapter. An excellent collection of exercises with solutions is included in the back. Unfortunately, the text does not prompt the reader to try working these problems at appropriate times (sadly, I didn't realize the exercises were there until I'd been using the book for some time). Like Photons and Atoms, this is primarily a book for theorists; its one weakness, I feel, is that the principles, however clear, never seem connected to the actual numbers that an experimentalist or system designer can relate to.
Average customer rating:
- excelent deal
- Why Is This Textbook So Widely Used?
- Consider it for what it is
- Not if you want to learn math, use only as reference
- Basic and Essential
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Mathematical Methods For Physicists
George B. Arfken , and
Hans J. Weber
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ASIN: 0120598760
Release Date: 2005-06-21 |
Book Description
This best-selling title provides in one handy volume the essential mathematical tools and techniques used to solve problems in physics. It is a vital addition to the bookshelf of any serious student of physics or research professional in the field. The authors have put considerable effort into revamping this new edition.
* Updates the leading graduate-level text in mathematical physics
* Provides comprehensive coverage of the mathematics necessary for advanced study in physics and engineering
* Focuses on problem-solving skills and offers a vast array of exercises
* Clearly illustrates and proves mathematical relations
New in the Sixth Edition:
* Updated content throughout, based on users' feedback
* More advanced sections, including differential forms and the elegant forms of Maxwell's equations
* A new chapter on probability and statistics
* More elementary sections have been deleted
Customer Reviews:
excelent deal.......2007-09-30
I appreciate the quick delivery of the book! I received it on the first day of the estimated time interval. I enjoy shopping at amazon.com!
Why Is This Textbook So Widely Used?.......2006-11-14
I am a graduate physics student with a strong mathematical background. This is the textbook used for our 2 semester course in mathematical methods for physics. The book is massive, both in content and physical weight. The cover is attractive and the printing seems to be fairly high quality. Now comes the difficult part of the review: finding other positive comments. First of all, I have only used a few chapters of the book thus far, so my comments pertain only to those. Some difficulties I have found... There are no answers to any exercises making the book fairly useless for self-study. The material is very uneven, as if each section was written by a different author (graduate student?). The explanations and examples are mediocre at best (contrast with the Mary Boas book). There are MANY typos - what ever happened to proof reading? The class INSTRUCTOR doesn't like the book, but is forced to use it by the department, and has regularly emailed the authors with corrections and recommendations. None of the students in the class like the book. You may be forced to use this book, but I would recommend other books as supplements (e.g., the book by Mary Boas and several in the Schaum Outline Series).
Consider it for what it is.......2006-10-11
This is a 1000 page supplement to other textbooks or courses, and works best when combined with an instructor that knows the material in depth. Personally, this book was a required text for an intro to theoretical physics class that I took a few years ago, and combined with the instructor's lectures that were partially supplemented by other authors (Boas), I learned quite a bit.
Now I am in graduate school and I am still coming back to this book as a solid reference for bessel (and other special) functions, complex variables, etc. This book has many problems, a lot of them have solutions, and most of the time you can determine for yourself if you have the correct answer. I would say a great strength of this book is the difficulty of the problems. Sure, it will take some time to work through them to a solid solution, but in doing the problems in Arfken and Weber I've found I had more depth in understanding after finding solutions. Other textbooks will have loads of problems all with very little differences. You have to actually think to solve the problems contained within this book, which will sharpen your mind for quickly solving problems that you otherwise might not attempt. At least that has been my experience.
Not if you want to learn math, use only as reference.......2006-09-27
I used this book as a textbook for a Math class. Okay, I'm not a mathematician so it was suppoused to be a side course. Since I'm not precisely fluent in most of these topics I expected to learn at least the basic stuff. But, as I tried to use the book as a basis for my studies, I found only concepts and demostrations, and no clear examples about anything! I think the authors must think that putting examples in a book like this may be considered offensive by some of their most lectured readers!
I recommend this book only if you are fluent in mathematics, if you already know about the topics and just want a reference book, or if you want to put your "genious" to the test trying to find out what's going on without any kind of aid.
Basic and Essential.......2006-08-05
This book is not so difficult and easy to understand, but it contains basic and essential mathematical knowledge and technique. If one learns eagerly this book, one can get important and useful knowledge to learn science or engineering. Let's become specialist of science or engineering.
Average customer rating:
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Uncertainty, Calibration and Probability: The Statistics of Scientific and Industrial Measurement (The Adam Hilger Series on Measurement Science and)
C.F Dietrich
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0750300604 |
Book Description
All measurements are subject to error because no quantity can be known exactly; hence, any measurement has a probability of lying within a certain range. The more precise the measurement, the smaller the range of uncertainty. Uncertainty, Calibration and Probability is a comprehensive treatment of the statistics and methods of estimating these calibration uncertainties. The book features the general theory of uncertainty involving the combination (convolution) of non-Gaussian, student t, and Gaussian distributions; the use of rectangular distributions to represent systematic uncertainties; and measurable and nonmeasurable uncertainties that require estimation. The author also discusses sources of measurement errors and curve fitting with numerous examples of uncertainty case studies. Many useful tables and computational formulae are included as well. All formulations are discussed and demonstrated with the minimum of mathematical knowledge assumed. This second edition offers additional examples in each chapter, and detailed additions and alterations made to the text. New chapters consist of the general theory of uncertainty and applications to industry and a new section discusses the use of orthogonal polynomials in curve fitting. Focusing on practical problems of measurement, Uncertainty, Calibration and Probability is an invaluable reference tool for R&D laboratories in the engineering/manufacturing industries and for undergraduate and graduate students in physics, engineering, and metrology.
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