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- catalog abstract ""For 300 years, Trinh Xuan Thuan writes, since the time of Isaac Newton, scientists saw reality as a giant clock - a sterile mechanism in which one part acts on another in a deterministic fashion. But the discoveries of the last few decades have changed all that, conjuring up instead a universe brimming with unpredictability, creativity, and chance." "Thuan vividly describes these important scientific discoveries, intriguing new theories about chaos, gravity, strange attractors, fractals, symmetry, superstrings, and the strangeness of atoms. Equally important, he reveals how these discoveries have shaped our view of the universe - for instance, how quantum mechanics brought indeterminism to the subatomic universe. Thuan deftly describes quantum mechanics, discusses its relationship to the theories of relativity (which deal with the universe on a massive scale), and comments on Einstein's inability to accept it. Indeed, throughout Chaos and Harmony, he makes clear as never before the mind-bending ideas of modern physics, such as the effect of gravity on time (it slows it down), the impossibility of crossing the speed-of-light barrier (it would actually reverse time), the role of fractals as "the language of nature," and the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in understanding the universe." "From the subatomic world to the vast realm of quasars and galaxies, from the nature of mathematics of the fractal characteristics of the human circulatory system, Trinh Xuan Thuan takes us on a breathtaking tour of the universe. With striking examples and clear, plain language, he shows how science has actually restored mystery to the world around us - a world of symmetry and chaos, contingency and creativity."--Jacket.".
- catalog alternative "Chaos et l'harmonie. English".
- catalog contributor b11967192.
- catalog created "2001.".
- catalog date "2001".
- catalog date "2001.".
- catalog dateCopyrighted "2001.".
- catalog description ""For 300 years, Trinh Xuan Thuan writes, since the time of Isaac Newton, scientists saw reality as a giant clock - a sterile mechanism in which one part acts on another in a deterministic fashion. But the discoveries of the last few decades have changed all that, conjuring up instead a universe brimming with unpredictability, creativity, and chance." "Thuan vividly describes these important scientific discoveries, intriguing new theories about chaos, gravity, strange attractors, fractals, symmetry, superstrings, and the strangeness of atoms. Equally important, he reveals how these discoveries have shaped our view of the universe - for instance, how quantum mechanics brought indeterminism to the subatomic universe. Thuan deftly describes quantum mechanics, discusses its relationship to the theories of relativity (which deal with the universe on a massive scale), and comments on Einstein's inability to accept it. Indeed, throughout Chaos and Harmony, he makes clear as never before the mind-bending ideas of modern physics, such as the effect of gravity on time (it slows it down), the impossibility of crossing the speed-of-light barrier (it would actually reverse time), the role of fractals as "the language of nature," and the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in understanding the universe." "From the subatomic world to the vast realm of quasars and galaxies, from the nature of mathematics of the fractal characteristics of the human circulatory system, Trinh Xuan Thuan takes us on a breathtaking tour of the universe. With striking examples and clear, plain language, he shows how science has actually restored mystery to the world around us - a world of symmetry and chaos, contingency and creativity."--Jacket.".
- catalog description "Includes bibliographical references (p. [349]) and index.".
- catalog description "Truth and beauty -- Contingency and necessity: the formation of the solar system -- Chaos in the cosmic machinery, and uncertainty in determinism -- The austere beauty of symmetry -- The unbearable strangeness of atoms -- The creative universe -- The unreasonable effectiveness of thought.".
- catalog extent "xii, 366 p. :".
- catalog identifier "0195129172 (alk. paper)".
- catalog issued "2001".
- catalog issued "2001.".
- catalog language "eng fre".
- catalog language "eng".
- catalog publisher "Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press,".
- catalog subject "523.01 21".
- catalog subject "Astrophysics Philosophy.".
- catalog subject "Chaotic behavior in systems.".
- catalog subject "QB461 .T5613 2001".
- catalog tableOfContents "Truth and beauty -- Contingency and necessity: the formation of the solar system -- Chaos in the cosmic machinery, and uncertainty in determinism -- The austere beauty of symmetry -- The unbearable strangeness of atoms -- The creative universe -- The unreasonable effectiveness of thought.".
- catalog title "Chaos and harmony : perspectives on scientific revolutions of the 20th Century / Trinh Xuan Thuan ; translated by Axel Reisinger.".
- catalog title "Chaos et l'harmonie. English".
- catalog type "text".