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Physics and Astronomy

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S.D. Chatterjee- A Scientist's Journey from Tradition to Modernity

September 18, 2023 03:53 PM
This book presents the fascinating story of a physicist, Syamadas Chatterjee, who dedicated his whole life to science. The person who elbowed his way into almost any branch of physics, be it nuclear physics, high energy physics, condensed matter physics, magnetism, radioactivity, instrumentation, ionospheric science, or hot springs and recovery of helium from them. Sadly, he missed receiving the credit of discovering the spontaneous fission in uranium. His curiosity to understand the mysteries of nature will inspire our younger generations to realize the spirit of science.

Mars

September 18, 2023 03:35 PM
As one of the five planets that can be seen in the night sky without the aid of a telescope, Mars has been a source of fascination for millennia. What is it about this dusty, dry world that has captured our imaginations so completely? Astronomer Patricia Skleton investigates our relationship with Mars, beginning with the earliest observations and the curious conundrums they generated and ending with our ambitious plans for future space missions. She explores how is helped solve the mysteries of planetary motion, sparked furious debates about the possibility of other life in the Solar System, became an early target of space exploration and has since been a testing ground for remarkable new technologies.

What's Gotten Into You?

September 11, 2023 08:41 AM
The awe-inspiring story of the elements that make up the human body, and how these building blocks of life traveled billions of miles across billions of years to make us who we are.

The predictive power of computational astrophysics as a discovery tool

August 28, 2023 04:27 PM
A new paradigm for scientific discovery through computational tools now permeates every aspect of astronomical research. Computational astrophysics combines modern computational methods, novel hardware designs, advanced algorithms, original software implementations, and associated technologies to discover new phenomena and to make predictions in astronomy. The proceedings of IAU Symposium 362 summarizes ongoing developments in computational astrophysics through astronomers in diverse fields sharing their knowledge and approaches. It focuses on computational methods applied to speed up and broaden the scope of scientific studies, such as finding trends in observational data, high performance computing, automated search algorithms, and model predictability.

Phenomena: Doppelmayr's celestial atlas

August 22, 2023 01:33 PM
Lavishly illustrated volume revealing the intricacies of a 1742 map of the cosmos.
The expansive and intricate Atlas Coelestis , created by Johann Doppelmayr in 1742, set out to record everything known about astronomy at the time, covering constellations, planets, moons, comets, and more, all rendered in exquisite detail. Through stunning illustrations, historical notes, and scientific explanations, Phenomena contextualizes Doppelmayr's atlas and creates a spectacular handbook to the heavens.

Origins: Fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution

August 22, 2023 01:14 PM
Our true origins are not just human, or even terrestrial, but in fact cosmic. Drawing on recent scientific breakthroughs and the current cross-pollination among geology, biology, astrophysics, and cosmology, Origins explains the soul-stirring leaps in our understanding of the cosmos. From the first image of a galaxy birth to Spirit Rover's exploration of Mars, to the discovery of water on one of Jupiter's moons, coauthors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith conduct a galvanizing tour of the cosmos with clarity and exuberance.

Atmosphere-ocean modeling Coupling and couplers

June 27, 2023 03:37 PM
Coupled atmosphere-ocean models are at the core of numerical climate models. There is an extraordinarily broad class of coupled atmosphere-ocean models ranging from sets of equations that can be solved analytically to highly detailed representations of Nature requiring the most advanced computers for execution. The models are applied to subjects including the conceptual understanding of Earth's climate, predictions that support human activities in a variable climate, and projections aimed to prepare society for climate change.

Modern Physics: The Scenic Route

May 10, 2023 08:26 PM
This book leapfrogs over the usual pedagogical progression, taking readers to a real understanding of quantum, relativistic, nuclear and particle physics. These areas are usually reserved for the end of one's undergraduate career or even for graduate students in physics programs, but do not need to be. The Scenic Route is really created out of the joy of science; it is not designed to produce problem-solving ability but rather is designed to reveal some physics that is just plain nifty. Guided by an understanding that much of modern physics is available to almost everyone with a moderate mathematical vocabulary, we lead the student through a short, trenchant tour of quantum physics, relativity, modern particle physics and its history.

The Science of Learning Physics Cognitive Strategies for Improving Instruction

May 10, 2023 08:20 PM
This book on the teaching and learning of physics is intended for college-level instructors, but high school instructors might also find it very useful. Some ideas found in this book might be a small "tweak" to existing practices whereas others require more substantial revisions to instruction. The discussions of student learning herein are based on research evidence accumulated over decades from various fields, including cognitive psychology, educational psychology, the learning sciences, and discipline-based education research including physics education research. Likewise, the teaching suggestions are also based on research findings. As for any other scientific endeavor, physics education research is an empirical field where experiments are performed, data are analyzed and conclusions drawn. Evidence from such research is then used to inform physics teaching and learning.

A first course in spectral theory

March 24, 2023 09:58 AM
The central topic of this book is the spectral theory of bounded and unbounded self-adjoint operators on Hilbert spaces. After introducing the necessary prerequisites in measure theory and functional analysis, the exposition focuses on operator theory and especially the structure of self-adjoint operators. These can be viewed as infinite-dimensional analogues of Hermitian matrices; the infinite-dimensional setting leads to a richer theory which goes beyond eigenvalues and eigenvectors and studies self-adjoint operators in the language of spectral measures and the Borel functional calculus.

Dan Broadbent

Physical & Computer Sciences Librarian
dan_broadbent@byu.edu