George McGuire – författare

Science demands that all theory must be checked by experiment. Richard Feyn­ man, Nobel Laureate in physics (1965), reminds us in a wonderful quote that "The test of all knowledge is experiment. Experiment is the sole judge of sci­ entific truth. " 1 It is because nonlinear physics can be so profoundly counter­ intuitive that these laboratory investigations are so important. This manual is designed to be used with the text Nonlinear Physics with Maple for Scientists and Engineers. Understanding is enhanced when experiments are used to check so please attempt as many of the activities as you can. As you perform theory, these activities, we hope that you will be amazed and startled by strange behav­ ior, intrigued and terrorized by new ideas, and be able to amaze your friends as you relate your strange sightings! Remember that imagination is just as impor­ tant as knowledge, so exercise yours whenever possible. But please be careful, as nonlinear activities can be addicting, can provide fond memories, and can awaken an interest that lasts a lifetime. Although it has been said that a rose by any other name is still a rose, (with apologies to Shakespeare) the authors of this laboratory manual have, in an endeavor to encourage the use of these nonlinear investigations, called them experimental activities rather than experiments. A number of design innovations have been introduced: A.

Science demands that all theory must be checked by experiment. Richard Feyn­ man, Nobel Laureate in physics (1965), reminds us in a wonderful quote that "The test of all knowledge is experiment. Experiment is the sole judge of sci­ entific truth. " 1 It is because nonlinear physics can be so profoundly counter­ intuitive that these laboratory investigations are so important. This manual is designed to be used with the text Nonlinear Physics with Maple for Scientists and Engineers. Understanding is enhanced when experiments are used to check so please attempt as many of the activities as you can. As you perform theory, these activities, we hope that you will be amazed and startled by strange behav­ ior, intrigued and terrorized by new ideas, and be able to amaze your friends as you relate your strange sightings! Remember that imagination is just as impor­ tant as knowledge, so exercise yours whenever possible. But please be careful, as nonlinear activities can be addicting, can provide fond memories, and can awaken an interest that lasts a lifetime. Although it has been said that a rose by any other name is still a rose, (with apologies to Shakespeare) the authors of this laboratory manual have, in an endeavor to encourage the use of these nonlinear investigations, called them experimental activities rather than experiments. A number of design innovations have been introduced: A.

Philosophy of the Text This text has been designed to be an introductory survey of the basic concepts and applied mathematical methods of nonlinear science. Students in engineer­ ing, physics, chemistry, mathematics, computing science, and biology should be able to successfully use this text. In an effort to provide the students with a cutting edge approach to one of the most dynamic, often subtle, complex, and still rapidly evolving, areas of modern research-nonlinear physics-we have made extensive use of the symbolic, numeric, and plotting capabilities of Maple V Release 4 applied to examples from these disciplines. No prior knowledge of Maple or computer programming is assumed, the reader being gently introduced to Maple as an auxiliary tool as the concepts of nonlinear science are developed. The diskette which accompanies the text gives a wide variety of illustrative nonlinear examples solved with Maple. An accompanying laboratory manual of experimental activities keyed to the text allows the student the option of "hands on" experience in exploring nonlinear phenomena in the REAL world. Although the experiments are easy to perform, they give rise to experimental and theoretical complexities which are not to be underestimated. The Level of the Text The essential prerequisites for the first eight chapters of this text would nor­ mally be one semester of ordinary differential equations and an intermediate course in classical mechanics.

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