Kip S. Thorne - Böcker

Electromagnetic and mechanical oscillators are crucial in such diverse fields as electrical engineering, microwave technology, optical technology, and experimental physics. For example, such oscillators are the key elements in instruments for detecting extremely weak mechanical forces and electromagnetic signals are essential to highly stable standards of time and frequency. The central problem in developing such instruments is to construct oscillators that are as perfectly simple harmonic as possible; the largest obstacle is the oscillator's dissipation and the fluctuating forces associated with it. This book, first published in Russian in 1981 and updated with new data for this English edition, is a treatise on the sources of dissipation and other defects in mechanical and electromagnetic oscillators and on practical techniques for minimizing such defects. Written by a team of researchers from Moscow State University who are leading experts in the field, the book is a virtual encyclopedia of theoretical formulas, experimental techniques, and practical lore derived from twenty-five years of experience. Intended for the experimenter who wishes to construct near-perfect instrumentation, the book provides information on everything from the role of phonon-phonon scattering as a fundamental source of dissipation to the effectiveness of a thin film of pork fat in reducing the friction between a support wire and a mechanically oscillating sapphire crystal. The researchers that V. B. Braginsky has led since the mid-1960s are best known in the West for their contributions to the technology of gravitational-wave detection, their experimental search for quarks, their test of the equivalency principle, and their invention of new experimental techniques for high-precision measurement, including "quantum nondemolition movements." Here, for the first time, they provide a thorough overview of the practical knowledge and experimental methods that have earned them a worldwide reputation for ingenuity, talent, and successful technique.

This pedagogical introduction to the physics of black holes emphasizes the “membrane paradigm”, which translates the mathematics and physics of black holes into a form accessible to readers with little knowledge of general relativity but a solid grounding in nonrelativistic physics.  This is accomplished without resort to approximations or loss of content.  Instead of treating a black hole’s “event horizon” as a globally defined null surface in four-dimensional space time, the paradigm views it as a two-dimensional membrane in three-dimensional space.  Made of viscous fluid, electrically charged and conducting, with finite entropy and temperature but no power to conduct heat, this membrane is seen as having familiar properties that enable the reader to understand intuitively and compute quantitatively the behavior of black holes in complex astrophysical environments.

This book is an up-to-date introduction to the quantum theory of measurement, a fast developing field of intense current interest to scientists and engineers for its potential high technology applications. It is also a subject of importance to students for its central role in the foundations of quantum mechanics. Although the main principles of the field were elaborated in the 1930s by Bohr, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, von Neumann and Mandelstam, it was not until the 1980s that technology became sufficiently advanced to allow its application in real experiments. Quantum measurement is now central to many ultra-high technology developments, such as squeezed light, single atom traps, and searches for gravitational radiation. It is also considered to have great promise for computer science and engineering, particularly for its applications in information processing and transfer. The book contains a pedagogical introduction to the relevant theory written at a level accessible to those with only a modest background in quantum mechanics. It then goes on to discuss aspects of the design of practical quantum measurement systems. This book is essential reading for all scientists and engineers interested in the potential applications of technology near the quantum limit. It will also serve as an ideal supplement to standard quantum mechanics textbooks at the advanced undergraduate or graduate level.

This book is an up-to-date introduction to the quantum theory of measurement, a fast developing field of intense current interest to scientists and engineers for its potential high technology applications. It is also a subject of importance to students for its central role in the foundations of quantum mechanics. Although the main principles of the field were elaborated in the 1930s by Bohr, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, von Neumann and Mandelstam, it was not until the 1980s that technology became sufficiently advanced to allow its application in real experiments. Quantum measurement is now central to many ultra-high technology developments, such as squeezed light, single atom traps, and searches for gravitational radiation. It is also considered to have great promise for computer science and engineering, particularly for its applications in information processing and transfer. The book contains a pedagogical introduction to the relevant theory written at a level accessible to those with only a modest background in quantum mechanics. It then goes on to discuss aspects of the design of practical quantum measurement systems. This book is essential reading for all scientists and engineers interested in the potential applications of technology near the quantum limit. It will also serve as an ideal supplement to standard quantum mechanics textbooks at the advanced undergraduate or graduate level.

This first-year, graduate-level text and reference book covers the fundamental concepts and twenty-first-century applications of six major areas of classical physics that every masters- or PhD-level physicist should be exposed to, but often isn't: statistical physics, optics (waves of all sorts), elastodynamics, fluid mechanics, plasma physics, and special and general relativity and cosmology. Growing out of a full-year course that the eminent researchers Kip Thorne and Roger Blandford taught at Caltech for almost three decades, this book is designed to broaden the training of physicists. Its six main topical sections are also designed so they can be used in separate courses, and the book provides an invaluable reference for researchers.* Presents all the major fields of classical physics except three prerequisites: classical mechanics, electromagnetism, and elementary thermodynamics * Elucidates the interconnections between diverse fields and explains their shared concepts and tools * Focuses on fundamental concepts and modern, real-world applications * Takes applications from fundamental, experimental, and applied physics; astrophysics and cosmology; geophysics, oceanography, and meteorology; biophysics and chemical physics; engineering and optical science and technology; and information science and technology * Emphasizes the quantum roots of classical physics and how to use quantum techniques to elucidate classical concepts or simplify classical calculations * Features hundreds of color figures, some five hundred exercises, extensive cross-references, and a detailed index * An online illustration package is available to professors

First published in 1973, Gravitation is a landmark graduate-level textbook that presents Einstein's general theory of relativity and offers a rigorous, full-year course on the physics of gravitation. Upon publication, Science called it "a pedagogic masterpiece," and it has since become a classic, considered essential reading for every serious student and researcher in the field of relativity. This authoritative text has shaped the research of generations of physicists and astronomers, and the book continues to influence the way experts think about the subject. With an emphasis on geometric interpretation, this masterful and comprehensive book introduces the theory of relativity; describes physical applications, from stars to black holes and gravitational waves; and portrays the field's frontiers. The book also offers a unique, alternating, two-track pathway through the subject. Material focusing on basic physical ideas is designated as Track 1 and formulates an appropriate one-semester graduate-level course. The remaining Track 2 material provides a wealth of advanced topics instructors can draw on for a two-semester course, with Track 1 sections serving as prerequisites.This must-have reference for students and scholars of relativity includes a new preface by David Kaiser, reflecting on the history of the book's publication and reception, and a new introduction by Charles Misner and Kip Thorne, discussing exciting developments in the field since the book's original publication. * The book teaches students to:* Grasp the laws of physics in flat and curved spacetime* Predict orders of magnitude* Calculate using the principal tools of modern geometry* Understand Einstein's geometric framework for physics* Explore applications, including neutron stars, Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes, gravitational collapse, gravitational waves, cosmology, and so much more

A groundbreaking textbook on twenty-first-century statistical physics and its applicationsKip Thorne and Roger Blandford’s monumental Modern Classical Physics is now available in five stand-alone volumes that make ideal textbooks for individual graduate or advanced undergraduate courses on statistical physics; optics; elasticity and fluid dynamics; plasma physics; and relativity and cosmology. Each volume teaches the fundamental concepts, emphasizes modern, real-world applications, and gives students a physical and intuitive understanding of the subject.Statistical Physics is an essential introduction that is different from others on the subject because of its unique approach, which is coordinate-independent and geometric; embraces and elucidates the close quantum-classical connection and the relativistic and Newtonian domains; and demonstrates the power of statistical techniques—particularly statistical mechanics—by presenting applications not only to the usual kinds of things, such as gases, liquids, solids, and magnetic materials, but also to a much wider range of phenomena, including black holes, the universe, information and communication, and signal processing amid noise.Includes many exercise problemsFeatures color figures, suggestions for further reading, extensive cross-references, and a detailed indexOptional “Track 2” sections make this an ideal book for a one-quarter, half-semester, or full-semester courseAn online illustration package is available to professorsThe five volumes, which are available individually as paperbacks and ebooks, are Statistical Physics; Optics; Elasticity and Fluid Dynamics; Plasma Physics; and Relativity and Cosmology.

A groundbreaking textbook on twenty-first-century fluids and elastic solids and their applicationsKip Thorne and Roger Blandford’s monumental Modern Classical Physics is now available in five stand-alone volumes that make ideal textbooks for individual graduate or advanced undergraduate courses on statistical physics; optics; elasticity and fluid dynamics; plasma physics; and relativity and cosmology. Each volume teaches the fundamental concepts, emphasizes modern, real-world applications, and gives students a physical and intuitive understanding of the subject.Elasticity and Fluid Dynamics provides an essential introduction to these subjects. Fluids and elastic solids are everywhere—from Earth’s crust and skyscrapers to ocean currents and airplanes. They are central to modern physics, astrophysics, the Earth sciences, biophysics, medicine, chemistry, engineering, and technology, and this centrality has intensified in recent years—so much so that a basic understanding of the behavior of elastic solids and fluids should be part of the repertoire of every physicist and engineer and almost every other natural scientist. While both elasticity and fluid dynamics involve continuum physics and use similar mathematical tools and modes of reasoning, each subject can be readily understood without the other, and the book allows them to be taught independently, with the first two chapters introducing and covering elasticity and the last six doing the same for fluid dynamics. The book also can serve as supplementary reading for many other courses, including in astrophysics, geophysics, and aerodynamics.Includes many exercise problemsFeatures color figures, suggestions for further reading, extensive cross-references, and a detailed indexOptional “Track 2” sections make this an ideal book for a one-quarter or one-semester course in elasticity, fluid dynamics, or continuum physicsAn online illustration package is available to professorsThe five volumes, which are available individually as paperbacks and ebooks, are Statistical Physics; Optics; Elasticity and Fluid Dynamics; Plasma Physics; and Relativity and Cosmology.

A groundbreaking textbook on twenty-first-century waves of all sorts and their applicationsKip Thorne and Roger Blandford’s monumental Modern Classical Physics is now available in five stand-alone volumes that make ideal textbooks for individual graduate or advanced undergraduate courses on statistical physics; optics; elasticity and fluid dynamics; plasma physics; and relativity and cosmology. Each volume teaches the fundamental concepts, emphasizes modern, real-world applications, and gives students a physical and intuitive understanding of the subject.Optics is an essential introduction to a resurgent subject. “Optics” originally referred to the study of light, but today the field encompasses all types of waves, including electromagnetic waves, from gamma rays to radio waves; gravitational waves; waves in solids, fluids, and plasmas; and quantum waves. The past few decades have seen revolutions in optics—amazing advances in nonlinear optics technology, a growing understanding of optical phenomena throughout the natural world, and an increasing appreciation of the wide-ranging applicability of optics’ central principles. Optics shows how and why this subject—which was once a standard part of physics curricula—should again be routinely taught to physics students, as well as to students in engineering, computer science, and the natural sciences.Includes many exercise problemsFeatures color figures, suggestions for further reading, extensive cross-references, and a detailed indexOptional “Track 2” sections make this an ideal book for a one-quarter, half-semester, or full-semester courseAn online illustration package is available to professorsThe five volumes, which are available individually as paperbacks and ebooks, are Statistical Physics; Optics; Elasticity and Fluid Dynamics; Plasma Physics; and Relativity and Cosmology.

A groundbreaking textbook on twenty-first-century general relativity and cosmologyKip Thorne and Roger Blandford’s monumental Modern Classical Physics is now available in five stand-alone volumes that make ideal textbooks for individual graduate or advanced undergraduate courses on statistical physics; optics; elasticity and fluid dynamics; plasma physics; and relativity and cosmology. Each volume teaches the fundamental concepts, emphasizes modern, real-world applications, and gives students a physical and intuitive understanding of the subject.Relativity and Cosmology is an essential introduction to the subject, including remarkable recent advances. Written by award-winning physicists who have made fundamental contributions to the field and taught it for decades, the book differs from most others on the subject in important ways. It highlights recent transformations in our understanding of black holes, gravitational waves, and the cosmos; it emphasizes the physical interpretation of general relativity in terms of measurements made by observers; it explains the physics of the Riemann tensor in terms of tidal forces, differential frame dragging, and associated field lines; it presents an astrophysically oriented description of spinning black holes; it gives a detailed analysis of an incoming gravitational wave’s interaction with a detector such as LIGO; and it provides a comprehensive, in-depth account of the universe’s evolution, from its earliest moments to the present. While the book is designed to be used for a one-quarter or full-semester course, it goes deep enough to provide a foundation for understanding and participating in some areas of cutting-edge research.Includes many exercise problemsFeatures color figures, suggestions for further reading, extensive cross-references, and a detailed indexOptional “Track 2” sections make this an ideal book for a one-quarter or one-semester courseAn online illustration package is available to professorsThe five volumes, which are available individually as paperbacks and ebooks, are Statistical Physics; Optics; Elasticity and Fluid Dynamics; Plasma Physics; and Relativity and Cosmology.