Theoretical concepts in physics : an alternative view of theoretical reasoning in physics / Malcolm S. Longair.
Edizione:
2. ed
Pubblicazione:
Cambridge : Cambridge university press, 2016.
Descrizione fisica:
XVII, 569 p.
Contiene:
Indice: Preface and acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. Case study 1: The origin of Newton's laws of motion and of gravity. 2. From Ptolemy to Kepler: the Copernican revolution 3. Galileo and the nature of physical sciences 4. Newton and the law of gravity. case study 2: Maxwell's equations. 5. The origin of Maxwell's equations 6. How to rewrite the history of elctromagnetism. Case study 3: Mechanics and dynamics: linear and non-linear. 7. Approaches to mechanics and dynamics 8. Dimensional analysis, chaos and self-organised criticality. Case study 4: Thermodynamics and statistical physics. 9. Basic thermodynamics 10. Kinetic theory and the origin of statistical mechanics. Case study 5: The origins of the concept of quanta 11. Black-body radiation up to 1895 12. Planck and the spectrum of black-body radiation (1895-1900) 13. Planck's theory of black-body radiation 14. Einstein and the quantisation of light 15. The triumph of the quantum hypothesis. Case study: Special relativity 16. Special relativity: a study in invariance. Case study 7: Genral relativity and cosmology 17. An introduction to general relativity 18. The tecnology of cosmology 19. Cosmology 20. Epilogue
