Bücher der Reihe The Frontiers Collection

This volume brings together leading quantum physicists to expound on the meaning and future directions of quantum mechanics. All the authors have written for a broad readership, and the resulting volume will appeal to everyone wishing to keep abreast of new developments in quantum mechanics, as well as its history and philosophy.

¿This book deals with the rise of mathematics in physical sciences, beginning with Galileo and Newton and extending to the present day. The book is divided into two parts. The first part gives a brief history of how mathematics was introduced into physics¿despite its "unreasonable effectiveness" as famously pointed out by a distinguished physicist¿and the criticisms it received from earlier thinkers. The second part takes a more philosophical approach and is intended to shed some light on that mysterious effectiveness. For this purpose, the author reviews the debate between classical philosophers on the existence of innate ideas that allow us to understand the world and also the philosophically based arguments for and against the use of mathematics in physical sciences. In this context, Schopenhauer¿s conceptions of causality and matter are very pertinent, and their validity is revisited in light of modern physics. The final question addressed is whether the effectiveness of mathematics can be explained by its ¿existence¿ in an independent platonic realm, as Gödel believed.The book aims at readers interested in the history and philosophy of physics. It is accessible to those with only a very basic (not professional) knowledge of physics.

Are the particles of modern physics "real" or are they virtual entities, their existence deduced merely by abstract theories? This book examines the continuing debate regarding the inner constitution of matter by exploring the particle concept in physics. It investigates if the particles of particle physics are real or not.

This book shows that the statement: "weak links stabilize complex systems" provides the key to understanding each of these intriguing puzzles, and many more besides.

This thoroughly revised 5th edition of Zeh's classic text investigates irreversible phenomena and their foundation in classical, quantum and cosmological settings.

At what level of physical existence does "quantum behavior" begin? Perhaps equally important, conceptual problems concerning the relationship between classical and quantum physics are identified and discussed.

The change is from the positivistic views in which atomism, nondeterminism and measurement are fundamental, to a holistic view in realism, wherein matter - electrons, galaxies, - are correlated modes of a single continuum, the universe.

Providing an answer to open questions in our understanding of consciousness, this book examines how emergence can be understood within the scientific picture and whether a complete vision of the world can be attained that includes consciousness.

This book presents a multidisciplinary perspective on chance, with contributions from distinguished researchers in the areas of biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, genetics, general history, law, linguistics, logic, mathematical physics, statistics, theology and philosophy.

In this essay collection, leading physicists, philosophers, and historians attempt to fill the empty theoretical ground in the foundations of information and address the related question of the limits to our knowledge of the world.Over recent decades, our practical approach to information and its exploitation has radically outpaced our theoretical understanding - to such a degree that reflection on the foundations may seem futile. But it is exactly fields such as quantum information, which are shifting the boundaries of the physically possible, that make a foundational understanding of information increasingly important. One of the recurring themes of the book is the claim by Eddington and Wheeler that information involves interaction and putting agents or observers centre stage. Thus, physical reality, in their view, is shaped by the questions we choose to put to it and is built up from the information residing at its core. This is the root of Wheeler¿s famous phrase ¿it from bit.¿ After reading the stimulating essays collected in this volume, readers will be in a good position to decide whether they agree with this view.

Singularity Hypotheses: A Scientific and Philosophical Assessment offers authoritative, jargon-free essays and critical commentaries on accelerating technological progress and the notion of technological singularity.

Born after World War II, large-scale experimental high-energy physics (HEP) has found itself limited ever since by available accelerator, detector and computing technologies.

Participants: Guido Bacciagaluppi, Caslav Brukner, Jeffrey Bub, Arthur Fine, Christopher Fuchs, GianCarlo Ghirardi, Shelly Goldstein, Daniel Greenberger, Lucien Hardy, Anthony Leggett, Tim Maudlin, David Mermin, Lee Smolin, Antony Valentini, David Wallace, Anton Zeilinger, and Wojciech Zurek.

Singularity Hypotheses: A Scientific and Philosophical Assessment offers authoritative, jargon-free essays and critical commentaries on accelerating technological progress and the notion of technological singularity.

Converging evidence from disciplines including sociobiology, evolutionary psychology and human biology forces us to adopt a new idea of what it means to be a human. What emerges is a new human, the homo novus, a human being without illusions.

Participants: Guido Bacciagaluppi, Caslav Brukner, Jeffrey Bub, Arthur Fine, Christopher Fuchs, GianCarlo Ghirardi, Shelly Goldstein, Daniel Greenberger, Lucien Hardy, Anthony Leggett, Tim Maudlin, David Mermin, Lee Smolin, Antony Valentini, David Wallace, Anton Zeilinger, and Wojciech Zurek.

A clear and engaging discussionWritten by a highly respected quantum physicistPuzzling phenomena made comprehensibleDescribes solutions to challenging quandries in physics

In a Darwinian world, religious behavior - just like other behaviors - is likely to have undergone a process of natural selection in which it was rewarded in the evolutionary currency of reproductive success.

In this compendium of essays, some of the world's leading thinkers discuss their conceptions of space and time, as viewed through the lens of their own discipline.

Converging evidence from disciplines including sociobiology, evolutionary psychology and human biology forces us to adopt a new idea of what it means to be a human. What emerges is a new human, the homo novus, a human being without illusions.

With a Foreword by Paul Epstein

This book explores entanglement and information and their role in the quantum world. Key experiments and thought experiments in the history of quantum physics are considered, as is a range of interpretations of quantum mechanics that illuminate microphysics.

Thermodynamics was created in the ?rst half of the 19th century as a theory designed to explain the functioning of heat engines converting heat into mechanical work.

Seeks answers to these questions using the underlying assumption that consciousness can be understood using the intellectual potential of modern physics and other sciences.

This book offers an accessible treatment of mind versus matter. It discusses the ethical consequences of the mind versus matter debate, and describes how quantum mechanics can radically change our understanding of the connection between mind and brain.

This book provides an accessible introduction to the neurophysiological and signal-processing background required for BCI, presents the latest non-invasive and invasive approaches, reviews current hardware and software, and assesses emerging BCI applications.

In this book, a global team of experts from academia, research institutes and industry presents their vision on how new nano-chip architectures will enable the performance and energy efficiency needed for AI-driven advancements in autonomous mobility, healthcare, and man-machine cooperation.

Or are the things that we regard as fundamental in our theories - for example space, time or the masses of elementary particles - merely awaiting a derivation from a new, yet to be discovered theory based on elements that are more fundamental?

This book considers the interaction of physical and non-physical causation in complex systems such as living beings, and in particular in the human brain, relating this to the emergence of higher levels of complexity with real causal powers.