vol VII: Notes

2016

Notes

Sunday 29 May 2016 - Saturday 4 June 2016

[Notebook: DB 80: Cosmic plumbing]

[page 94]

Sunday 29 May 2016

The first task is to digitize QED on the assumption that each event requires a whole quantum of action which may dissipate some of the complexity introduced by the path integral and other methods that assume that the Lagrangian is a continuous function which allows action (= phase) to be broken into infinitesimals and then integrated. (?) The question is where the uncertainty lies in nature, ie where to apply the statistics and the law of large numbers which allows us to treat digital events with continuous formalism.

Perhaps I go on with this task because my subconscious knows I am on a good thing, at least on the divine world if not on the collateral task of a new look at physics. On the other hand I

[page 95]

have done plenty of wishful thinking in my time. If I achieve nothing else, however, I have achieved a harvest of occupational therapy and self education.

Transformation T = coding, T^-1 = decoding, TT ^-1 = 1 = original.

Transformations by continuous (Lie) groups are restricted, as is analogue coding. The full power of coding and decoding requires digital computation, as Shannon has noted. So computation is more powerful than analogue symmetry transformations, but much more complex. Gauge theory works because there is mathematical redundancy on the invisible fields of physics, since we can transform the fields without transforming the observables [fermion/boson?]. But what about the idea that nature does nothing in vain? Is this gauge redundancy really there or are we making it up? And if it is made up, does the variational method provide us with a way of getting rid of it? Does renormalization? (See Weinberg ). Lie Group - Wikipedia, Claude Shannon, Gauge theory - Wikipedia, Renormalization - Wikipedia, Steven Weinberg

Monday 30 May 2016

Tuesday 31 May 2016

Wednesday 1 June 2016

Thursday 2 June 2016

Friday 3 June 2016

Mum's funeral.

Saturday 4 June 2016

Copyright:

You may copy this material freely provided only that you quote fairly and provide a link (or reference) to your source.

Further reading

Books

Click on the "Amazon" link below each book entry to see details of a book (and possibly buy it!)

Callen, Herbert B, Thermodynamics: an introduction to the physical theories of equilibrium thermostatics and irreversible thermodynamics, John Wiley and Sons 1962 Preface: 'In writing this book I have forgone the conventional inductive development of thermodynamics in favor of a postulational approach, which I believe is more direct and logically simple. . . . In order to motivate the postulates, an elementary qualitative statistical discussion is given in an appendix, and some appeal is made to experimental observations, but the spirit of the development is that the postulates are best justified by a posteriori success of the theory rather than by a priori proof.'back

Crease, Robert P, and Charles C Mann, The Second creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth=Century Physics, Rutgers University Press 1996 Amazon book description: From Library Journal 'This is the latest effort at a popular treatment of the "Grand Unified Theory" contemporary theoretical physicists are aiming to achieve. It presents a human-interest-style history of quantum electrodynamics and the ensuing elementary particle theory, enlivened by brief sketches of many of the key participants. As a whole, it is an entertaining volume, but some of the judgments and interpretations are questionable. Also, the complex mathematics of modern physics is entirely omitted, and a novice is likely to end his reading with some notion of the historical background but without a coherent understanding of the current "standard model" in elementary particle theory. Recommended, with reservations, for academic and public libraries. Jack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor Copyright 1986 Reed Business Informationcentury physics. Robert P. Crease is an associate professor of philosophy at SUNY--Stony Brook. Award-winning science writer Charles C. Mann is a contributing editor of The Atlantic Monthly and Science magazine. His most recent book is Noah's Choice. '  Amazon   back

Greenspan, Stephen, Annals of Gullibility: Why We Get Duped and How to Avoid It, Praeger 2008 Amazon Review 'Stephen Greenspan has penned the definitive book on why people are gullible. He reveals why so many people are so gullible, the psychology that drives gullible behaviors, and most importantly what we can do about it. Annals of Gullibility belongs on the bookshelves of skeptics and scientists, not to mention politicians and policy analysts, especially before they go to war.'  Amazon   back

Jones, Alexander (ed), The Jerusalem Bible, Darton Longman and Todd 1966 Editor's Foreword: '. . . The Bible . . . is of its nature a written charter guaranteed (as Christians believe) by the Spirit of God, crystallised in antiquity, never to be changed . . . . This present volume is the English equivalent of [La Bible de Jerusalem] . . . an entirely faithful version of the ancient texts which, in doubntful points, preserves the text established and (for the most part) the interpretation adopted by the French scholars in the light of the most recent researches in the fields of history, archaeology and literary criticism.' (v-vi)  Amazon   back

Lucas, George, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, 2005 DVD:Amazon.com editorial review: '... After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode III finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode III is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.. ... '  Amazon   back

Miles, Jack, God : A Biography, Vintage Books 1996 Jacket: 'Jack Miles's remarkable work examines the hero of the Old Testament . . . from his first appearance as Creator to his last as Ancient of Days. . . . We see God torn by conflicting urges. To his own sorrow, he is by turns destructive and creative, vain and modest, subtle and naive, ruthless and tender, lawful and lawless, powerful yet powerless, omniscient and blind.'  Amazon   back

Puzo, Mario, The Godfather, Signet Mass Market Paperback 1983 'When Mario Puzo's blockbuster saga, The Godfather, was first published in 1969, critics hailed it as one of the greatest novels of our time, and "big, turbulent, highly entertaining." Since then, The Godfather has gone on to become a part of America's national culture, as well as a trilogy of landmark motion pictures.'  Amazon   back

Tomonaga, Sin-itiro, The Story of Spin, University of Chicago Press 1997 Jacket: 'The Story of Spin, as told by Sin-itiro Tomonaga and lovingly translated by Takeshi Oka, is a brilliant and witty account of the development of modern quantum theory, which takes electron spin as a pivotal concept. Reading these twelve lectures on the fundamental aspects of physics is a joyful experience that is rare indeed.' Laurie Brown, Northwestern University.  Amazon   back

Veltman, Martinus, Diagrammatica: The Path to the Feynman Rules, Cambridge University Press 1994 Jacket: 'This book provides an easily accessible introduction to quantum field theory via Feynman rules and calculations in particle physics. The aim is to make clear what the physical foundations of present-day field theory are, to clarify the physical content of Feynman rules, and to outline their domain of applicability. ... The book includes valuable appendices that review some essential mathematics, including complex spaces, matrices, the CBH equation, traces and dimensional regularization. ...'  Amazon   back

Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Random House: Modern Library Paperbacks 1998 Jacket: Oscar Wilde's story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth is one of his most popular works. Written in Wilde's characteristically dazzling manner, full of stinging epigrams and shrewd observations, the tale of Dorian Gray's moral disintegration caused something of a scandal when it first appeared in 1890. Wilde was attacked for his decadence and corrupting influence. He responded that while he was "quite incapable of understanding how a work of art can be criticized from a moral standpoint," there is, in fact, "a terrible moral in Dorian Gray'. A few years later the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde's homosexual liaisons, trials that resulted in him imprisonment. Of the book's value as autobiography, Wilde wrote in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I would like to be -- in other ages perhaps."'   Amazon   back

Zee, Anthony, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, Princeton University Press 2003 Amazon book description: 'An esteemed researcher and acclaimed popular author takes up the challenge of providing a clear, relatively brief, and fully up-to-date introduction to one of the most vital but notoriously difficult subjects in theoretical physics. A quantum field theory text for the twenty-first century, this book makes the essential tool of modern theoretical physics available to any student who has completed a course on quantum mechanics and is eager to go on. Quantum field theory was invented to deal simultaneously with special relativity and quantum mechanics, the two greatest discoveries of early twentieth-century physics, but it has become increasingly important to many areas of physics. These days, physicists turn to quantum field theory to describe a multitude of phenomena. Stressing critical ideas and insights, Zee uses numerous examples to lead students to a true conceptual understanding of quantum field theory--what it means and what it can do. He covers an unusually diverse range of topics, including various contemporary developments,while guiding readers through thoughtfully designed problems. In contrast to previous texts, Zee incorporates gravity from the outset and discusses the innovative use of quantum field theory in modern condensed matter theory. Without a solid understanding of quantum field theory, no student can claim to have mastered contemporary theoretical physics. Offering a remarkably accessible conceptual introduction, this text will be widely welcomed and used.   Amazon   back

Links

Claude Shannon, Communication in the Presence of Noise, 'A method is developed for representing any communication system geometrically. Messages and the corresponding signals are points in two “function spaces,” and the modulation process is a mapping of one space into the other. Using this representation, a number of results in communication theory are deduced concerning expansion and compression of bandwidth and the threshold effect. Formulas are found for the maximum rate of transmission of binary digits over a system when the signal is perturbed by various types of noise. Some of the properties of “ideal” systems which transmit at this maximum rate are discussed. The equivalent number of binary digits per second for certain information sources is calculated.' back

Constantin Caratheodory - Wikipedia, Constantin Caratheodory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Constantin Carathéodory (or Constantine Karatheodori) (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Καραθεοδωρή) (13 September 1873 – 2 February 1950) was a Greek mathematician. He made significant contributions to the theory of functions of a real variable, the calculus of variations, and measure theory. His work also includes important results in conformal representations and in the theory of boundary correspondence. In 1909, Carathéodory pioneered the Axiomatic Formulation of Thermodynamics along a purely geometrical approach.' back

Gauge theory - Wikipedia, Gauge theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In physics, a gauge theory is a type of field theory in which the Lagrangian is invariant under a continuous group of local transformations. . . . The term gauge refers to redundant degrees of freedom in the Lagrangian. The transformations between possible gauges, called gauge transformations, form a Lie group—referred to as the symmetry group or the gauge group of the theory. Associated with any Lie group is the Lie algebra of group generators. For each group generator there necessarily arises a corresponding field (usually a vector field) called the gauge field.' back

Higgs boson - Wikipedia, Higgs boson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'The Higgs boson or Higgs particle is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics. It is the quantum excitation of the Higgs field[6][7]—a fundamental field of crucial importance to particle physics theory,[7] first suspected to exist in the 1960s, that unlike other known fields such as the electromagnetic field, takes a non-zero constant value almost everywhere.' back

Jewish principles of faith - Wikipedia, Jewish principles of faith - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Although Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles, Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a creed that is recognized or accepted by all. Judaism has no central religious authority that could formulate or issue a unified creed. The various "principles of faith" that have been enumerated over the intervening centuries carry no greater weight than that imparted to them by the fame and scholarship of their respective authors. Central authority in Judaism is not vested in any person or group but rather in Judaism's sacred writings, laws, and traditions. In nearly all its variations, Judaism affirms the existence and uniqueness of God. Judaism stresses performance of deeds or commandments rather than adherence to a belief system.' back

Judaism - Wikipedia, Judaism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'Judaism (from the Latin Iudaismus, derived from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, and ultimately from the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah";[1][2] in Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת, Yahedut, the distinctive characteristics of the Judean ethnos)[3]) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people.[4] Originating in the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Tanakh) and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, it is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel.' back

Lie Group - Wikipedia, Lie Group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In mathematics, a Lie group is a group that is also a differentiable manifold, with the property that the group operations are compatible with the smooth structure. Lie groups are named after Sophus Lie, who laid the foundations of the theory of continuous transformation groups. . . . Lie groups represent the best-developed theory of continuous symmetry of mathematical objects and structures, which makes them indispensable tools for many parts of contemporary mathematics, as well as for modern theoretical physics. They provide a natural framework for analysing the continuous symmetries of differential equations (differential Galois theory), in much the same way as permutation groups are used in Galois theory for analysing the discrete symmetries of algebraic equations. An extension of Galois theory to the case of continuous symmetry groups was one of Lie's principal motivations.' back

Renormalization - Wikipedia, Renormalization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In quantum field theory, the statistical mechanics of fields, and the theory of self-similar geometric structures, renormalization is any of a collection of techniques used to treat infinities arising in calculated quantities.' back

Stephen Koukoulas, The anti-business Labor hyperhole is wrong. Just look at the facts, 'Here are the facts. In the two and a half years since the 2013 election, company profits have fallen 11% to their lowest level since 2010. This has occurred with the global economy registering decent growth and interest rates at record lows. In the six years of Labor government to 2013, company profits rose 28% despite the global financial crisis which plunged the world economy into a deep recession. On business investment, the credentials of both sides of politics are even more extreme. Since the September 2013 election, private sector capital expenditure has fallen a thumping 26% and the outlook for the next year is for a further fall of between 5% and 10%. The fall in business investment is set to be more severe than during the early 1990s recession.' back

Steven Weinberg, The Search for Unity: Notes for a History of Quantum Field Theory, 'In its essentials this point of view has survived to the present day, and forms the central dogma of quantum field theory. The esential reality is a set of fields, subject to the rules of special relativity and quantum mechanics; all else is derived as a consequence of the quantum dynamics of these fields' back