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Politische Themen mit wissenschaftlichem Bezug werden medial immer präsenter. In Talkshows, Zeitungen und politischen Beratungsgremien finden oft Expertinnen und Experten mit Physikausbildung Gehör. Egal, ob es um Klimawandel, Finanzmarktcrashs, Pandemiepolitik oder erneuerbare Energien geht: wir müssen den Aussagen dieser Expertinnen und Experten blind vertrauen, wenn wir selbst kein Fachwissen besitzen. In diesem Buch werden physikalische Grundlagen hinter gesellschaftlich relevanten Themen auf eine allgemeinverständliche Weise erklärt. Dabei geht es vor allem darum, die für die Physik typischen Denkweisen klar zu machen. Auf welchen Grundlagen (Mechanik, Elektrodynamik, Quantentheorie, Feldtheorien, Relativitätstheorien, Statistische Physik) beruhen eigentlich physikalische Aussagen? Wie sind diese Grundlagen entstanden? Wie erstellt man in der Physik Modelle zur Beschreibung komplexer Themen? Was ist „Wahrheit'in Wissenschaften?Wie ist das Verhältnis von Modellen zur Wirklichkeit? Beim Beantworten dieser und vieler weiterer Fragen hat der Autor darauf geachtet, nur Mathematik vorauszusetzen, die das Niveau der Mittelstufe nicht überschreitet. Der vorliegende Band richtet sich an alle, die für Entscheidungen und Urteile ein einfaches aber solides Verständnis des physikalischen Denkens suchen: sei es im Alltag, in Unternehmen oder in der Politik.

At the intersection of physics, mathematics, and computer science, an exciting new field of study has formed, known as “Topological Quantum.” This research field examines the deep connections between the theory of knots, special types of subatomic particles known as anyons, certain phases of matter, and quantum computation. This book elucidates this nexus, drawing in topics ranging from quantum gravity to topology to experimental condensed matter physics. Topological quantum has increasingly been a focus point in the fields of condensed matter physics and quantum information over the last few decades, and the forefront of research now builds on the basic ideas presented in this book. The material is presented in a down-to-earth and entertaining way that is far less abstract than most of what is in the literature. While introducing the crucial concepts and placing them in context, the subject is presented without resort to the highly mathematical category theory that underlies the field. Requiring only an elementary background in quantum mechanics, this book is appropriate for all readers, from advanced undergraduates to the professional practitioner. This book will be of interest to mathematicians and computer scientists as well as physicists working on a wide range of topics. Those interested in working in these field will find this book to be an invaluable introduction as well as a crucial reference.

Der Doktortitel ist eine wichtige Karrierevoraussetzung, aber lohnt sich die Mühe? Können nur Genies promovieren oder auch Normalsterbliche? Wie läuft das mit der Betreuung, woher kommen die Ideen, wie faßt man Fuß in der wissenschaftlichen'Szene', wie wird man mit Zeitdruck und Selbstzweifeln fertig? Ein Buch für Doktoranden und solche, die es werden wollen - und gleichzeitig eine unterhaltsame Schilderung der Aufs und Abs im Wissenschaftler-Leben vor der Promotion. Dazu eine Fülle praktischer Tips zu Finanzierung, Themensuche und Recherche, Kreativitätstechniken, Zeitmanagement, Vortragsgestaltung und zum wissenschaftlichen Schreiben. Arbeitsbögen helfen dem Leser, sich über das eigene Promotionsprojekt, Schwierigkeiten und Lösungsmöglichkeiten klar zu werden. Vertiefende Lektüre und Internetrecherche werden durch ein ausführliches, kommentiertes Literaturverzeichnis und eine Liste von Web-Links unterstützt.

Sophus Lie (1842-1899) is without doubt one of Norway's greatest scientific talents. His mathematical works have made him famous around the world no less than Niels Henrik Abel. The terms Lie groups and Lie algebra are today part of the standard mathematical vocabulary. In his comprehensive biography the author Arild Stubhaug let us come close to both the person Sophus Lie and his time. We follow him through childhood at the vicarage in Nordfjordeid, his growing up in Moss, school and studying in Christiania, travelling in Europe and his contacts with the leading mathematicians of his time. The academic and scientific career brought Lie from Christiania to Leipzig as professor, before the attempt to call him back to Norway, when she stood on the threshhold to national sovereignty, was successful.

Fractal analysis has rapidly become an important field in materials science and engineering with broad applications to theoretical analysis and quantitative description of microstructures of materials. Fractal methods have thus far shown great potential in engineering applications in quantitative microscopic analysis of materials using commercial microscopes. This book attempts to introduce the fundamentals and the basis methods of fractal description of microstructures in combination with digital imaging and computer technologies. Basic concepts are given in the form of mathematical expressions. Detailed algorithms in practical applications are also provided. Fractal measurement, error analysis and fractal description of cluster growth, thin films and surfaces are emphasized in this book. Image-Based Fractal Description of Microstructures provides a comprehensive approach to materials characterization by fractal from theory to application.

These proceedings contain the main topics and results presented at the Fourth International Conference on Multivariate Approximation. The meeting took place during the week of September 24-29, 2000 at the now well-known'Haus Bommerholz', the guest-house of the University of Dortmund. It hosted 43 participants from 16 countries, and the program included 9 invited one-hour lectures, 21 contributed talks, and two problem sessions. The articles collected here are carefully peer-refereed and suitably edited for publication. Following the tradition of this series of conferences, the meeting was aimed at advancing selected topics of Multivariate Approximation Theory. These include approximation on compact sets (such as spheres, balls, or compact ho­ mogeneous manifolds), spherical designs and energy functionals, interpolation by radial basis functions and by splines, frame theory and Gabor analysis, re­ finable function systems and subdivision, properties of harmonic, polyharmonic and blending functions, sampling and data compression, among others. The editors would like to express their thanks to all who have given their sup­ port to the conference, and to the preparation of this book. In particular, our thanks go to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for their funding of the con­ ference, to the University of Dortmund, and to the staff of Haus Bommerholz for their help running the conference, and to the Universities of Dortmund and Duisburg for the financial support of this proceedings volume.

Promovieren - lohnt sich das? Wie lässt sich eine Dissertation finanzieren? Wer betreut sie und wie fängt man eine wissenschaftliche Arbeit überhaupt an? Wer den Doktortitel erwerben will, findet in diesem Leitfaden einen Begleiter auf einem oftmals schwierigen Weg. Themen sind unter anderem: Der Wissenschaftsbetrieb, Zeitmanagement, Kreativitätstechniken, wissenschaftliches Schreiben und Publizieren, Umgang mit Selbstzweifeln. Die vierte, überarbeitete und aktualisierte Auflage wurde ergänzt um Informationen über das Verfassen von Exposees und neue Textverarbeitungsmöglichkeiten. Ferner beinhaltet dieser Leitfaden ein kommentiertes Literaturverzeichnis, ein umfangreiches, erläutertes Verzeichnis relevanter Internetadressen und Arbeitsbögen zu den Themen der Kapitel.

Computational geometry emerged from the field of algorithms design and anal­ ysis in the late 1970s. It has grown into a recognized discipline with its own journals, conferences, and a large community of active researchers. The suc­ cess of the field as a research discipline can on the one hand be explained from the beauty of the problems studied and the solutions obtained, and, on the other hand, by the many application domains--computer graphics, geographic in­ formation systems (GIS), robotics, and others-in which geometric algorithms play a fundamental role. For many geometric problems the early algorithmic solutions were either slow or difficult to understand and implement. In recent years a number of new algorithmic techniques have been developed that improved and simplified many of the previous approaches. In this textbook we have tried to make these modem algorithmic solutions accessible to a large audience. The book has been written as a textbook for a course in computational geometry, but it can also be used for self-study.