Noncommutative geometry is a novel approach which is opening up new possibilities for geometry from a mathematical viewpoint. It is also providing new tools for the investigation of quantum space-time in physics. Recent developments in string theory have supported the idea of quantum spaces, and have strongly stimulated the research in this field. This self-contained volume contains survey lectures and research articles which address these issues and related topics. The book is accessible to both researchers and graduate students beginning to study this subject.

“Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.” Since Niels Bohr said this many years ago, quantum mechanics has only been getting more shocking. We now realize that it’s not really telling us that “weird” things happen out of sight, on the tiniest level, in the atomic world: rather, everything is quantum. But if quantum mechanics is correct, what seems obvious and right in our everyday world is built on foundations that don’t seem obvious or right at all—or even possible. An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, Beyond Weird is a book about what quantum physics really means—and what it doesn’t. Science writer Philip Ball offers an up-to-date, accessible account of the quest to come to grips with the most fundamental theory of physical reality, and to explain how its counterintuitive principles underpin the world we experience. Over the past decade it has become clear that quantum physics is less a theory about particles and waves, uncertainty and fuzziness, than a theory about information and knowledge—about what can be known, and how we can know it. Discoveries and experiments over the past few decades have called into question the meanings and limits of space and time, cause and effect, and, ultimately, of knowledge itself. The quantum world Ball shows us isn’t a different world. It is our world, and if anything deserves to be called “weird,” it’s us.

Information Physics: Physics-Information and Quantum Analogies for Complex Modeling presents a new theory of complex systems that uses analogy across various aspects of physics, including electronics, magnetic circuits and quantum mechanics. The book explains the quantum approach to system theory that can be understood as an extension of classical system models. The main idea is that in many complex systems there are incomplete pieces of overlapping information that must be strung together to find the most consistent model. This incomplete information can be understood as a set of non-exclusive observer results. Because they are non-exclusive, each observer registers different pictures of reality. - Provides readers with an understanding of the analogies between very sophisticated theories of electrical circuits and currently underdeveloped information circuits, including capturing positive and negative links, as well as serial and parallel ordering of information blocks - Integrates coverage of quantum models of complex systems using wave probabilistic functions which extend the classical probability description by phase parameters that allow researchers to model such properties as entanglement, superposition and others - Provides readers with illustrative examples of how to use the presented theories of complex systems in specific cases such as hierarchical systems, cooperation of a team of experts, the lifecycle of the company, and the link between short and long-term memory

Demystifying physics in a fascinating read, "First You Build a Cloud" does for physics what the bestselling "The Universe and the Teacup" did for math.

In this highly-interdisciplinary volume, we systematically study the role of metaphors and analogies in (mis)shaping our understanding of the world. Metaphors and Analogies occupy a prominent place in scientific discourses, as they do in literature, humanities and at the very level of our thinking itself. But when misused they can lead us astray, blinding our understanding inexorably. How can metaphors aid us in our understanding of the world? What role do they play in our scientific discourses and in humanities? How do they help us understand and skillfully deal with our complex socio-political scenarios? Where is the dividing line between their use and abuse? Join us as we explore some of these questions in this volume.

Shows how analogy-making pervades human thought at all levels, influencing the choice of words and phrases in speech, providing guidance in unfamiliar situations, and giving rise to great acts of imagination.

A spectacular musical and scientific journey from the Bronx to the cosmic horizon that reveals the astonishing links between jazz, science, Einstein, and Coltrane More than fifty years ago, John Coltrane drew the twelve musical notes in a circle and connected them by straight lines, forming a five-pointed star. Inspired by Einstein, Coltrane put physics and geometry at the core of his music. Physicist and jazz musician Stephon Alexander follows suit, using jazz to answer physics' most vexing questions about the past and future of the universe. Following the great minds that first drew the links between music and physics-a list including Pythagoras, Kepler, Newton, Einstein, and Rakim — The Jazz of Physics reveals that the ancient poetic idea of the "Music of the Spheres," taken seriously, clarifies confounding issues in physics. The Jazz of Physics will fascinate and inspire anyone interested in the mysteries of our universe, music, and life itself.

When analogies are effective, they readily engage students' interest and clarify difficult and abstract ideas. But not all analogies are created equal, and developing them is not always intuitive. Drawing from an extensive research base on the use of analogies in the classroom, Allan Harrison, Richard K. Coll, and a team of science experts come to the rescue with more than 40 teacher-friendly, ready-to-use analogies for biology, earth and space studies, chemistry, and physics. The rich material shows teachers how and when to select analogies for instruction, why certain analogies work or break down, how to gauge their effectiveness, and how to improve them. Designed to enhance teachers' presentation and interpretation of analogies through focus, action, and reflection (FAR), this guidebook includes: Key science concepts explained through effective models and analogies, Research findings on the use of analogies and their motivational impact, Guidelines that allow teachers and students to develop their own analogies, Numerous visual aids, science vignettes, and anecdotes to support the use of analogies. Linked to NSTA standards, Using Analogies in Middle and Secondary Science Classrooms will become a much-used resource by teachers who want to enrich inquiry-based science instruction. Book jacket.

It is unanimously accepted that the quantum and the classical descriptions of the physical reality are very different, although any quantum process is "mysteriously" transformed through measurement into an observable classical event. Beyond the conceptual differences, quantum and classical physics have a lot in common. And, more important, there are classical and quantum phenomena that are similar although they occur in completely different contexts. For example, the Schrödinger equation has the same mathematical form as the Helmholtz equation, there is an uncertainty relation in optics very similar to that in quantum mechanics, and so on; the list of examples is very long. Quantum-classical analogies have been used in recent years to study many quantum laws or phenomena at the macroscopic scale, to design and simulate mesoscopic devices at the macroscopic scale, to implement quantum computer algorithms with classical means, etc. On the other hand, the new forms of light – localized light, frozen light – seem to have more in common with solid state physics than with classical optics. So these analogies are a valuable tool in the quest to understand quantum phenomena and in the search for new (quantum or classical) applications, especially in the area of quantum devices and computing.

This book brings together powerful ideas and new developments from internationally recognised scholars and classroom practitioners to provide theoretical and practical knowledge to inform progress in science education. This is achieved through a series of related chapters reporting research on analogy and metaphor in science education. Throughout the book, contributors not only highlight successful applications of analogies and metaphors, but also foreshadow exciting developments for research and practice. Themes include metaphor and analogy: best practice, as reasoning; for learning; applications in teacher development; in science education research; philosophical and theoretical foundations. Accordingly, the book is likely to appeal to a wide audience of science educators –classroom practitioners, student teachers, teacher educators and researchers.