From optical phenomena, such as rainbows and light pillars, to celestial phenomena like eclipses and the aurora borealis, this title explores a wide range of rare natural events, describing each one in detail and explaining the science behind them in simple, non-technical terms.

"This collection of 39 short stories gives the reader a unique opportunity to take a look at the scientific philosophy of Vladimir Arnold, one of the most original contemporary researchers. Topics of the stories included range from astronomy, to mirages, to motion of glaciers, to geometry of mirrors and beyond. In each case Arnold's explanation is both deep and simple, which makes the book interesting and accessible to an extremely broad readership. Original illustrations hand drawn by the author help the reader to further understand and appreciate Arnold's view on the relationship between mathematics and science."--

One of the pathways by which the scientific community confirms the validity of a new scientific discovery is by repeating the research that produced it. When a scientific effort fails to independently confirm the computations or results of a previous study, some fear that it may be a symptom of a lack of rigor in science, while others argue that such an observed inconsistency can be an important precursor to new discovery. Concerns about reproducibility and replicability have been expressed in both scientific and popular media. As these concerns came to light, Congress requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conduct a study to assess the extent of issues related to reproducibility and replicability and to offer recommendations for improving rigor and transparency in scientific research. Reproducibility and Replicability in Science defines reproducibility and replicability and examines the factors that may lead to non-reproducibility and non-replicability in research. Unlike the typical expectation of reproducibility between two computations, expectations about replicability are more nuanced, and in some cases a lack of replicability can aid the process of scientific discovery. This report provides recommendations to researchers, academic institutions, journals, and funders on steps they can take to improve reproducibility and replicability in science.

A modern up-to-date introduction for readers outside statistical physics. It puts emphasis on a clear understanding of concepts and methods and provides the tools that can be of immediate use in applications.

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

'This book is epic in the sense that it covers so much ground that one is left somewhat dizzy. And yet, it all makes sense once one realizes how it is possible for something that is complex, for example a flower, to evolve via natural processes from humble beginnings. After all, starting with single-cell creatures such as amoebae we follow a complicated but rational evolutionary path to arrive at the most complex organizations that we know of - ourselves. So, if you follow the logic of this book, starting with the basic concepts of thermodynamics, symmetry, quantum theory and so on, you will be treated to many many thought-provoking ideas, which will likely challenge your own preconceptions and leave you thirsting for more.' (From the foreword by Prof. A. M. Glazer, University of Oxford) Science is all about trying to understand natural phenomena under the strict discipline imposed by the celebrated scientific method. Practically all the systems we encounter in Nature are dynamical systems, meaning that they evolve with time. Among them there are the 'simple' or 'simplifiable' systems, which can be handled by traditional, reductionistic science; and then there are 'complex' systems, for which nonreductionistic approaches have to be attempted for understanding their evolution. In this book the author makes a case that a good way to understand a large number of natural phenomena, both simple and complex, is to focus on their self-organization and emergence aspects. Self-organization and emergence are rampant in Nature and, given enough time, their cumulative effects can be so mind-boggling that many people have great difficulty believing that there is no designer involved in the emergence of all the structure and order we see around us. But it is really quite simple to understand how and why we get so much 'order for free'. It all happens because, as ordained by the infallible second law of thermodynamics, all 'thermodynamically open' systems in our ever-expanding and cooling (and therefore gradient-creating) universe constantly tend to move towards equilibrium and stability, often ending up in ordered configurations. In other words, order emerges because Nature tends to find efficient ways to annul gradients of all types. This book will help you acquire a good understanding of the essential features of many natural phenomena, via the complexity-science route. It has four parts: (1) Complexity Basics; (2) Pre-Human Evolution of Complexity; (3) Humans and the Evolution of Complexity; and (4) Appendices. The author gives centrestage to the second law of thermodynamics for 'open' systems, which he describes as 'the mother of all organizing principles'. He also highlights a somewhat unconventional statement of this law: 'Nature abhors gradients'. The book is written at two levels, one of which hardly uses any mathematical equations; the mathematical treatment of some relevant topics has been pushed to the last part of the book, in the form of ten appendices. Therefore the book should be accessible to a large readership. It is a general-science book written in a reader-friendly language, but without any dumbing down of the narrative.

Mathematical modeling in the form of differential equations is a branch of applied mathematics that includes topics from physics, engineering, environmental and computer science. The mathematical model is an approximate description of real processes. Mathematical modeling can be thought of as a three step process: 1) Physical situation; 2) Mathematical formulation; 3) Solution by purely operations of the mathematical problem; 4) Physical interpretation of the mathematical solution. Over the centuries, Step 2 took on a life of its own. Mathematics was studied on its own, devoid of any contact with a physical problem; this is known as pure mathematics. Applied mathematics and mathematical modeling deals with all three steps. Improvements of approximations or their extensions to more general situations may increase the complexity of mathematical models significantly. Before the 18th century, applied mathematics and its methods received the close attention of the best mathematicians who were driven by a desire to develop approximate descriptions of natural phenomena. The goal of asymptotic and perturbation methods is to find useful, approximate solutions to difficult problems that arise from the desire to understand a physical process. Exact solutions are usually either impossible to obtain or too complicated to be useful. Approximate, useful solutions are often tested by comparison with experiments or observations rather than by rigorous mathematical methods. Hence, the authors will not be concerned with rigorous proofs in this book. The derivation of approximate solutions can be done in two different ways. First, one can find an approximate set of equations that can be solved, or, one can find an approximate solution of a set of equations. Usually one must do both. Models of natural science show that the possibilities of applying differential equations for solving problems in the disciplines of the natural scientific cycle are quite wide. This book represents a unique blend of the traditional analytical and numerical methods enriched by the authors developments and applications to ocean and atmospheric sciences. The overall viewpoint taken is a theoretical, unified approach to the study of both the atmosphere and the oceans. One of the key features in this book is the combination of approximate forms of the basic mathematical equations of mathematical modeling with careful and precise analysis. The approximations are required to make any progress possible, while precision is needed to make the progress meaningful. This combination is often the most elusive for student to appreciate. This book aims to highlight this issue by means of accurate derivation of mathematical models with precise analysis and MATLAB applications. This book is meant for undergraduate and graduate students interested in applied mathematics, differential equations and mathematical modeling of real world problems. This book might also be interested in experts working in the field of physics concerning the ocean and atmosphere.

RIoT Control: Understanding and Managing Risks and the Internet of Things explains IoT risk in terms of project requirements, business needs, and system designs. Learn how the Internet of Things (IoT) is different from "Regular Enterprise security, more intricate and more complex to understand and manage. Billions of internet-connected devices make for a chaotic system, prone to unexpected behaviors. Industries considering IoT technologies need guidance on IoT-ready security and risk management practices to ensure key management objectives like Financial and Market success, and Regulatory compliance. Understand the threats and vulnerabilities of the IoT, including endpoints, newly emerged forms of gateway, network connectivity, and cloud-based data centers. Gain insights as to which emerging techniques are best according to your specific IoT system, its risks, and organizational needs. After a thorough introduction to the Iot, Riot Control explores dozens of IoT-specific risk management requirements, examines IoT-specific threats and finally provides risk management recommendations which are intended as applicable to a wide range of use-cases. - Explains sources of risk across IoT architectures and performance metrics at the enterprise level - Understands risk and security concerns in the next-generation of connected devices beyond computers and mobile consumer devices to everyday objects, tools, and devices - Offers insight from industry insiders about emerging tools and techniques for real-world IoT systems

As both individuals and societies, we are making decisions today that will have profound consequences for future generations. From preserving Earth's plants and animals to altering our use of fossil fuels, none of these decisions can be made wisely without a thorough understanding of life's history on our planet through biological evolution. Companion to the best selling title Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science, Evolution in Hawaii examines evolution and the nature of science by looking at a specific part of the world. Tracing the evolutionary pathways in Hawaii, we are able to draw powerful conclusions about evolution's occurrence, mechanisms, and courses. This practical book has been specifically designed to give teachers and their students an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of evolution using exercises with real genetic data to explore and investigate speciation and the probable order in which speciation occurred based on the ages of the Hawaiian Islands. By focusing on one set of islands, this book illuminates the general principles of evolutionary biology and demonstrate how ongoing research will continue to expand our knowledge of the natural world.