Dynamics Of Spatio Temporal Cellular Structures

The impact of Benard's discovery on 20th century physics is crucial to any modern research area such as fluid dynamics, nonlinear dynamics, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics, just to name a few. This centenary review shows the broad scope and development including modern applications, edited and written by experts in the field.

This volume contains papers contributed to the NATO Advanced Research Workshop "Nonlinear Evolution of Spatio-Temporal Structures in Dissipative Continuous Systems" held in Streitberg, Fed. Rep. Germany, Sept. 24 through 30, 1989. The purpose of the rather long title has been to focus attention on a particularly fruitful direction of research within the broad field covered by terms like Nonlinear Dynamics or Non-Equilibrium Systems. After physicists have been occupied for several decades mainly with the microscopic structure of matter, recent years have witnessed a resurgence of interest in macroscopic patterns and dynamics. Research on these latter phenomena has not been dormant, of course, since fluid dynamicists interested in the origin of turbulence, meteorologists studying weather patterns and numerous other scientists have continued to advance the understanding of the structures relevant to their disciplines. The recent progress in the dynamics of nonl inear systems wi th few degrees of freedom and the discovery of universal laws such as the Feigenbaum scaling of period-doubling cascades has given rise to new hopes for the understanding of common principles underlying the spontaneous formation of structures in extended continuous systems.

From artificial surfaces to living cells, Molecular Nano Dynamics, Vol. I and Vol. II explores more than 40 important methods for dynamic observation of the nanoscale. Edited by absolute science greats from Japan, this two-volume set covers all important aspects of this topic: nanoscale spectroscopy and characterization tools, nanostructure dynamics, single living cell dynamics, active surfaces, and single crystals. Destined to be the definitive reference work on nanoscale molecular dynamics and their observation for years to come, this is a must-have reference for chemists, physicists, physical chemists, theoretical chemists, and materials scientists.

Dynamic Biological Organization is a fascinating account of the living organisms as dynamic systems, based on the concept that the spatio-temporal coherence of events within a living system result from the intrinsic dynamics of the processes taking place within that sysem. The authors of this important work, Miguel Aon and Sonia Cortassa have travelled widely to work in some of the leading research laboratories to accumulate a large information base on which to assemble this book. Taking a transdisciplinary approach, the authors draw on work at the interface of biochemistry, genetics, physiology, thermodynamics, kinetics and biomathematics, using mathematical models throughout to corroborate and analyze the biological complexity presented. Emphasizing biological processes occuring at the cellular level. Dynamic Biological Organization gives exciting insights into the experimental and theoretical applications of modern scientific paradigms to fundamental biological processes.

This book investigates the unique hydrodynamics and heat transfer problems that are encountered in the vicinity of the critical point of fluids. Emphasis is given on weightlessness conditions, gravity effects and thermovibrational phenomena. Near their critical point, fluids indeed obey universal behavior and become very compressible and expandable. Their comportment, when gravity effects are suppressed, becomes quite unusual. The problems that are treated in this book are of interest to students and researchers interested in the original behavior of near-critical fluids as well as to engineers that have to manage supercritical fluids. A special chapter is dedicated to the present knowledge of critical point phenomena. Specific data for many fluids are provided, ranging from cryogenics (hydrogen) to high temperature (water). Basic information in statistical mechanics, mathematics and measurement techniques is also included. The basic concepts of fluid mechanics are given for the non-specialists to be able to read the parts he is interested in. Asymptotic theory of heat transfer by thermoacoustic processes is provided with enough details for PhD students or researchers and engineers to begin in the field. Key spaces are described in details, with many comparisons between theory and experiments to illustrate the topics.

The study of semiconductor-layer structures using infrared ellipsometry is a rapidly growing field within optical spectroscopy. This book offers basic insights into the concepts of phonons, plasmons and polaritons, and the infrared dielectric function of semiconductors in layered structures. It describes how strain, composition, and the state of the atomic order within complex layer structures of multinary alloys can be determined from an infrared ellipsometry examination. Special emphasis is given to free-charge-carrier properties, and magneto-optical effects. A broad range of experimental examples are described, including multinary alloys of zincblende and wurtzite structure semiconductor materials, and future applications such as organic layer structures and highly correlated electron systems are proposed.

This book (2nd edition) is a self-contained introduction to a wide body of knowledge on nonlinear dynamics and chaos. Manneville emphasises the understanding of basic concepts and the nontrivial character of nonlinear response, contrasting it with the intuitively simple linear response. He explains the theoretical framework using pedagogical examples from fluid dynamics, though prior knowledge of this field is not required. Heuristic arguments and worked examples replace most esoteric technicalities. Only basic understanding of mathematics and physics is required, at the level of what is currently known after one or two years of undergraduate training: elementary calculus, basic notions of linear algebra and ordinary differential calculus, and a few fundamental physical equations (specific complements are provided when necessary). Methods presented are of fully general use, which opens up ample windows on topics of contemporary interest. These include complex dynamical processes such as patterning, chaos control, mixing, and even the Earth's climate. Numerical simulations are proposed as a means to obtain deeper understanding of the intricacies induced by nonlinearities in our everyday environment, with hints on adapted modelling strategies and their implementation.

Cosmology deals with the current state of thinking about the basic questions at the center of the field of cosmology. More emphasis than usual is put on the connections to related domains of science, such as geometry, relativity, thermodynamics, particle physics, and - in particular - on the intrinsic connections between the different topics. The chapters are illustrated with many figures that are as exact as currently possible, e.g. in the case of geometry and relativity. Readers acquire a graduate-level knowledge of cosmology as it is required to understand the cosmological impact of their particular research topics, as well as an introduction into the current research in the field.