Myocardial Ischemia [Paperback]

Heinz D. Zeh (Author), H. D. Zeh (Author), Dennis V. P. Cokkinos (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2008

The physical asymmetry of nature under time reversal is analysed in this essay. The author investigates the most important classes of phenomena that characterize a direction of time: radiation, thermodynamics, quantum phenomena, and the structure of spacetime. Their relations and the search for a cosmological common root of these "arrows of time" and of the traditional concept of causality are discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on quantum indeterminism. It is argued that a common root may be found in the properties of the time-independent wave function of the universe that arises from the quantization of general relativity. This requires that the physical concept of time is reduced to a correlation between physical states, including those characterizing clocks and observers. The description of irreversible phenomena is shown to be fundamentally "observer-related" in a way that can be formalized following Zwanzig. The book is aimed mainly at the student or scientist seeking an overview of the whole issue. Compared to the German version the book has been widely revised and extended.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the fourth edition:

"An unusually clear introduction to the theory of time. It covers philosophy as well as physics, and is most up-to-date, with a thorough discussion of the consistent histories approach. The author covers all areas of physics, beginning with classical physics, relativity, thermodynamics and moving through quantum physics and ending with quantum cosmology. [...] the book is highly recommended." (Mathematical Reviews 2003a)

"This book is a thorough survey of what is known about irreversibility in physics. It investigates this topic in such fields as radiation, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, gravitation and quantum cosmology. … This book is certainly a concise, technically sophisticated and up-to-date discussion on the subject in various physical fields. It is also complete. … I can recommend this book for physicists interested in the subject … ." (Cl. Semay, Physicalia, Vol. 38 (2), 2002)

"This fourth edition of Zeh’s ‘The physical basis of the direction of time’ represents an almost new book. … 12 years after the first edition, the author not only incorporated further new results but totally rewrote several chapters. … Therefore, libraries should keep the older editions and incorporate this new edition." (Hans-Jürgen Schmidt, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 976, 2002)

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

This thoroughly revised 5th edition of Zeh's classic text investigates irreversible phenomena and their foundation in classical, quantum and cosmological settings. It includes new sections on the meaning of probabilities in a cosmological context, irreversible aspects of quantum computers, and various consequences of the expansion of the Universe. Many other sections have been rewritten. In particular, the book contains an analysis of the physical concept of time, a detailed treatment of radiation damping as well as extended sections on quantum entanglement and decoherence, arrows of time hidden in various interpretations of quantum theory, and the emergence of time in quantum gravity. Both physicists and philosophers of science will find in this book a magnificent survey and a concise, technically sophisticated, up-to-date discussion which shows fine sensitivity to crucial conceptual subtleties. "The discussion is lucid and intuitive without glossing over the important details." Max Tegmark, MIT --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Springer (August 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387509305
• ISBN-13: 978-0387509303
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,584,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE place to look for the physics behind the arrow of time, December 10, 1999

By 

Chris - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Physical Basis of the Direction of Time (Paperback)

A lot has been written about the arrow of time, a large amount of which leaves out the details (such as Huw Price's recent book). For those details, this is THE place to look. Those discussing the arrow of time, whether they agree or disagree with his conclusions, generally start with what has been written down here.

In this slim volume, Zeh gives a wonderfully concise and broad coverage to all physical aspects of the arrow of time. Furthermore, while his approach is rigorous, he makes a point of drawing out what the mathematical conclusions mean, and he does so quite lucidly. As a bonus he has a wonderful section on the quanticization of time. The only problem with this book is the rather high price tag, which will probably stop most of the casual readers interested in the topic from picking up a copy.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the FIFTH EDITION due out June 2007!, May 14, 2007

By 

Steve Reina (Troy Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Physical Basis of The Direction of Time (Paperback)

Make no mistake, this is a great book!

It thoroughly discusses the six arrows of time and their law like vs. fact like nature. It discusses pretty much every other serious work that's been done respecting time and its physical descriptions (including those of Hu Price and Julian Barbour as well as the more conventional accounts by Stephen Hawking).

And also, it has some fascinating speculations on how the universal expansion itself might be the master arrow of time.

However, it IS an expensive book and since Zeh will be having his Fifth Edition out in June 2007, you might want to wait until it's out to purchase his thoughts on this significant and important area of research.

That said, whether you choose to purchase the June 2007 version or this one, you won't be disappointed.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Requires advanced math degree, December 25, 2007

By 

Tom in northern California (Sutter Creek, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Physical Basis of The Direction of Time (The Frontiers Collection) (Hardcover)

Being a professional engineer, although retired, I have lots of time to pursue my interest in astrophysics and associated topics. Time, to me, is an extremely interesting topic -- one which we think we all know, but probably know very little about.

Anyway, I had hoped this book would provide a greater understanding of time, and I'm sure it does .. but not for me. All of the material in this book relies HEAVILY on advanced mathematics for understanding -- calculus, differential equations, etc. Unless you are extremely versed and current in advanced math, you will not be able to realize the potential of this book.

I couldn't actually rate the book, as I'm no longer instantly conversant with the advanced math in the book. If one were, then I feel quite sure that this book could be four or five stars. But for a layman, or even one with a history of advanced math which hasn't been used recently, it is virtually not understandable. Too bad.