This book is about a new and very radical information-theoretic approach to comprehending and modelling reality. It is called "Process Physics" because it uses a process model of time rather than, as in current physics, a non-process geometrical model of time, a model so successfully developed and used by Galileo, Newton, Einstein and others that for many physicists the phenomenon of time is actually identified with this geometrical model. Now, for the first time in the history of physics, we have a model of time that includes the distinctions between past, present and future. These distinctions cannot be made in the geometrical model of time. For this reason we can call the current prevailing physics Non-Process Physics. In Process Physics we turn to a fundamental reformulation of the key concepts in physics. This entails that we must identify both the successes and failures of the Non-Process Physics, for it almost succeeded.

This new edition of Van Kampen's standard work has been completely revised and updated. Three major changes have also been made. The Langevin equation receives more attention in a separate chapter in which non-Gaussian and colored noise are introduced. Another additional chapter contains old and new material on first-passage times and related subjects which lay the foundation for the chapter on unstable systems. Finally a completely new chapter has been written on the quantum mechanical foundations of noise. The references have also been expanded and updated.

Sol-Gel Science: The Physics and Chemistry of Sol-Gel Processing presents the physical and chemical principles of the sol-gel process. The book emphasizes the science behind sol-gel processing with a chapter devoted to applications. The first chapter introduces basic terminology, provides a brief historical sketch, and identifies some excellent texts for background reading. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss the mechanisms of hydrolysis and condensation for nonsilicate and silicate systems. Chapter 4 deals with stabilization and gelation of sols. Chapter 5 reviews theories of gelation and examines the predicted and observed changes in the properties of a sol in the vicinity of the gel point. Chapter 6 describes the changes in structure and properties that occur during aging of a gel in its pore liquor (or some other liquid). The discussion of drying is divided into two parts, with the theory concentrated in Chapter 7 and the phenomenology in Chapter 8. The structure of dried gels is explored in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 shows the possibility of using the gel as a substrate for chemical reactions or of modifying the bulk composition of the resulting ceramic by performing a surface reaction (such as nitridation) on the gel. Chapter 11 reviews the theory and practice of sintering, describing the mechanisms that govern densification of amorphous and crystalline materials, and showing the advantages of avoiding crystallization before sintering is complete. The properties of gel-derived and conventional ceramics are discussed in Chapter 12. The preparation of films is such an important aspect of sol-gel technology that the fundamentals of film formation are treated at length in Chapter 13. Films and other applications are briefly reviewed in Chapter 14. Materials scientists and researchers in the field of sol-gel processing will find the book invaluable.

This book newly articulates the international and interdisciplinary reach of Whitehead’s organic process cosmology for a variety of topics across science and philosophy, and in dialogue with a variety historical and contemporary voices. Integrating Whitehead’s thought with the insights of Bergson, James, Pierce, Merleau-Ponty, Descola, Fuchs, Hofmann, Grof and many others, contributors from around the world reveal the relevance of process philosophy to physics, cosmology, astrobiology, ecology, metaphysics, aesthetics, psychedelics, and religion. A global collection, this book expresses multivocal possibilities for the development of process cosmology after Whitehead.

This “lucid, masterfully written introduction to an often difficult subject . . . belongs on the bookshelf of every student of statistical physics” (Dr. Brian J. Albright, Applied Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory). This book provides an accessible introduction to stochastic processes in physics and describes the basic mathematical tools of the trade: probability, random walks, and Wiener and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes. With an emphasis on applications, it includes end-of-chapter problems. Physicist and author Don S. Lemons builds on Paul Langevin’s seminal 1908 paper “On the Theory of Brownian Motion” and its explanations of classical uncertainty in natural phenomena. Following Langevin’s example, Lemons applies Newton’s second law to a “Brownian particle on which the total force included a random component.” This method builds on Newtonian dynamics and provides an accessible explanation to anyone approaching the subject for the first time. This volume contains the complete text of Paul Langevin’s “On the Theory of Brownian Motion,” translated by Anthony Gythiel.

Stochastic processes are an essential part of numerous branches of physics, as well as in biology, chemistry, and finance. This textbook provides a solid understanding of stochastic processes and stochastic calculus in physics, without the need for measure theory. In avoiding measure theory, this textbook gives readers the tools necessary to use stochastic methods in research with a minimum of mathematical background. Coverage of the more exotic Levy processes is included, as is a concise account of numerical methods for simulating stochastic systems driven by Gaussian noise. The book concludes with a non-technical introduction to the concepts and jargon of measure-theoretic probability theory. With over 70 exercises, this textbook is an easily accessible introduction to stochastic processes and their applications, as well as methods for numerical simulation, for graduate students and researchers in physics.

In this highly readable book, H.S. Green, a former student of Max Born and well known as an author in physics and in the philosophy of science, presents a timely analysis of theoretical physics and related fundamental problems.