This book provides a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art in the development of the theory of scale relativity and fractal space-time. It suggests an original solution to the disunified nature of the classical-quantum transition in physical systems, enabling quantum mechanics to be based on the principle of relativity provided this principle is extended to scale transformations of the reference system. In the framework of such a newly-generalized relativity theory (including position, orientation, motion and now scale transformations), the fundamental laws of physics may be given a general form that goes beyond and integrates the classical and the quantum regimes. A related concern of this book is the geometry of space-time, which is described as being fractal and nondifferentiable. It collects and organizes theoretical developments and applications in many fields, including physics, mathematics, astrophysics, cosmology and life sciences.

This is the first detailed account of a new approach to microphysics based on two leading ideas: (i) the explicit dependence of physical laws on scale encountered in quantum physics, is the manifestation of a fundamental principle of nature, scale relativity. This generalizes Einstein's principle of (motion) relativity to scale transformations; (ii) the mathematical achievement of this principle needs the introduction of a nondifferentiable space-time varying with resolution, i.e. characterized by its fractal properties.The author discusses in detail reactualization of the principle of relativity and its application to scale transformations, physical laws which are explicitly scale dependent, and fractals as a new geometric description of space-time.

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity leads to two remarkable predictions: first, that the ultimate destiny of many massive stars is to undergo gravitational collapse and to disappear from view, leaving behind a 'black hole' in space; and secondly, that there will exist singularities in space-time itself. These singularities are places where space-time begins or ends, and the presently known laws of physics break down. They will occur inside black holes, and in the past are what might be construed as the beginning of the universe. To show how these predictions arise, the authors discuss the General Theory of Relativity in the large. Starting with a precise formulation of the theory and an account of the necessary background of differential geometry, the significance of space-time curvature is discussed and the global properties of a number of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations are examined. The theory of the causal structure of a general space-time is developed, and is used to study black holes and to prove a number of theorems establishing the inevitability of singualarities under certain conditions. A discussion of the Cauchy problem for General Relativity is also included in this 1973 book.

This book presents Einstein's theory of space and time in detail, and describes the large-scale structure of space, time and velocity as a new cosmological special relativity. A cosmological Lorentz-like transformation, which relates events at different cosmic times, is derived and applied. A new law of addition of cosmic times is obtained, and the inflation of the space at the early universe is derived, both from the cosmological transformation. The relationship between cosmic velocity, acceleration and distances is given. In the appendices gravitation is added in the form of a cosmological general relativity theory and a five-dimensional unified theory of space, time and velocity. This book is of interest to cosmologists, astrophysicists, theoretical physicists, mathematical physicists and mathematicians.

This book is an excellent introduction to the concept of scale invariance, which is a growing field of research with wide applications. It describes where and how symmetry under scale transformation (and its various forms of partial breakdown) can be used to analyze solutions of a problem without the need to explicitly solve it. The first part gives descriptions of tools and concepts; the second is devoted to recent attempts to go beyond the invariance or symmetry breaking, to discuss causes and consequences, and to extract useful information about the system. Examples are carefully worked out in fields as diverse as condensed matter physics, population dynamics, earthquake physics, turbulence, cosmology and finance.

The nature of space and time is one of the most fascinating and fundamental philosophical issues which presently engages at the deepest level with physics. During the last thirty years this notion has been object of an intense critical review in the light of new scientific theories which try to combine the principles of both general relativity and quantum theory—called theories of quantum gravity. This book considers the way string theory shapes its own account of spacetime disappearance from the fundamental level.

Translated into English for the first time, this brilliant French bestseller by eminent astrophysicist Laurent Nottale presents the theory of scale relativity, which offers a framework for the unification of quantum theory and relativity through fractal geometry. Updated and revised, with a new afterword by philosopher of science Charles Alunni, The Relativity of All Things is the first of Nottale's popularly accessible works available to English-language readers."To describe the ideas of relativity and quantum mechanics without a single mathematical formula is a veritable feat of magic. . . . With a philosophical audacity that only non-philosophers can possess, Nottale finds that the essence of the principle of relativity is in fact the affirmation of the existence of universal laws applied at every scale. . . . His task is enormous. He proposes that the theory of relativity and that of quantum mechanics, with the radical schism between their findings and methods of thinking, can be reconciled. . . . Nottale's methodological innovation is truly revolutionary. To bring it to fruition, he weds the mathematics of fractals with the theory of relativity. . . . Nottale's approach shows us that we are far from the 'end of science': we are perhaps only at its recommencement." Basarab Nicolescu, Business Digest"Einstein himself explicitly considered that a realistic approach to the quantum problem could go through the introduction of non-differentiability in physics. In 1948, he wrote in a letter to Wolfgang Pauli: 'Maybe someone will find out another possibility, provided he searches with enough perseverance.' Laurent Nottale is very precisely this 'someone'! Read and study this wonderful theory, let yourself be carried away by its beauty, its depth, and its major experimental implications, which are nothing less than fundamental for the future of science, and for philosophy." Charles Alunni, Director, Laboratoire Disciplinaire Pensée des Sciences at the École Normale Supérieure"Since the birth of quantum theory, physicists have been challenged with the development of a unified theory of quantum mechanics and relativity, with no general consensus on the best way forward. To progress further, we have to confront deep questions about space and time, quantum theory, and cosmology, which take theory back into contact with experiment. The theory of scale relativity offers a serious contribution to the debate on unification, offering an intuitive insight into how these theories could be fundamentally linked through space-time geometry." Philip Turner, Director, Centre for Plant Science and Biopolymer Research, Edinburgh Napier University"Laurent Nottale proposes that we look at the concept of fractals to make relativity, extended further yet, the fundamental principle on which to base quantum mechanics. After the relativity of time and space, he has tackled the relativity of scale, putting into question much of what we thought we knew." Pierre Bonnaure, Futuribles"Developments in geometry have often enabled progress in physics, especially when concerning relativity. Non-Euclidean geometry, geometrical systems where the plane is a sphere, made it possible for Einstein to devise his theory of curved space. Today, a new geometry, fractal geometry, allows us to propose a theory of fractal space." Idées clés, by Business Digest