From Bulk to Nano : The Many Sides of Magnetism
The field of magnetism is rapidly advancing in this new millennium, revealing an ever-wider diversity of magnetic phenomena on more than one scale. With the emergence of countless applications particularly on a nanoscale, and their unpredictable implications mostly on a macroscale, it may seem that different aspects of magnetism are unrelated. Quite often, the overwhelming amount of topics discussed in the professional literature views only parts of a field, ignoring a broader context. Therefore, the present book aims at addressing the relationship between apparently unconnected topics in magnetism. Less obvious relationships are revealed among individual fields on various scales, making them better understandable.
Freshwater Microplastics : Emerging Environmental Contaminants?
Focuses on microscopic plastic debris, also referred to as microplastics, which have been detected in aquatic environments around the globe and have accordingly raised serious concerns. The book explores whether microplastics represent emerging contaminants in freshwater systems, an area that remains underrepresented to date.Given the complexity of the issue, the book covers the current state-of-research on microplastics in rivers and lakes, including analytical aspects, environmental concentrations and sources, modelling approaches, interactions with biota, and ecological implications. To provide a broader perspective, the book also discusses lessons learned from nanomaterials and the implications of plastic debris for regulation, politics, economy, and society. In a research field that is rapidly evolving, it offers a solid overview for environmental chemists, engineers, and toxicologists, as well as water managers and policy-makers.
Free Energy and Self-Interacting Particles
This book examines a system of parabolic-elliptic partial differential eq- tions proposed in mathematical biology, statistical mechanics, and chemical kinetics. In the context of biology, this system of equations describes the chemotactic feature of cellular slime molds and also the capillary formation of blood vessels in angiogenesis. There are several methods to derive this system. One is the biased random walk of the individual, and another is the reinforced random walk of one particle modelled on the cellular automaton. In the context of statistical mechanics or chemical kinetics, this system of equations describes the motion of a mean field of many particles, interacting under the gravitational inner force or the chemical reaction
Framing global mathematics : The international mathematical union between theorems and politics
This book is about the shaping of international relations in mathematics over the last two hundred years. It focusses on institutions and organizations that were created to frame the international dimension of mathematical research. Today, striking evidence of globalized mathematics is provided by countless international meetings and the worldwide repository ArXiv. The text follows the sinuous path that was taken to reach this state, from the long nineteenth century, through the two wars, to the present day. International cooperation in mathematics was well established by 1900, centered in Europe. The first International Mathematical Union, IMU, founded in 1920 and disbanded in 1932, reflected above all the trauma of WW I. Since 1950 the current IMU has played an increasing role in defining mathematical excellence, as is shown both in the historical narrative and by analyzing data about the International Congresses of Mathematicians. For each of the three periods discussed, interactions are explored between world politics, the advancement of scientific infrastructures, and the inner evolution of mathematics. Readers will thus take a new look at the place of mathematics in world culture, and how international organizations can make a difference. Aimed at mathematicians, historians of science, scientists, and the scientifically inclined general public.
Fracture Mechanics of Ceramics ; Active Materials, Nanoscale Materials, Composites, Glass, and Fundamentals
The 8th International Symposium on fracture mechanics of ceramics was held in on the campus of the University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA, on February 25-28, 2003. With the natural maturing of the fields of structural ceramics, this symposium focused on nano-scale materials, composites, thin films and coatings as well as glass. The symposium also addressed new issues on fundamentals of fracture mechanics and contact mechanics, and a session on reliability and standardization.
Fracture and Failure of Natural Building Stones : Applications in the Restoration of Ancient Monuments
The book consists of invited papers written by leading experts in the field. It contains original contributions concerning the latest developments in the fracture and failure of the natural building stones and their application in the restoration of ancient monuments. It covers a wide range of subjects - cluding purely mechanical aspects, physico-chemical approaches, appli- tions and case studies. The papers are arranged in two parts with a total of nine chapters. Part I is devoted to purely mechanical and structural aspects and applications, while Part II is devoted to the physico-chemical and environmental aspects including thermal effects.
Fractals in Engineering : New Trends in Theory and Applications
The strong potential of this research can be seen in real industrial situations with recent progress being made in areas such as chemical engineering, internet traffic, physics and finance. Image processing continues to be a major field of application for fractal analysis and is well-represented here. Consisting of papers written by a world-wide pool of experts, the multidisciplinary approach of this third volume will be of particular interest to industrial researchers and practitioners as well as to academics from many backgrounds.
Fourth IFIP International Conference on Theoretical Computer Science - TCS 2006 ; IFIP 19th World Computer Congress, TC-1, Foundations of Computer Science, August 23-24, 2006, Santiago, Chile
The IFIP series publishes state-of-the-art results in the sciences and technologies of information and communication. The scope of the series includes: foundations of computer science; software theory and practice; education; computer applications in technology; communication systems; systems modeling and optimization; information systems; computers and society; computer systems technology; security and protection in information processing systems; artificial intelligence; and human-computer interaction. Proceedings and post-proceedings of referred international conferences in computer science and interdisciplinary fields are featured. These results often precede journal publication and represent the most current research. The principal aim of the IFIP series is to encourage education and the dissemination and exchange of information about all aspects of computing.
Foundations of Trusted Autonomy
This book establishes the foundations needed to realize the ultimate goals for artificial intelligence, such as autonomy and trustworthiness. Aimed at scientists, researchers, technologists, practitioners, and students, it brings together contributions offering the basics, the challenges and the state-of-the-art on trusted autonomous systems in a single volume. The book is structured in three parts, with chapters written by eminent researchers and outstanding practitioners and users in the field. The first part covers foundational artificial intelligence technologies, while the second part covers philosophical, practical and technological perspectives on trust. Lastly, the third part presents advanced topics necessary to create future trusted autonomous systems. The book augments theory with real-world applications including cyber security, defence and space.
Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography
the book highlights three principal messages: biological classifications and their explanatory mechanisms are separate notions; most, if not all, homology concepts pre-date the works of Darwin; and that the foundation of all comparative biology is the concept of relationship - neither 'similarity' nor 'genealogical hypotheses of descent' are sufficient. Foundations of Systematics and Biogeography is an ideal volume for students, academics, researchers and professionals in the fields of systematics, biogeography, evolutionary biology and palaeontology.
Foundations of Quantum Physics
Intended to be used as a textbook for an introductory course in quantum mechanics at the undergraduate level, Foundations of Quantum Physics is also meant to be retained by the student for later use as a reference. The presentation begins with the solution of some basic quantum mechanical problems. The emphasis is on those features of the solutions that are unique to quantum physics. It is only after these aspects of quantum physics are thoroughly discussed that the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics is presented and related to the previous chapters. Throughout the book, the emphasis is on understanding the concepts and relating them to known phenomena.
Foundations of learning classifier systems
This volume brings together recent theoretical work in Learning Classifier Systems (LCS), which is a Machine Learning technique combining Genetic Algorithms and Reinforcement Learning. It includes self-contained background chapters on related fields (reinforcement learning and evolutionary computation) tailored for a classifier systems audience and written by acknowledged authorities in their area - as well as a relevant historical original work by John Holland.
Foundations of information and knowledge systems ; 5th International Symposium, FoIKS 2008, Pisa, Italy, February 11-15, 2008. Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Foundations of Information and Knowledge Systems, FoIKS 2008 held in Pisa, Italy, in February 2008. The 13 revised full papers presented together with 9 revised short papers and 3 invited lectures were carefully selected during two rounds of reviewing and improvement from from 79 submissions. The papers deal with any foundational aspect of information and knowledge systems, including submissions from researchers working in fields such as discrete mathematics, logic and algebra, model theory, information theory, complexity theory, algorithmics and computation, geometry, analysis, statistics and optimisation who are interested in applying their ideas, theories and methods to research on information and knowledge systems.
Foundations of information and knowledge systems ; 4th International Symposium, FoIKS 2006, Budapest, Hungary, February 14-17, 2006, Proceedings
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Foundations of Information and Knowledge Systems, held in February 2006. The 14 revised full papers presented together with three revised short papers and one invited paper were carefully reviewed and selected from 54 submissions. Among the topics covered are the theoretical foundations of information and knowledge systems, as well as mathematical fields such as discrete mathematics, combinatorics, logics and finite model theory, and applications thereof for research on database and knowledge base theory.
Foundations of generic optimization ; Vol.2 : Applications of fuzzy control, genetic algorithms and neural networks
This is a comprehensive overview of the basics of fuzzy control, which also brings together some recent research results in soft computing, in particular fuzzy logic using genetic algorithms and neural networks. This book offers researchers not only a solid background but also a snapshot of the current state of the art in this field.
Foundations of generic optimization : Vol.1 : A combinatorial approach to epistasis
This is a comprehensive overview of the basics of fuzzy control, which also brings together some recent research results in soft computing, in particular fuzzy logic using genetic algorithms and neural networks. This book offers researchers not only a solid background but also a snapshot of the current state of the art in this field.
Fossil earthquakes : The formation and preservation of pseudotachylytes
This book encompass the principl results of field investigations, analyses of meso-scale and micro-scale textures and structures, laboratory experiments, chemical analyses, conceptual fault models, as well as the implications of fault related pseudotachylyte an its related fault rocks for our understanding of earthquakes. We hope that this book helps to bridge the gap between seismology and geology and that it encourages further studies of earthquake and seismic faulting processes.
Forward-backward stochastic differential equations and their applications
This volume is a survey/monograph on the recently developed theory of forward-backward stochastic differential equations (FBSDEs). Basic techniques such as the method of optimal control, the "Four Step Scheme", and the method of continuation are presented in full. Related topics such as backward stochastic PDEs and many applications of FBSDEs are also discussed in detail. The volume is suitable for readers with basic knowledge of stochastic differential equations, and some exposure to the stochastic control theory and PDEs. It can be used for researchers and/or senior graduate students in the areas of probability, control theory, mathematical finance, and other related fields.
Fortschritte der Chemie organischer Naturstoffe 89 = Progress in the chemistry of organic natural products
The volumes of this classic series, now referred to simply as "Zechmeister" after its founder, L. Zechmeister, have appeared under the Springer Imprint ever since the series' inauguration in 1938. The volumes contain contributions on various topics related to the origin, distribution, chemistry, synthesis, biochemistry, function or use of various classes of naturally occurring substances ranging from small molecules to biopolymers. Each contribution is written by a recognized authority in his field and provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the topic in question. Addressed to biologists, technologists, and chemists alike, the series can be used by the expert as a source of information and literature citations and by the non-expert as a means of orientation in a rapidly developing discipline.
Fortschritte der Chemie organischer Naturstoffe = Progress in the chemistry of organic natural products 88
The volumes of this classic series, now referred to simply as "Zechmeister" after its founder, L. Zechmeister, have appeared under the Springer Imprint ever since the series' inauguration in 1938. The volumes contain contributions on various topics related to the origin, distribution, chemistry, synthesis, biochemistry, function or use of various classes of naturally occurring substances ranging from small molecules to biopolymers. Each contribution is written by a recognized authority in his field and provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the topic in question. Addressed to biologists, technologists, and chemists alike, the series can be used by the expert as a source of information and literature citations and by the non-expert as a means of orientation in a rapidly developing discipline.



















