Books on the topic 'Modern energy complexes'

The textbook provides information about the origin and about the main stages of development of one of the first, and today one of the most common technological processes of welding materials. A brief information about the main types of welding energy sources used for obtaining permanent connections about the physical nature of the welding processes. Examples of equipment required to implement various technological operations. Modern problems of welding science and technology. Designed for students directions 15.03.01 mechanical engineering, 12.03.05 "Laser engineering and laser technologies and specialty", 15.05.01 "Design of technological machines and complexes", may be useful to students of lyceums, colleges, vocational schools and technical schools, as well as a wide range of readers to discover the fundamentals of welding technology.

This textbook is a publication of the latest generation, designed to optimize the national project "Education"; develops theoretical knowledge about the genesis of natural liquid, gaseous and solid combustible minerals, the formation of the composition and properties, the practical significance of fuel and energy natural complexes. It is devoted to the study of the composition, properties and classification of oils, gas condensate, natural gases and solid combustible minerals, studied at the level of modern achievements of instrumental analytical and factory equipment in accordance with existing technologies, theories and hypotheses about the genesis of hydrocarbons and Earth sciences. The publication is supplemented with the main directions of processing of combustible minerals. Digital and graphical types of chemical models of the synergy of components of gas and oil deposits are described, which are necessary for predicting the phase state and composition of hydrocarbons and optimizing the directions of processing of marketable products. To facilitate the process of cognition of the origin and formation of the composition and properties of natural combustible minerals, a glossary, tests, as well as questions for the test and exam are offered. To control the knowledge gained by students while studying textbook materials, each chapter is accompanied by questions and tasks. Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation. It is intended for students studying in the fields of 05.04.01, 05.03.01 "Geology", 21.05.02 "Applied Geology", as well as for specialists in the field of geology, geochemistry, extraction and processing of oil, gas, gas condensate, solid fuels.

The textbook is an introduction to the theory and practice of spectroscopy in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared regions. The presentation of the theoretical foundations is accompanied by a detailed guide on the practical use of spectroscopy for quantitative and qualitative analysis of substances and reactions in simple and complex systems. Attention is paid to modern methods of infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform (FTIR), intermolecular energy transfer (FRET), linear dichroism of complex objects. It is intended for a wide range of biologists, chemists, students and postgraduates of natural science specialties.

The textbook considers the subject and tasks of the discipline, highlights the medical and biological foundations of ensuring human security in the conditions of natural, man-made and biological-social emergencies, as well as when using modern weapons of destruction by a probable enemy. Briefly, but quite informative, the structure of the human body and the basics of its functioning are described. The specificity and mechanism of the toxic effect of harmful substances on a person, the energy effect and the combined effect of the main damaging factors of the sources of emergency situations of peacetime and wartime are shown. The article highlights the medical and biological aspects of ensuring the safe life of people in adverse environmental conditions, including in regions with hot and cold climates (the Arctic). The methods of forecasting and assessing the medical situation in emergency zones and lesions are presented. The means and methods of medical and biological protection and first aid to the affected are shown. The main tasks and organizational structure of formations and institutions of the medical rescue service of the GO, the All-Russian Service of Disaster Medicine and medical formations of the EMERCOM of Russia are considered. Organizational issues of medical and biological protection in emergency situations are highlighted. The features of the organization of medical support for those affected by terrorist attacks are considered. It is intended for students and cadets of educational institutions of higher education studying under the bachelor's degree program in the following areas of training: "Technosphere security", "Infocommunication technologies and communication systems", "Information systems and technologies", "State and municipal management", "Economics", "Mechatronics and robotics", "Operation of transport and technological machines and complexes", "Informatics and computer engineering", "Air Navigation", "System analysis and management". It can also be useful for researchers and a wide range of specialists engaged in practical work on planning and organizing medical and biological protection of the population.

In modern conditions, an integrated quality management system (ISMC) that meets the requirements of several international standards and contributes to improving the efficiency of enterprise management, creating conditions for its sustainable development, as well as the competitiveness of the enterprise and its products is becoming more and more popular. The monograph considers theoretical and methodological approaches to quality management at the enterprise. The relevance of the application of an integrated quality management system, including at the enterprises of the military-industrial complex (MIC), consisting in the most effective management of the enterprise, energy efficiency and resource conservation, is justified. The assessment of the use of quality management tools at the defense industry enterprises was carried out, the trends in the development of defense industry enterprises were substantiated, a marketing approach was applied to the classification of defense industry enterprises, in particular by market type, which allows identifying potential consumers of enterprises ' products, the degree of production diversification. Organizational and economic approaches to the formation of an integrated quality management system are presented. The procedure for creating an ISMC is considered. The methodology and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of ISMC are substantiated. The presented material is of practical importance and can be useful to specialists in quality management, graduate students, researchers, teachers.

The textbook describes the design features of offshore horizontal multi-hole production wells, as well as the bottom-hole components of horizontal multi-hole wells. The classification of complications of multi-hole horizontal wells, methods of their prevention and elimination are given. Methods of underground geonavigation of the development of offshore horizontal production wells are proposed. The geological and field bases of operation of horizontal offshore multi-hole oil and gas wells, modes and dynamics of oil, gas and associated water production, methods for calculating dynamic bottom-hole and reservoir pressures are specified. The technologies of operation of offshore horizontal multi-hole wells are presented. The composition and scope of environmental, field and research marine monitoring of the operation of offshore horizontal multi-hole wells and the protection of the marine environment in the production of oil and gas are justified. Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation. It is intended for undergraduates of the enlarged group of "Earth Sciences" training areas, as well as for teachers, employees of the fuel and energy complex, industrial geological exploration and oil and gas production enterprises, scientific and design organizations.

Modern energy concepts of settlements and neighborhoods with an increasing share of renewable, decentralized energy supply will be the future. Buildings are on their way of transformation from energy consumers to active energy suppliers. The planning of optimized but increasingly complex building energy systems can be facilitated and realized through the use of simulation-based planning tools. The CESBP 2016 and BauSIM 2016 are hosted under a common organizational roof in order to promote the networking of research groups from very different fields. Through their complementary contents and thematic orientation both conferences offer participants many opportunities to open up new fields of knowledge. The conference program of the CESBP 2016 integrates in addition to the classic building physical applications and new developments a strong focus ranging from energy-efficient construction up to plus-energy concepts for settlements and neighborhoods. The complementary program of the BauSIM 2016 addresses diverse technologies of application and further development of modern simulation-based planning tools with a special focus on building energy systems and services on the one hand, but also with respect to the more general areas of construction research.

This chapter teaches another essential foundation of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, the theory of Jing Luo, the invisible energy channels known as meridians through which Qi circulates. This chapter presents this complex human energy network as an energetic anatomy that include 12 principal channels (Zheng Jing), 8 extra channels (Qi Jing Ba Mai), 12 associated channels (Jing Bie), 12 peripheral channels (Jin Jing), 12 skin areas (Pi Bou), and 15 connecting channels (Luo Mai). The classification, distribution, and function of each is discussed in detail. There is no modern medicine equivalent to these concepts except for the energetic manifestations of mental and physical function that are well observed and described by clinicians and medical textbooks. Structural parallels to the energetic networks in modern medicine are circulatory systems like the nervous, cardiovascular, and lymphatic systems.

This article explores the origins of modern relativity theory. In his 1905 paper On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, Albert Einstein directly addressed one of the largest issues of the time. Electrodynamics aims to describe the motion of charged particles (usually thought of as electrons), whose interaction through the electromagnetic field, as described by Maxwell’s equations, affects their respective motions. The problem was so complex because the electromagnetic field theory was not an action-at-a-distance theory. This article begins with an overview of the principle of relativity and of the constancy of the speed of light, followed by a discussion on the relativity of simultaneity, the mass–energy equivalence, and experimental tests of special relativity. It also examines the principle of equivalence, the concepts of spacetime curvature and general covariance, and Mach’s principle. Finally, it considers experimental predictions of general relativity.

This chapter examines the relation between futures prices relative to the spot price of the underlying asset. Basic futures pricing is characterized by the convergence of futures and spot prices during the delivery period just before contract expiration. However, “no arbitrage” arguments that dictate the fair value of futures contracts largely determine pricing relations before expiration. Although the cost of carry model in its various forms largely determines futures prices before expiration, the chapter presents alternative explanations. Related commodity futures complexes exhibit mean-reverting behavior, as seen in commodity spread markets and other interrelated commodities. Energy commodity futures prices can be somewhat accurately modeled as a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (GARCH) process, although whether these models provide economically significant excess returns is uncertain.

Many modern engineering structures are composed of brittle heterogenous (a.k.a. quasibrittle) materials. These materials include concrete (an archetype), composites, tough ceramics, rocks, cold asphalt mixtures, and many brittle materials at the microscale. Understanding the failure behavior of these materials is of paramount importance for improving the resilience and sustainability of various engineering structures including civil infrastructure, aircraft, ships, military armors, and microelectronic devices. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of quasibrittle fracture mechanics. It first presents a concise but rigorous and complete treatment of the linear elastic fracture mechanics, which is the foundation of all fracture mechanics. The topics covered include energy balance analysis of fracture, analysis of near-tip field and stress intensity factors, Irwin's relationship, J-integral, calculation of compliance function and deflection, and analysis of interfacial crack. Built upon the content of linear elastic fracture mechanics, the book presents various fundamental concepts of nonlinear fracture mechanics, which include estimation of inelastic zone size, cohesive crack model, equivalent linear elastic fracture mechanics model, R-curve, and crack band model. The book also discusses some more advanced concepts such as the effects of the triaxial stress state in the fracture process zone, nonlocal continuum models, and discrete computational model. The significant part of the book is devoted to the discussion of the energetic and statistical size effects, which is a salient feature of quasibrittle fracture. The book also presents probabilistic fracture mechanics, and its consequent reliability-based structural analysis and design of quasibrittle structures. Finally, the book provides an extensive review of various practical applications of quasibrittle fracture mechanics.

Economy and mankind are inextricably interlinked. Just as the economy or the production of material wealth is unimaginable without a man, so human existence and development are impossible without the wealth created in the economy. Shortly, both the goal and the means of achieving and realization of the economy are still the human resources. People have long ago noticed that it was the economy that created livelihoods, and the delays in their production led to the catastrophic events such as hunger, poverty, civil wars, social upheavals, revolutions, moral degeneration, and more. Therefore, the special interest of people in understanding the regulatory framework of the functioning of the economy has existed and exists in all historical epochs [A. Sisvadze. Economic theory. Part One. 2006y. p. 22]. The system of economic disciplines studies economy or economic activities of a society. All of them are based on science, which is currently called economic theory in the post-socialist space (the science of economics, the principles of economics or modern economics), and in most countries of the world - predominantly in the Greek-Latin manner - economics. The title of the present book is also Modern Economics. Economics (economic theory) is the science that studies the efficient use of limited resources to produce and distribute goods and services in order to satisfy as much as possible the unlimited needs and demands of the society. More simply, economics is the science of choice and how society manages its limited resources. Moreover, it should be emphasized that economics (economic theory) studies only the distribution, exchange and consumption of the economic wealth (food, beverages, clothing, housing, machine tools, computers, services, etc.), the production of which is possible and limited. And the wealth that exists indefinitely: no economic relations are formed in the production and distribution of solar energy, air, and the like. This current book is the second complete updated edition of the challenges of the modern global economy in the context of the coronary crisis, taking into account some of the priority directions of the country's development. Its purpose is to help students and interested readers gain a thorough knowledge of economics and show them how this knowledge can be applied pragmatically (professionally) in professional activities or in everyday life. To achieve this goal, this textbook, which consists of two parts and tests, discusses in simple and clear language issues such as: the essence of economics as a science, reasons for origin, purpose, tasks, usefulness and functions; Basic principles, problems and peculiarities of economics in different economic systems; Needs and demand, the essence of economic resources, types and limitations; Interaction, mobility, interchangeability and efficient use of economic resources. The essence and types of wealth; The essence, types and models of the economic system; The interaction of households and firms in the market of resources and products; Market mechanism and its elements - demand, supply and price; Demand and supply elasticity; Production costs and the ways to reduce them; Forms of the market - perfect and incomplete competition markets and their peculiarities; Markets for Production Factors and factor incomes; The essence of macroeconomics, causes and importance of origin; The essence and calculation of key macroeconomic indicators (gross national product, gross domestic product, net national product, national income, etc.); Macroeconomic stability and instability, unemployment, inflation and anti-inflationary policies; State regulation of the economy and economic policy; Monetary and fiscal policy; Income and standard of living; Economic Growth; The Corona Pandemic as a Defect and Effect of Globalization; National Economic Problems and New Opportunities for Development in the conditions of the Coronary Crisis; The Socio-economic problems of moral obsolescence in digital technologies; Education and creativity are the main solution way to overcome the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus; Positive and negative effects of tourism in Georgia; Formation of the middle class as a contributing factor to the development of tourism in Georgia; Corporate culture in Georgian travel companies, etc. The axiomatic truth is that economics is the union of people in constant interaction. Given that the behavior of the economy reflects the behavior of the people who make up the economy, after clarifying the essence of the economy, we move on to the analysis of the four principles of individual decision-making. Furtermore, the book describes how people make independent decisions. The key to making an individual decision is that people have to choose from alternative options, that the value of any action is measured by the value of what must be given or what must be given up to get something, that the rational, smart people make decisions based on the comparison of the marginal costs and marginal returns (benefits), and that people behave accordingly to stimuli. Afterwards, the need for human interaction is then analyzed and substantiated. If a person is isolated, he will have to take care of his own food, clothes, shoes, his own house and so on. In the case of such a closed economy and universalization of labor, firstly, its productivity will be low and, secondly, it will be able to consume only what it produces. It is clear that human productivity will be higher and more profitable as a result of labor specialization and the opportunity to trade with others. Indeed, trade allows each person to specialize, to engage in the activities that are most successful, be it agriculture, sewing or construction, and to buy more diverse goods and services from others at a relatively lower price. The key to such human interactions is that trade is mutually beneficial; That markets are usually the good means of coordination between people and that the government can improve the results of market functioning if the market reveals weakness or the results of market functioning are not fair. Moroever, it also shows how the economy works as a whole. In particular, it is argued that productivity is a key determinant of living standards, that an increase in the money supply is a major source of inflation, and that one of the main impediments to avoiding inflation is the existence of an alternative between inflation and unemployment in the short term, that the inflation decrease causes the temporary decline in unemployement and vice versa. The Understanding creatively of all above mentioned issues, we think, will help the reader to develop market economy-appropriate thinking and rational economic-commercial-financial behaviors, to be more competitive in the domestic and international labor markets, and thus to ensure both their own prosperity and the functioning of the country's economy. How he/she copes with the tasks, it is up to the individual reader to decide. At the same time, we will receive all the smart useful advices with a sense of gratitude and will take it into account in the further work. We also would like to thank the editor and reviewers of the books. Finally, there are many things changing, so it is very important to realize that the XXI century has come: 1. The century of the new economy; 2. Age of Knowledge; 3. Age of Information and economic activities are changing in term of innovations. 1. Why is the 21st century the century of the new economy? Because for this period the economic resources, especially non-productive, non-recoverable ones (oil, natural gas, coal, etc.) are becoming increasingly limited. According to the World Energy Council, there are currently 43 years of gas and oil reserves left in the world (see “New Commersant 2007 # 2, p. 16). Under such conditions, sustainable growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) and maximum satisfaction of uncertain needs should be achieved not through the use of more land, labor and capital (extensification), but through more efficient use of available resources (intensification) or innovative economy. And economics, as it was said, is the science of finding the ways about the more effective usage of the limited resources. At the same time, with the sustainable growth and development of the economy, the present needs must be met in a way that does not deprive future generations of the opportunity to meet their needs; 2. Why is the 21st century the age of knowledge? Because in a modern economy, it is not land (natural resources), labor and capital that is crucial, but knowledge. Modern production, its factors and products are not time-consuming and capital-intensive, but science-intensive, knowledge-intensive. The good example of this is a Japanese enterprise (firm) where the production process is going on but people are almost invisible, also, the result of such production (Japanese product) is a miniature or a sample of how to get the maximum result at the lowest cost; 3. Why is the 21st century the age of information? Because the efficient functioning of the modern economy, the effective organization of the material and personal factors of production largely depend on the right governance decision. The right governance decision requires prompt and accurate information. Gone are the days when the main means of transport was a sailing ship, the main form of data processing was pencil and paper, and the main means of transmitting information was sending letters through a postman on horseback. By the modern transport infrastructure (highways, railways, ships, regular domestic and international flights, oil and gas pipelines, etc.), the movement of goods, services and labor resoucres has been significantly accelerated, while through the modern means of communication (mobile phone, internet, other) the information is spreading rapidly globally, which seems to have "shrunk" the world and made it a single large country. The Authors of the book: Ushangi Samadashvili, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University - Introduction, Chapters - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11,12, 15,16, 17.1,18 , Tests, Revaz Shengelia, Doctor of Economics, Professor of Georgian Technical University, Chapters_7, 8, 13. 14, 17.2, 17.4; Zhuzhuna Tsiklauri - Doctor of Economics, Professor of Georgian Technical University - Chapters 13.6, 13.7,17.2, 17.3, 18. We also thank the editor and reviewers of the book.

Physical activity (PA) is a complex human behaviour that comprises several dimensions, including intensity, frequency, duration, type/mode, and domain. PA outcomes can be divided into two main categories: the estimation of energy expenditure, and other quantifying metrics of PA. Subjective methods, including questionnaires and diaries, are often easy to use, cost-effective and are able to assess type of PA and to rank PA levels. However, they are prone to several limitations and are not able to provide accurate estimates of PA, energy expenditure, or intensity. Objective methods, including accelerometers and heart rate monitors, provide a reasonably accurate quantification of intensity, frequency, duration, and PA energy expenditure. When choosing a method for assessing PA several factors need to be considered, including validity, reliability, accuracy, and responsiveness, as well as the purpose of the study, the population being studied, and the outcome of interest.

Interoceptive processing is commonly understood in terms of the monitoring and representation of the body’s current physiological (i.e. homeostatic) status, with aversive sensory experiences encoding some impending threat to tissue viability. However, claims that homeostasis fails to fully account for the sophisticated regulatory dynamics observed in complex organisms have led some theorists to incorporate predictive (i.e. allostatic) regulatory mechanisms within broader accounts of interoceptive processing. Critically, these frameworks invoke diverse—and potentially mutually inconsistent—interpretations of the role allostasis plays in the scheme of biological regulation. This chapter argues in favor of a moderate, reconciliatory position in which homeostasis and allostasis are conceived as equally vital (but functionally distinct) modes of physiological control. It explores the implications of this interpretation for free energy-based accounts of interoceptive inference, advocating a similarly complementary (and hierarchical) view of homeostatic and allostatic processing.

This much-needed monograph presents a systematic, step-by-step approach to the continuum modeling of flow phenomena exhibited within materials endowed with a complex internal microstructure, such as polymers and liquid crystals. By combining the principles of Hamiltonian mechanics with those of irreversible thermodynamics, Antony N. Beris and Brian J. Edwards, renowned authorities on the subject, expertly describe the complex interplay between conservative and dissipative processes. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize the evaluation of the free energy--largely based on ideas from statistical mechanics--and how to fit the values of the phenomenological parameters against those of microscopic models. With Thermodynamics of Flowing Systems in hand, mathematicians, engineers, and physicists involved with the theoretical study of flow behavior in structurally complex media now have a superb, self-contained theoretical framework on which to base their modeling efforts.

The relationship between the state and civil society can be characterised as complex, disharmonious and dynamic. The complexity results from the historical conditions of its origin and the different ways of thinking, grasping and structuring the relationship. The relationship is disharmonious because although it can theoretically be thought of as equal, this equality, in fact, hardly exists. The relationship is dynamic because it is in a permanent state of tension between the path dependencies of the history of ideas, and therefore can and must be constantly rethought. This anthology attempts to grasp and illuminate the relationship between the state and civil society in all its complexity by paying special attention to the contextual dependence of the genesis of this complicated relationship. With the emergence of the modern state based on sovereignty, the state entered into opposition with civil society. Modern political theory has devoted much of its energy to reflecting this antagonism and bridging the gap between the two. With contributions by Nelson Chacón, Julian Dörr, Christopher Gohl, Oliver Hidalgo, Heinz Kleger, Alexander Kruska, Antoine Lévy, Andreas Nix, Edwin QuirogaMolano and Michael Zantke.

Systems biology came about as growing numbers of scientists and engineers from different fields created experimental methods and algorithms that supported the analysis of very large quantities of biological data. Systems Biology: A Very Short Introduction outlines the exciting processes and possibilities in this new field. It describes how modern biology enabled us to learn how intricately the expression of every gene is controlled, how signalling systems keep organisms running smoothly, how complicated even the simplest cells are, and how computational methods may help us understand these complex systems of life. It explores what this field is about, why it is needed, and how it will affect our understanding of life, particularly in the areas of personalized medicine, drug development, food and energy production, and sustainable stewardship of our environments.

This chapter reviews multidisciplinary research from the fields of consumer behavior, humanistic and positive psychology, music education, and other areas to develop a new Transcendent Model of Motivation for Music Making. One’s “extended self” identity can be defined partly by possessions and mastery over objects, and objects can “complete” the self. Music making involves a person’s investment of “psychic energy,” including attention, time, learning, and efforts, and is a creative path which can lead to peak experiences and flow. Music making can help satisfy social needs, achieve self-actualization, experience self-transcendence, enhance well-being, strengthen spirituality, and improve the quality of life.

Galileo Unbound: A Path Across Life, The Universe and Everything traces the journey that brought us from Galileo’s law of free fall to today’s geneticists measuring evolutionary drift, entangled quantum particles moving among many worlds, and our lives as trajectories traversing a health space with thousands of dimensions. Remarkably, common themes persist that predict the evolution of species as readily as the orbits of planets or the collapse of stars into black holes. This book tells the history of spaces of expanding dimension and increasing abstraction and how they continue today to give new insight into the physics of complex systems. Galileo published the first modern law of motion, the Law of Fall, that was ideal and simple, laying the foundation upon which Newton built the first theory of dynamics. Early in the twentieth century, geometry became the cause of motion rather than the result when Einstein envisioned the fabric of space-time warped by mass and energy, forcing light rays to bend past the Sun. Possibly more radical was Feynman’s dilemma of quantum particles taking all paths at once—setting the stage for the modern fields of quantum field theory and quantum computing. Yet as concepts of motion have evolved, one thing has remained constant, the need to track ever more complex changes and to capture their essence, to find patterns in the chaos as we try to predict and control our world.

A well-known name in contemporary sociology, Dipankar Gupta’s wide range of scholarship and popular columns have justly earned him the reputation of being one of India’s leading public intellectuals. Talking Sociology provides a complete panorama of Gupta’s life and works and his contribution to Indian sociology. In this book of conversations, he shares insights into the key areas of Indian sociology, such as the problem of social stratification, citizenship and democracy, and the caste system and ethnic groups in India. In his view, once we understand the discrete nature of caste identity we begin to appreciate the energy behind caste mobilization and, indeed, of the obduracy of this institution itself. It also discusses the influence of prominent thinkers on Gupta’s works, such as Claude Lévi Strauss, Talcott Parsons, André Beteille, and John Rawls. The ninth in the series of Ramin Jahanbegloo’s conversations with the prominent intellectuals who have made a significant impact in shaping the modern Indian thought, this book discusses Gupta’s array of work and its redefinition and reconstruction of the central concepts of sociology, taking it beyond its disciplinary boundaries.

The modern world was created through the combination and complex interactions of five grand transitions. First, the demographic transition changed the total numbers, dynamics, structure, and residential pattern of populations. The agricultural and dietary transition led to the emergence of highly productive cropping and animal husbandry (subsidized by fossil energies and electricity), a change that eliminated famines, reduced malnutrition, and improved the health of populations but also resulted in enormous food waste and had many environmental consequences. The energy transition brought the world from traditional biomass fuels and human and animal labor to fossil fuel, ever more efficient electricity, lights, and motors, all of which transformed both agricultural and industrial production and enabled mass-scale mobility and instant communication. Economic transition has been marked by relatively high growth rates of total national and global product, by fundamental structural transformation (from farming to industries to services), and by an increasing share of humanity living in affluent societies, enjoying unprecedented quality of life. These transitions have made many intensifying demands on the environment, resulting in ecosystemic degradation, loss of biodiversity, pollution, and eventually change on the planetary level, with global warming being the most worrisome development. This book traces the genesis of these transitions, their interactions and complicated progress as well as their outcomes and impacts, explaining how the modern world was made—and then offers a forward-thinking examination of some key unfolding transitions and appraising their challenges and possible results.

This chapter discusses an approximate approach—transition-state theory—to the calculation of rate constants for bimolecular reactions. A reaction coordinate is identified from a normal-mode coordinate analysis of the activated complex, that is, the supermolecule on the saddle-point of the potential energy surface. Motion along this coordinate is treated by classical mechanics and recrossings of the saddle point from the product to the reactant side are neglected, leading to the result of conventional transition-state theory expressed in terms of relevant partition functions. Various alternative derivations are presented. Corrections that incorporate quantum mechanical tunnelling along the reaction coordinate are described. Tunnelling through an Eckart barrier is discussed and the approximate Wigner tunnelling correction factor is derived in the limit of a small degree of tunnelling. It concludes with applications of transition-state theory to, for example, the F + H2 reaction, and comparisons with results based on quasi-classical mechanics as well as exact quantum mechanics.

This study of Jewish cultural innovation in early twentieth-century France highlights the complexity and ambivalence of Jewish identity and self-definition in the modern world. Following the Dreyfus affair, French Jews increasingly began to question how Jewishness should be defined in a society where Jews enjoyed full political equality. Writers began to explore biblical themes, traditional Jewish folklore, and issues of identity and assimilation. A plethora of new journals focusing on Jewish religion, history, and culture came into being, as did a multitude of associations that emphasized Jewish distinctiveness. This book explores this blossoming of Jewish cultural life in France. It shows that the interface between the various groups was as important as the differences between them: it was the process of debate and dialogue that infused new energy into French Jewish identity and culture. The book analyses the Jewish press and literature to develop a typology of themes, providing a panoramic view of how Jewish identity and culture were discussed and debated among Jews and non-Jews of varying ideological, cultural, and political orientations. The analysis also provides a vantage point from which to explore the complex ways in which French national identity was re-negotiated in the early twentieth-century. During this period, French Jews in effect reshaped the category of Frenchness itself, and in so doing created new possibilities for being both French and Jewish.

Abstract With increased commitment from the international community to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all sectors in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the water sector has never felt the pressure it is now under to transition to a low-carbon water management model. This requires reducing GHG emissions from grid-energy consumption (Scope 2 emissions), which is straightforward; however, it also requires reducing Scope 1 emissions, which include nitrous oxide and methane emissions, predominantly from wastewater handling and treatment. The pathways and factors leading to biological nitrous oxide and methane formation and emissions from wastewater are highly complex and site-specific. Good emission factors for estimating the Scope 1 emissions are lacking, water utilities have little experience in directly measuring these emissions, and the mathematical modelling of these emissions is challenging. Therefore, this book aims to help the water sector address the Scope 1 emissions by breaking down their pathways and influencing factors, and providing guidance on both the use of emission factors, and performing direct measurements of nitrous oxide and methane emissions from sewers and wastewater treatment plants. The book also dives into the mathematical modelling for predicting these emissions and provides guidance on the use of different mathematical models based upon your conditions, as well as an introduction to alternative modelling methods, including metabolic, data-driven, and AI methods. Finally, the book includes guidance on using the modelling tools for assessing different operating strategies and identifying promising mitigation actions. A must-have book for anyone needing to understand, account for, and reduce water utility Scope 1 emissions. ISBN: 9781789060454 (Paperback) ISBN: 9781789060461 (eBook) ISBN: 9781789060478 (ePub)

This book presents a dynamic new approach to the physics of enzymes and DNA from the perspective of materials science. Unified around the concept of molecular deformability—how proteins and DNA stretch, fold, and change shape—the book describes the complex molecules of life from the innovative perspective of materials properties and dynamics, in contrast to structural or purely chemical approaches. It covers a wealth of topics, including nonlinear deformability of enzymes and DNA; the chemo-dynamic cycle of enzymes; supra-molecular constructions with internal stress; nano-rheology and viscoelasticity; and chemical kinetics, Brownian motion, and barrier crossing. Essential reading for researchers in materials science, engineering, and nanotechnology, the book also describes the landmark experiments that have established the materials properties and energy landscape of large biological molecules. The book gives graduate students a working knowledge of model building in statistical mechanics, making it an essential resource for tomorrow's experimentalists in this cutting-edge field. In addition, mathematical methods are introduced in the bio-molecular context. The result is a generalized approach to mathematical problem solving that enables students to apply their findings more broadly.

We have long recognized technology as a driving force behind much historical and cultural change. The invention of the printing press initiated the Reformation. The development of the compass ushered in the Age of Exploration and the discovery of the New World. The cotton gin created the conditions that led to the Civil War. Now, in Beyond Engineering, science writer Robert Pool turns the question around to examine how society shapes technology. Drawing on such disparate fields as history, economics, risk analysis, management science, sociology, and psychology, Pool illuminates the complex, often fascinating interplay between machines and society, in a book that will revolutionize how we think about technology. We tend to think that reason guides technological development, that engineering expertise alone determines the final form an invention takes. But if you look closely enough at the history of any invention, says Pool, you will find that factors unrelated to engineering seem to have an almost equal impact. In his wide-ranging volume, he traces developments in nuclear energy, automobiles, light bulbs, commercial electricity, and personal computers, to reveal that the ultimate shape of a technology often has as much to do with outside and unforeseen forces. For instance, Pool explores the reasons why steam-powered cars lost out to internal combustion engines. He shows that the Stanley Steamer was in many ways superior to the Model T--it set a land speed record in 1906 of more than 127 miles per hour, it had no transmission (and no transmission headaches), and it was simpler (one Stanley engine had only twenty-two moving parts) and quieter than a gas engine--but the steamers were killed off by factors that had little or nothing to do with their engineering merits, including the Stanley twins' lack of business acumen and an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease. Pool illuminates other aspects of technology as well. He traces how seemingly minor decisions made early along the path of development can have profound consequences further down the road, and perhaps most important, he argues that with the increasing complexity of our technological advances--from nuclear reactors to genetic engineering--the number of things that can go wrong multiplies, making it increasingly difficult to engineer risk out of the equation. Citing such catastrophes as Bhopal, Three Mile Island, the Exxon Valdez, the Challenger, and Chernobyl, he argues that is it time to rethink our approach to technology. The days are gone when machines were solely a product of larger-than-life inventors and hard-working engineers. Increasingly, technology will be a joint effort, with its design shaped not only by engineers and executives but also psychologists, political scientists, management theorists, risk specialists, regulators and courts, and the general public. Whether discussing bovine growth hormone, molten-salt reactors, or baboon-to-human transplants, Beyond Engineering is an engaging look at modern technology and an illuminating account of how technology and the modern world shape each other.

This text provides a uniform and consistent approach to diversified problems encountered in the study of dynamical processes in condensed phase molecular systems. Given the broad interdisciplinary aspect of this subject, the book focuses on three themes: coverage of needed background material, in-depth introduction of methodologies, and analysis of several key applications. The uniform approach and common language used in all discussions help to develop general understanding and insight on condensed phases chemical dynamics. The applications discussed are among the most fundamental processes that underlie physical, chemical and biological phenomena in complex systems. The first part of the book starts with a general review of basic mathematical and physical methods (Chapter 1) and a few introductory chapters on quantum dynamics (Chapter 2), interaction of radiation and matter (Chapter 3) and basic properties of solids (chapter 4) and liquids (Chapter 5). In the second part the text embarks on a broad coverage of the main methodological approaches. The central role of classical and quantum time correlation functions is emphasized in Chapter 6. The presentation of dynamical phenomena in complex systems as stochastic processes is discussed in Chapters 7 and 8. The basic theory of quantum relaxation phenomena is developed in Chapter 9, and carried on in Chapter 10 which introduces the density operator, its quantum evolution in Liouville space, and the concept of reduced equation of motions. The methodological part concludes with a discussion of linear response theory in Chapter 11, and of the spin-boson model in chapter 12. The third part of the book applies the methodologies introduced earlier to several fundamental processes that underlie much of the dynamical behaviour of condensed phase molecular systems. Vibrational relaxation and vibrational energy transfer (Chapter 13), Barrier crossing and diffusion controlled reactions (Chapter 14), solvation dynamics (Chapter 15), electron transfer in bulk solvents (Chapter 16) and at electrodes/electrolyte and metal/molecule/metal junctions (Chapter 17), and several processes pertaining to molecular spectroscopy in condensed phases (Chapter 18) are the main subjects discussed in this part.

Two decades ago it was widely assumed that liberal democracy and the Open Society had won their century-long struggle against authoritarianism. Although subsequent events have shocked many, F. A. Hayek would not have been surprised that people are in many ways disoriented by the society they have created. For him, the Open Society was a precarious achievement, in many ways at odds with the deepest moral sentiments. He argued that the Open Society runs against humans’ evolved attraction to “tribalism”; that the Open Society is too complex for moral justification; and that its self-organized complexity defies attempts at democratic governance. In this wide-ranging work, Gerald Gaus re-examines Hayek’s analyses. Drawing on work in social and moral science, Gaus argues that Hayek’s program was prescient and sophisticated, always identifying real and pressing problems, though he underestimated the resources of human morality and the Open Society to cope with the challenges he perceived. Gaus marshals formal models and empirical evidence to show that the Open Society is grounded on the moral foundations of human cooperation originating in the distant evolutionary past, but has built upon them a complex and diverse society that requires rethinking both the nature of moral justification and the meaning of democratic self-governance. In these fearful, angry, and inward-looking times, when political philosophy has itself become a hostile exchange between ideological camps, The Open Society and Its Complexities shows how moral and ideological diversity, far from being the enemy of a free and open society, can be its foundation.