This book provides a challenging and stimulating introduction to the contemporary topics of complexity and criticality, and explores their common basis of scale invariance, a central unifying theme of the book.Criticality refers to the behaviour of extended systems at a phase transition where scale invariance prevails. The many constituent microscopic parts bring about macroscopic phenomena that cannot be understood by considering a single part alone. The phenomenology of phase transitions is introduced by considering ...
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This book provides a challenging and stimulating introduction to the contemporary topics of complexity and criticality, and explores their common basis of scale invariance, a central unifying theme of the book.Criticality refers to the behaviour of extended systems at a phase transition where scale invariance prevails. The many constituent microscopic parts bring about macroscopic phenomena that cannot be understood by considering a single part alone. The phenomenology of phase transitions is introduced by considering percolation, a simple model with a purely geometrical phase transition, thus enabling the reader to become intuitively familiar with concepts such as scale invariance and renormalisation. The Ising model is then introduced, which captures a thermodynamic phase transition from a disordered to an ordered system as the temperature is lowered in zero external field. By emphasising analogies between percolation and the Ising model, the reader's intuition of phase transitions is developed so that the underlying theoretical formalism may be appreciated fully. These equilibrium systems undergo a phase transition only if an external agent finely tunes certain external parameters to particular values.Besides fractals and phase transitions, there are many examples in Nature of the emergence of such complex behaviour in slowly driven non-equilibrium systems: earthquakes in seismic systems, avalanches in granular media and rainfall in the atmosphere. A class of non-equilibrium systems, not constrained by having to tune external parameters to obtain critical behaviour, is addressed in the framework of simple models, revealing that the repeated application of simple rules may spontaneously give rise to emergent complex behaviour not encoded in the rules themselves. The common basis of complexity and criticality is identified and applied to a range of non-equilibrium systems. Finally, the reader is invited to speculate whether self-organisation in non-equilibrium systems might be a unifying concept for disparate fields such as statistical mechanics, geophysics and atmospheric physics.Visit for animations for the models in the book (available for Windows and Linux), solutions to exercises, as well as a list with corrections.
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Add this copy of Complexity and Criticality to cart. $34.90, new condition, Sold by Equilibrium Worldbooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from San Gabriel, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Imperial College Press.
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New in new dust jacket. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 392 p. Contains: Illustrations. Advanced Physics Texts, 1. Audience: General/trade. Please double check the textbook description: Express shipping takes 3-5 days with free tracking number! Brand New Paperback international edition textbook, 1st edition. Different ISBN number and book cover design. The content is exactly same as original US edition. The book printed in Black/White, the book cover may contain the foreign words and the restriction sale disclaimer.
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New in new dust jacket. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 392 p. Contains: Illustrations. Advanced Physics Texts, 1. Audience: General/trade. ***INTERNATIONAL EDITION*** Read carefully before purchase: This book is the international edition in mint condition with the different ISBN and book cover design, the major content is printed in full English as same as the original North American edition. The book printed in black and white, generally send in twenty-four hours after the order confirmed. All shipments contain tracking numbers. Great professional textbook selling experience and expedite shipping service.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 408 p. Imperial College Press Advanced Physics Texts, 1. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Add this copy of Complexity and Criticality to cart. $59.90, new condition, Sold by Equilibrium Worldbooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from San Gabriel, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Imperial College Press.
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New in new dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 392 p. Contains: Illustrations. Advanced Physics Texts, 1. Audience: General/trade. Please double check the textbook description: Express shipping takes 3-5 days with free tracking number! Brand New Paperback international edition textbook, 1st edition. Different ISBN number and book cover design. The content is exactly same as original US edition. The book printed in Black/White, the book cover may contain the foreign words and the restriction sale disclaimer.
Add this copy of Complexity and Criticality to cart. $59.97, new condition, Sold by Aideo Textbook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arcadia, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Imperial College Press.
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Seller's Description:
New in new dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 392 p. Contains: Illustrations. Advanced Physics Texts, 1. Audience: General/trade. ***INTERNATIONAL EDITION*** Read carefully before purchase: This book is the international edition in mint condition with the different ISBN and book cover design, the major content is printed in full English as same as the original North American edition. The book printed in black and white, generally send in twenty-four hours after the order confirmed. All shipments contain tracking numbers. Great professional textbook selling experience and expedite shipping service.
