Mystery Of Time, The: Asymmetry Of Time And Irreversibility In The Natural Processes

The book focuses on the study of the temporal behavior of complex many-particle systems. The phenomenon of time and its role in the temporal evolution of complex systems is a remaining mystery. The book presents the necessity of the interdisciplinary point of view regarding on the phenomenon of time. The aim of the present study is to summarize and formulate in a concise but clear form the trends and approaches to the concept of time from a broad interdisciplinary perspective exposing tersely the complementary approaches and theories of time in the context of thermodynamics, statistical physics, cosmology, theory of information, biology and biophysics, including the problem of time and aging. Various approaches to the problem show that time is an extraordinarily interdisciplinary and multifaceted underlying notion which plays an extremely important role in various natural complex processes. Contents Preface 1. The Enigma of Time 1.1 Time — General Aspects 1.2 Time, Causality and Human Context 1.3 In the Beginning was Action 1.4 The Phenomenon of Time 1.5 Biography of Stanley L. Jaki References 2. The Physics of Time 2.1 The Basic Notions of Physics 2.2 Mechanics and Physics 2.3 Dimension Analysis 2.4 Natural Processes and Time 2.5 Biography of Thomas Young Selected Writings of Thomas Young References 3. Time in Classical and Quantum Mechanics 3.1 Classical Mechanics and Time 3.2 Quantum Evolution and Time Parameter in Quantum Theory 3.3 Evolution of Quantum System 3.4 Symmetry Principles in Physics 3.5 Symmetry in Quantum Mechanics 3.6 Invariance and Conservation Laws 3.7 The Physics of Time Reversal 3.8 Biography of Dmitrii I. Blokhintsev References 4. The Entropy Concept 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Thermal Processes and Energy Transformations 4.3 Thermodynamic Variables 4.4 Temporal Behavior of Entropy 4.5 Thermodynamic Entropy and Statistical Entropy 4.6 Non-equilibrium Entropy 4.7 Transport Processes and Entropy 4.8 Biography of Rudolph Julius Clausius For additional information References Publications 5. Methods of Statistical Mechanics 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The Method of Ensembles 5.3 Different Types of Ensembles 5.4 Dynamics and Ergodicity 5.5 From Averaging to Statistical Physics 5.6 Ensembles in Quantum Statistical Mechanics 5.7 Biography of J. W. Gibbs 5.8 Biography of Nikolai S. Krylov Publications The Evaluation of His Ideas were made by: 6. The Exotic Thermodynamic States 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The Exotic Thermodynamic States 6.3 Temperature as a Basic Physical Quantity 6.4 The Ultrahigh and Very Low Temperatures 6.5 Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics 6.6 Thermodynamic Limit 6.7 The Concept of Temperature in Magnetism 6.8 Negative Absolute Temperatures 6.9 Cosmological Consequences 6.10 Concluding Remarks 6.11 Biography of Terrell L. Hill Books by Terrell L. Hill References 7. Entropy: Development and Generalization 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The Essence of Information 7.3 Entropy and Statistical Thermodynamics 7.4 Entropy and Information 7.5 Variety of Entropies 7.6 Steady State, Local State and Local Equilibrium 7.7 Extremal Principles and Entropy Production 7.8 Open Systems and Stability Criteria 7.9 Linear Response Formalism and Entropy Production 7.10 Biography of Claude Shannon Additional References 8. Irreversibility and Natural Processes 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Entropy and Non-equilibrium Phenomena 8.3 Natural Processes and Irreversibility 8.4 Schr ̈odinger on Irreversibility 8.5 The Many Faces of Irreversibility 8.6 Irreversible Processes and Thermodynamic Fluxes 8.7 Temporal Ordering and Clausius–Duhem Inequality 8.8 Biography of Lars Onsager Selected Publications by Lars Onsager Evaluation and Discussion 9. Temporal Evolution and Arrow of Time 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Concept of Time and Thermodynamics 9.3 In Search of Time Lost 9.4 The Arrows of Time and Asymmetry of Time 9.5 Quantum Systems and Quantum Entropy 9.6 Biography of Georges Lemaitre Reference 10. The Physics of Non-equilibrium Processes 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Statistical Mechanics of Irreversible Processes 10.3 Non-equilibrium Ensembles 10.4 Averaging, Smoothing and Coarse Graining 10.5 Boundary Conditions and Asymmetry of Time 10.6 The Method of Non-equilibrium Statistical Operator 10.7 Generalized Kinetic Equations 10.8 The Central Role of Non-equilibrium Entropy 10.9 Biography of Ryogo Kubo References Selected Publications 11. Life, Complexity and Time 11.1 The Many Faces of Complexity 11.2 Information and Complexity 11.3 Living Systems From the Point of View of a Physicist 11.4 Time and Information in Biology 11.5 Physics and Biology: Schr ̈odinger on Life 11.6 The Origin of Life 11.7 Biology and Thermodynamics 11.8 Biological Aging and Thermodynamics 11.9 Conclusion and Summary 11.10 Biography of Francis Crick Selected Publications 11.11 Biography of Francis S. Collins 12. Epilogue References Index