The Mathematical Radio PDF Download

Author: Paul J. Nahin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691235325
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
How a modern radio works, told through mathematics, history, and selected puzzles The modern radio is a wonder, and behind that magic is mathematics. In The Mathematical Radio, Paul Nahin explains how radios work, deploying mathematics and historical discussion, accompanied by a steady stream of intriguing puzzles for math buffs to ponder. Beginning with oscillators and circuits, then moving on to AM, FM, and single-sideband radio, Nahin focuses on the elegant mathematics underlying radio technology rather than the engineering. He explores and explains more than a century of key developments, placing them in historical and technological context. Nahin, a prolific author of books on math for the general reader, describes in fascinating detail the mathematical underpinnings of a technology we use daily. He explains and solves, for example, Maxwell’s equations for the electromagnetic field. Readers need only a familarity with advanced high school–level math to follow Nahin’s mathematical discussions. Writing with the nonengineer in mind, Nahin examines topics including impulses in time and frequency, spectrum shifting at the transmitter, the superheterodyne, the physics of single-sideband radio, and FM sidebands. Chapters end with “challenge problems” and an appendix offers solutions, partial answers, and hints. Readers will come away with a new appreciation for the beauty of even the most useful mathematics.

Author: Paul J. Nahin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691218765
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
A mathematical journey through the most fascinating problems of extremes and how to solve them What is the best way to photograph a speeding bullet? How can lost hikers find their way out of a forest? Why does light move through glass in the least amount of time possible? When Least Is Best combines the mathematical history of extrema with contemporary examples to answer these intriguing questions and more. Paul Nahin shows how life often works at the extremes—with values becoming as small (or as large) as possible—and he considers how mathematicians over the centuries, including Descartes, Fermat, and Kepler, have grappled with these problems of minima and maxima. Throughout, Nahin examines entertaining conundrums, such as how to build the shortest bridge possible between two towns, how to vary speed during a race, and how to make the perfect basketball shot. Moving from medieval writings and modern calculus to the field of optimization, the engaging and witty explorations of When Least Is Best will delight math enthusiasts everywhere.

Author: Paul Nahin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400839580
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 406

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Book Description
More stimulating mathematics puzzles from bestselling author Paul Nahin How do technicians repair broken communications cables at the bottom of the ocean without actually seeing them? What's the likelihood of plucking a needle out of a haystack the size of the Earth? And is it possible to use computers to create a universal library of everything ever written or every photo ever taken? These are just some of the intriguing questions that best-selling popular math writer Paul Nahin tackles in Number-Crunching. Through brilliant math ideas and entertaining stories, Nahin demonstrates how odd and unusual math problems can be solved by bringing together basic physics ideas and today's powerful computers. Some of the outcomes discussed are so counterintuitive they will leave readers astonished. Nahin looks at how the art of number-crunching has changed since the advent of computers, and how high-speed technology helps to solve fascinating conundrums such as the three-body, Monte Carlo, leapfrog, and gambler's ruin problems. Along the way, Nahin traverses topics that include algebra, trigonometry, geometry, calculus, number theory, differential equations, Fourier series, electronics, and computers in science fiction. He gives historical background for the problems presented, offers many examples and numerous challenges, supplies MATLAB codes for all the theories discussed, and includes detailed and complete solutions. Exploring the intimate relationship between mathematics, physics, and the tremendous power of modern computers, Number-Crunching will appeal to anyone interested in understanding how these three important fields join forces to solve today's thorniest puzzles.

Author: Paul J. Nahin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691175918
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
In the mid-eighteenth century, Swiss-born mathematician Leonhard Euler developed a formula so innovative and complex that it continues to inspire research, discussion, and even the occasional limerick. Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula shares the fascinating story of this groundbreaking formula—long regarded as the gold standard for mathematical beauty—and shows why it still lies at the heart of complex number theory. In some ways a sequel to Nahin's An Imaginary Tale, this book examines the many applications of complex numbers alongside intriguing stories from the history of mathematics. Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula is accessible to any reader familiar with calculus and differential equations, and promises to inspire mathematicians for years to come.

Author: Hannah Fry
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476784884
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
"A mathematician pulls back the curtain and reveals the hidden patterns--from dating sites to divorce, sex to marriage--behind the rituals of love ... applying mathematical formulas to the most common yet complex questions pertaining to love: What's the chance of finding love? What's the probability that it will last? How do online dating algorithms work, exactly? Can game theory help us decide who to approach in a bar? At what point in your dating life should you settle down?"--Amazon.com.

Author: Paul J. Nahin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691126982
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
A collection of twenty-one real-life probability puzzles and shows how to get numerical answers without having to solve complicated mathematical equations.

Author: Paul J. Nahin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780387951508
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Book Description
From the reviews: "... The notes and problems at the end of each chapter are very helpful. [...] In the final analysis, the book is definitely worth owning. [...] It is an extremely well written – but unusual – book that I highly recommend for all physicists." The Physics Teacher

Author: Paul J. Nahin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780387985718
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 674

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Book Description
This book explores the idea of time travel from the first account in English literature to the latest theories of physicists such as Kip Thorne and Igor Novikov. This very readable work covers a variety of topics including: the history of time travel in fiction; the fundamental scientific concepts of time, spacetime, and the fourth dimension; the speculations of Einstein, Richard Feynman, Kurt Goedel, and others; time travel paradoxes, and much more.

Author: Paul Nahin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400842069
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
We all played tag when we were kids. What most of us don't realize is that this simple chase game is in fact an application of pursuit theory, and that the same principles of games like tag, dodgeball, and hide-and-seek are also at play in military strategy, high-seas chases by the Coast Guard, and even romantic pursuits. In Chases and Escapes, Paul Nahin gives us the first complete history of this fascinating area of mathematics, from its classical analytical beginnings to the present day. Drawing on game theory, geometry, linear algebra, target-tracking algorithms, and much more, Nahin also offers an array of challenging puzzles with their historical background and broader applications. Chases and Escapes includes solutions to all problems and provides computer programs that readers can use for their own cutting-edge analysis. Now with a gripping new preface on how the Enola Gay escaped the shock wave from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, this book will appeal to anyone interested in the mathematics that underlie pursuit and evasion. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Author: Morris Kline
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486316130
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 676

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Book Description
Erudite and entertaining overview follows development of mathematics from ancient Greeks to present. Topics include logic and mathematics, the fundamental concept, differential calculus, probability theory, much more. Exercises and problems.