For thousands of years mankind has tried to understand nature. Exploring the world on all scales with instruments of ever more ingenuity, we have been able to unravel some of the great mysteries that surround us. While collecting an overwhelming multitude of observational facts, we discovered fundamental laws that govern the structure and evolution of physical reality.We know that nature speaks to us in the language of mathematics. In this language most of our basic understanding of the physical world can be expressed in an unambiguous and concise way. The most artificial language turns out to be the most natural of all. The laws of nature correspond to equations.These equations are the icons of knowledge that mark crucial turning points in our thinking about the world we happen to live in. They form the symbolic representation of most of what we know, and as such constitute an important and robust part of our culture.Publication coincides with the World Year of Physics: www.wyp2005.nl“This beautifully designed book deserves a place on the coffee table .[..] Sander Bais confides the reader in the exciting secrets of the laws of nature, and does so in a clear, surprisingly poetic language.”“The Equations is a catalogue. A catalogue that belongs to an exhibition of 17 typographic works of art – which gallery will frame them and hang them on the wall? The formulas, displayed in white symbols on a bright red background, are of an untouchable beauty .”‘Untouchable icons’ - NRC Handelsblad“The Equations is an absolute feast for everyone who is interested in what physicists have to say about the structure of the world and the beauty that emanates from this. It is a jewel of knowledge, written with love for the field but also with a great compassion for the reader.”‘Knowledge smoothly surpasses the fear of formulas’ - de Volkskrant
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The tautological toolkit
- Rise and fall: The logistic equation
- Mechanics and gravity: Newton’s dynamical equations and universal law of gravity
- The electromagnetic force: The Lorentz force law
- A local conservation law: The continuity equation
- Electrodynamics: The Maxwell equations
- Electromagnetic waves: The wave equations
- Solitary waves: The Korteweg–De Vries equation
- Thermodynamics: The three laws of thermodynamics
- Kinetic theory: The Boltzmann equation
- Hydrodynamics: The Navier–Stokes equations
- Special relativity: Relativistic kinematics
- General relativity: The Einstein equations
- Quantum mechanics: The Schrödinger equation
- The relativistic electron: The Dirac equation
- The strong force: Quantum chromodynamics
- Electro-weak interactions: The Glashow-Weinberg-Salam model
- String theory: The superstring action
- Back to the future: A final perspective
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