Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point: New Directions for the Physics of Time by Hu

Description: Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point by Huw Price Estimated delivery 3-12 business days Format Hardcover Condition Brand New Description The arrow of time and the meaning of quantum mechanics are two of the mysteries of modern physics. This book connects the two issues. Price shows that for over a century physicists have fallen into the same trap when trying to understand the arrow of time: treating the past and future in different ways. Publisher Description Why is the future so different from the past? Why does the past affect the future and not the other way around? What does quantum mechanics really tell us about the world? In this important and accessible book, Huw Price throws fascinating new light on some of the great mysteries of modern physics, and connects them in a wholly original way. Price begins with the mystery of the arrow of time. Why, for example, does disorder always increase, as required bythe second law of thermodynamics? Price shows that, for over a century, most physicists have thought about these problems the wrong way. Misled by the human perspective from within time, whichdistorts and exaggerates the differences between past and future, they have fallen victim to what Price calls the "double standard fallacy": proposed explanations of the difference between the past and the future turn out to rely on a difference which has been slipped in at the beginning, when the physicists themselves treat the past and future in different ways. To avoid this fallacy, Price argues, we need to overcome our natural tendency to think about the past and the future differently. Weneed to imagine a point outside time -- an Archimedean "view from nowhen" -- from which to observe time in an unbiased way. Offering a lively criticism of many major modern physicists,including Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking, Price shows that this fallacy remains common in physics today -- for example, when contemporary cosmologists theorize about the eventual fate of the universe. The "big bang" theory normally assumes that the beginning and end of the universe will be very different. But if we are to avoid the double standard fallacy, we need to consider time symmetrically, and take seriously the possibility that the arrow of time may reverse when the universerecollapses into a "big crunch." Price then turns to the greatest mystery of modern physics, the meaning of quantum theory. He argues that in missing the Archimedean viewpoint, modern physics hasmissed a radical and attractive solution to many of the apparent paradoxes of quantum physics. Many consequences of quantum theory appear counterintuitive, such as Schrodingers Cat, whose condition seems undetermined until observed, and Bells Theorem, which suggests a spooky "nonlocality," where events happening simultaneously in different places seem to affect each other directly. Price shows that these paradoxes can be avoided by allowing that at the quantum level the future does, indeed,affect the past. This demystifies nonlocality, and supports Einsteins unpopular intuition that quantum theory describes an objective world, existing independently of human observers: the Cat is aliveor dead, even when nobody looks. So interpreted, Price argues, quantum mechanics is simply the kind of theory we ought to have expected in microphysics -- from the symmetric standpoint. Times Arrow and Archimedes Point presents an innovative and controversial view of time and contemporary physics. In this exciting book, Price urges physicists, philosophers, and anyone who has ever pondered the mysteries of time to look at the world from the fresh perspective of ArchimedesPoint and gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, the universe around us, and our own place in time. Author Biography About the Author:Huw Price is Reader in Philosophy at the University of Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Facts and the Function of Truth (1988) and a wide range of articles in leading journals such as The Journal of Philosophy, Mind, and Nature. Details ISBN 0195100956 ISBN-13 9780195100952 Title Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point Author Huw Price Format Hardcover Year 1996 Pages 320 Publisher Oxford University Press Inc GE_Item_ID:137020453; About Us Grand Eagle Retail is the ideal place for all your shopping needs! With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and over 1,000,000 in stock items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! Shipping & Delivery Times Shipping is FREE to any address in USA. Please view eBay estimated delivery times at the top of the listing. Deliveries are made by either USPS or Courier. We are unable to deliver faster than stated. International deliveries will take 1-6 weeks. NOTE: We are unable to offer combined shipping for multiple items purchased. This is because our items are shipped from different locations. Returns If you wish to return an item, please consult our Returns Policy as below: Please contact Customer Services and request "Return Authorisation" before you send your item back to us. Unauthorised returns will not be accepted. Returns must be postmarked within 4 business days of authorisation and must be in resellable condition. Returns are shipped at the customer's risk. We cannot take responsibility for items which are lost or damaged in transit. For purchases where a shipping charge was paid, there will be no refund of the original shipping charge. 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Price: 75.93 USD

Location: Calgary, Alberta

End Time: 2024-11-21T06:09:19.000Z

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Restocking Fee: No

Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer

All returns accepted: Returns Accepted

Item must be returned within: 30 Days

Refund will be given as: Money Back

ISBN-13: 9780195100952

Type: NA

Publication Name: NA

Book Title: Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point : New Directions for the Physics of Time

Number of Pages: 320 Pages

Language: English

Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated

Publication Year: 1996

Topic: General, Time, Physics / General

Item Height: 1.1 in

Illustrator: Yes

Genre: Science

Item Weight: 21.9 Oz

Author: Huw Price

Item Length: 6.5 in

Item Width: 9.6 in

Format: Hardcover