Dirac (1983), P A M, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics (4th ed), Oxford UP/Clarendon 1983 Jacket: '[this] is the standard work in the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, indispensible both to the advanced student and the mature research worker, who will always find it a fresh source of knowledge and stimulation.' (Nature)  
Amazon   back

Jammer (1957, 1999), Max, Concepts of Force: A Study in the Foundations of Dynamics, Dover 2011 'Both historical treatment and critical analysis, this work by a noted physicist takes a fascinating look at a fundamental of physics, tracing its development from ancient to modern times. Kepler's initiation of scientific conceptualization, Newton's definition, post-Newtonian reinterpretation — contrasting concepts of Leibniz, Boscovich, Kant with those of Mach, Kirchhoff, Hertz. In-depth analysis of contemporary trend toward eliminating force from conceptual scheme of physics. "An excellent presentation." — Science. 1962 edition.' 
Amazon   back

Wilczek (2008), Frank, The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces, Basic Books 2008 ' In this excursion to the outer limits of particle physics, Wilczek explores what quarks and gluons, which compose protons and neutrons, reveal about the manifestation of mass and gravity. A corecipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, Wilczek knows what he’s writing about; the question is, will general science readers? Happily, they know what the strong interaction is (the forces that bind the nucleus), and in Wilczek, they have a jovial guide who adheres to trade publishing’s belief that a successful physics title will not include too many equations. Despite this injunction (against which he lightly protests), Wilczek delivers an approachable verbal picture of what quarks and gluons are doing inside a proton that gives rise to mass and, hence, gravity. Casting the light-speed lives of quarks against “the Grid,” Wilczek’s term for the vacuum that theoretically seethes with quantum activity, Wilczek exudes a contagious excitement for discovery. A near-obligatory acquisition for circulating physics collections.' --Gilbert Taylor  
Amazon   back

Zee (2010), Anthony, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, Princeton University Press 2010 ' Since it was first published, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell has quickly established itself as the most accessible and comprehensive introduction to this profound and deeply fascinating area of theoretical physics. Now in this fully revised and expanded edition, A. Zee covers the latest advances while providing a solid conceptual foundation for students to build on, making this the most up-to-date and modern textbook on quantum field theory available. This expanded edition features several additional chapters, as well as an entirely new section describing recent developments in quantum field theory such as gravitational waves, the helicity spinor formalism, on-shell gluon scattering, recursion relations for amplitudes with complex momenta, and the hidden connection between Yang-Mills theory and Einstein gravity. Zee also provides added exercises, explanations, and examples, as well as detailed appendices, solutions to selected exercises, and suggestions for further reading.' 
Amazon   back

A Little Chaos - Wikipedia, A Little Chaos - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' A Little Chaos is a 2014 British period drama film directed by Alan Rickman, based on a story conceived by Alison Deegan, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Rickman and Jeremy Brock. . . .. André surprises Sabine at her home that evening, and after admiring her seemingly untamed but magical garden, assigns to her the outdoor bosquet ballroom project at Versailles, which combines fountains and landscaping. . . . .. At the inauguration of Sabine's completed bosquet garden, the King and his court arrive and dance to the music of a hidden orchestra, as the fountains send water coursing down the tiers around the outdoor ballroom floor. It is clear that the garden design is a success, and the king is well pleased. After Sabine dances with the King, she and André join hands and leave to walk into the forest together. The camera pulls slowly back and above the entire grounds of Versailles, revealing the enormous sweep of its grandeur.' back

Alex Lo, How US-led sanctions destroy economies, impoverish people and cause needless deaths, ' If you want to know how real economic coercion has destroyed whole economies, reduced entire populations to dire poverty and caused countless unnecessary deaths, read “The Human Consequences of Economic Sanctions”. The new report is a comprehensive study by the Washington-based Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), on the horrendous effects of United States or US-led sanctions on targeted populations, with a special focus on Iran, Afghanistan and Venezuela. These also include United Nations sanctions, which are almost always spearheaded by Western governments, especially Washington. . . . .. Like drone warfare, economic warfare waged through sanctions by those who execute them may seem bloodless. But the reality on the ground can be just as terrible.' back

Alex Lo, When it comes to war, always follow the money, ' And so Butler famously wrote: “I served in all commissioned ranks from second lieutenant to major general. And during that period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism. I suspected I was just part of the racket all the time. Now I am sure of it.” The opening line of his booklet ought to be a classic in American literature, but for obvious reasons, it is not. “War is a racket. It always has been,” he wrote. “It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious … It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives". . . .. Next time sophisticates, opportunists, hypocrites and liars in major news media try to explain to you why China is a mortal threat to this or that, be it democracy, world peace, Western civilisation or the planet itself, remember Butler’s hard lesson: When it comes to war and the threat of war, always follow the money.' back

Alex Lo, US ‘war on terror’ leads bloody way in recent deadliest conflicts, ' What’s the deadliest conflict of the 21st century so far? No, it’s not the Ukraine war, not by a long shot. According to a new study by the Costs of War Project at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs of Brown University, the wars and conflicts unleashed by the United States in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks have led to the deaths of more than 4.5 million.. . . . The study describes the death toll as a “reasonable and conservative estimate”, which means it’s comparable to those in the US wars in Korea and Vietnam. “Some of these people were killed in the fighting, but far more, especially children, have been killed by the reverberating effects of war, such as the spread of disease,” it said. “These latter indirect deaths – estimated at 3.6-3.7 million – and related health problems have resulted from the post-9/11 wars’ destruction of economies, public services, and the environment. Indirect deaths grow in scale over time".. . . .. It’s worth remembering that fewer than 3,000 people died in the September 11 terrorist attacks, the ostensible reason for the US to launch “the war on terror”. For every 9/11 victim killed, roughly 1,500 others died and more than 12,300 people lost their homes or were otherwise displaced, in other parts of the world.' ' back

Black hole thermodynamics - Wikipedia, Black hole thermodynamics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'In physics, black hole thermodynamics is the area of study that seeks to reconcile the laws of thermodynamics with the existence of black hole event horizons. Much as the study of the statistical mechanics of black body radiation led to the advent of the theory of quantum mechanics, the effort to understand the statistical mechanics of black holes has had a deep impact upon the understanding of quantum gravity, leading to the formulation of the holographic principle.' back

Carl Rhodes, PwC scandal shows consultants, like church officials, are best kept out of state affairs, ' One of the reasons the church got powerful in the first place is that for hundreds of years it was the only institution more or less based on meritocracy. It was a source of advisers who could read, write and add up numbers – useful skills for any monarch. Clerical advisers such as Alcuin of York in the court of Charlemagne, or Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII, were a bit like modern corporate consultants. They belonged to a multinational organisation with a vast global network. Secular leaders looked to them as the experts on many matters. The lack of separation, however, between their allegiances came with significant downsides, both for religious freedom and state political independence. The power of the modern consultants to influence government is akin to the influence Church officials once wielded. The danger of particular private interests taking precedence over public ones is striking, as the tax scandal illustrates.' back

Chan Young Bang, Kim Jong-un’s miscalculations leave his regime in North Korea hanging by a thread, ' Kim Jong-un faces a critical challenge to his leadership, which will decide the fate of North Korea as a sovereign state. . . . The Kim regime is experiencing acute insecurity and this is manifesting both economically and politically. Three events precipitated this crisis. First, North Korea’s decision to conduct a sixth nuclear test in 2017 prompted a severe escalation of sanctions, which were adopted by the United Nations Security Council with the support of China and Russia. . . . .. Second, the regime’s disproportionate response to the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the deterioration of the state agricultural and manufacturing sectors, already in decline since 2017. . . . .. Third, given the dire socioeconomic situation, Kim desperately needed a breakthrough. . . . .. The threat posed to North Korea does not stem from a hostile external military invasion, but from internal contradictions and system irrationalities.' back

Elmaz Asan, Crimea was never Russian, ' The forced deportation of the Crimean Tatars to Central Asia resulted in the death of 46 percent of the population, leaving a gaping wound in the hearts of those who survived. . . .. It is on this obliteration of the Crimean Tatars that the bloody myth of Crimea as a “Russian territory” was built. . . .. In a significant turn of events, in November 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a declaration rehabilitating the Crimean Tatars and recognising the deportation as a criminal act. This decision allowed us to return en masse to our historical homeland. . . . But in 2014, we lost everything once again when Russia invaded and occupied our historical homeland again. . . . I often hear comments about Crimea and the other territories occupied by Russia being the “price of peace” in Ukraine. I, like many Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians, know that rewarding aggression and brutal occupation does not bring peace. Crimea is not Russian to be “given back” to Russia. It never was. It never will be.' back

Emma Graham-Harrison, ‘I was born to do this’: Ukraine’s 2016 Eurovision winner Jamala on why Putin fears her people, the Tatars, ' A ballad about ethnic cleansing was an unusual choice for Eurovision, a competition best known for glam, kitschy pop. But seven years ago Crimean Tatar singer Jamala swept Ukraine to their second victory in the song contest with 1944. It told the story of the deportation of her entire people – hundreds of thousands of women, children and men – from their ancestral home to central Asia on Stalin’s orders. . . . .. Last week Jamala joined the Eurovision celebrations in Liverpool to perform 1944 – which she says has taken on a life of its own – and present a new album of songs, Qirim, that showcase the peninsula’s heritage. back

Farah Najjar, ‘The continuous Nakba’: Palestinians decry perpetual suffering, ' Seventy-five years after Zionist militias killed 15,000 Palestinians and violently expelled hundreds of thousands from their lands, the Nakba (Catastrophe in Arabic) remains an ongoing, all-encompassing system that affects all aspects of life, Palestinians say. According to Palestinian experts, politicians and activists, the Nakba has been maintained by Israel with the support of the international community, and by the Palestinians’ own leadership. From expanding illegal Jewish settlements to severely restricting Palestinians’ freedom of movement, taking Palestinian resources and arresting Palestinians on a near-daily basis – such policies have become a blueprint for successive Israeli governments. Israel is taking over not just the land but also the names of towns and cities and is “appropriating the culture and our rights … this is ongoing,” prominent Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi told Al Jazeera from the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.' back

Jason Wordie, For Manchester and the profits of slave-produced cotton, read opium trading and Hong Kong. Will its students be toppling an HKU founder’s statue?, ' As French novelist Honoré de Balzac wrote, “behind every great fortune lies a great crime”; much truth resides in this observation. Contemporary beneficial descendants of ancestral misdeeds now find them­selves in ambivalent moral positions – especially when the crimes against humanity that founded their fortunes were not only legal at the time, but were also state- and church-sanctioned, and popularly condoned. What, then, are appropriate modern-day responses, when painstaking research links the transatlantic slave trade to vast fortunes still enjoyed today by the descendants of slave owners, and also documents how slavery’s intergenerational consequences continue to play out in the day-to-day lives of those on the losing side of the transaction – descendants of the African slaves themselves. back

Jean van de Velde, An Act of Defiance, ' Nelson Mandela and nine others stand trial on charges of committing sabotage and violent acts against the government during the apartheid era in South Africa.' back

Klein-Gordon equation - Wikipedia, Klein-Gordon equation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'It is the equation of motion of a quantum scalar or pseudoscalar field, a field whose quanta are spinless particles. It cannot be straightforwardly interpreted as a Schrödinger equation for a quantum state, because it is second order in time and because it does not admit a positive definite conserved probability density. Still, with the appropriate interpretation, it does describe the quantum amplitude for finding a point particle in various places, the relativistic wavefunction, but the particle propagates both forwards and backwards in time. Any solution to the Dirac equation is automatically a solution to the Klein–Gordon equation, but the converse is not true.' back

Lorena Allam & Calla Wahlquist, A year on from the Juukan Gorge destruction, Aboriginal sacred sites remain unprotected, ' The Western Australian government has refused to commit to a moratorium on approving the destruction of Aboriginal heritage sites, despite the recommendation of a federal inquiry which found that the laws are “unfit for purpose”. The recommendation was made by an inquiry into Rio Tinto’s destruction of Aboriginal heritage sites at Juukan Gorge on 24 May 2020. Exactly one year on from the disaster, in which Rio blew up the ancient rock shelters showing human occupancy dating back 46,000 years to access higher-grade iron ore, the dust has settled to reveal that while the company’s reputation is in pieces, the landscape of laws, policies and power imbalances is largely unchanged. There is, as yet, no guarantee a site like Juukan Gorge could not be destroyed again. WA’s new Aboriginal affairs minister, Stephen Dawson, said Aboriginal heritage laws would be introduced to parliament in the second half of 2021. Until then, the current system – which allows land users such as mining companies to make what is called a section 18 application for permission to destroy or impact upon a registered Aboriginal heritage site – will continue to operate.' back

Mark Diesendorf, Saving humanity: here’s a radical approach to building a sustainable and just society, ' Also, why democratically elected governments ignore the wishes of the majority of their people. Why some governments continue to export fossil fuels despite commitments to climate mitigation. Why some go to war in distant lands without any debate in parliament or congress. Why some give tax cuts to the rich while those on the dole struggle below the poverty line. The answers to these questions all come down to one thing: decision-makers and influencers are captured by vested interests. That is the inconvenient truth revealed in our new book, The Path to a Sustainable Civilisation: Technological, Socioeconomic and Political Change. But these forces can be overthrown. We argue it is not sufficient for citizen organisations and governments to address specific environmental, social justice and peace issues. It’s certainly necessary, but we must also struggle for systemic change. This means challenging the covert driving forces of environmental destruction, social injustice and war, namely, “state capture” and the dominant economic system.' back

Michael F. Brady, How butterflies conquered the world: a new ‘family tree’ traces their 100-million-year journey across the globe, ' In recent years, however, several studies have indicated butterflies most likely arose sometime during the Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs dominated the Earth. Now, an international collaboration (of which I am a member) has placed the time of origin much more precisely: 101.4 million years ago, give or take 1.2 million years. . . . .. To reach this conclusion, researchers from dozens of countries needed to construct the world’s largest “family tree” of butterfly species. This tree of life was assembled with DNA from 2,244 species representing all butterfly families and 92% of genera. The ‘family tree’ of butterfly species was pieced together using DNA from 2,244 species. Kawahara et al. / Nature Ecology & Evolution, CC BY. Underlying the analysis were 11 rare butterfly fossils, without which the analysis would have been impossible. Butterflies are rarely preserved in the fossil record, and those that are preserved are frequently difficult to identify. These fossils served as calibration points on the evolutionary tree. Once the tree was calibrated researchers could then estimate the timing of key events in butterfly evolution, starting with their origin.' back

Penelope Green, Slava Zaitsev, Enduring Soviet-Era Fashion Designer, Dies at 85, ' Slava Zaitsev, an effervescent and enduring Soviet-era fashion designer, once called the “Red Dior” by the Western press, whose over-the-top theatrical creations and persona made him a go-to couturier at home, died on April 30 in Shchyolkovo, Russia. He was 85. His longtime friend Tatiana Sorokko, a Russian-born model and journalist, said his death, in a hospital, was caused by internal bleeding that resulted from an ulcer. . . . .. Mr. Zaitsev gave color, sparkle and opulence to a generation raised in drab Soviet gray, the uniform of the proletariat, by combining Western bling with nods to traditional Russian folk costumes and nostalgic references to Pasternak and Tolstoy. He was the first designer, in pre-perestroika days, to be allowed to put his name on his work, which he first did in 1982.' back

Prescribed Body Corporate, A Way Forward - Final report into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge, ' This report is the final report resulting from the federal parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of the Juukan Gorge Aboriginal heritage sites by Rio Tinto on 24 May 2020. This tragic event, and the national condemnation of the actions of Rio Tinto, has sparked action to address the legislative failings that allowed the destruction of the Juukan Gorge sites–and similar sites around the nation. The Juukan Gorge disaster is just one example of countless instances where cultural heritage has been the victim of the drive for development and commercial gain. The report makes a number of recommendations aimed at preventing future destruction.' back

Ronald Niezen, International Criminal Court is using digital evidence to investigate Putin – but how can it tell if a video or photo is real or fake?, ' The ICC’s current investigation in Ukraine could further cement this shift toward using digital evidence to investigate war crimes – and raises new challenges about verifying the authenticity of these photos and videos. . . . In their analysis, investigators look for things like distinctive buildings or trees that can be easy to spot in other images. Satellite imagery can also help determine exactly where a video was filmed and what direction the camera was pointed. Investigators may also use tools like facial recognition software. . . . The ICC is now using the Berkeley Protocol in its investigation of Ukraine. If and when the time comes for prosecutors to present digital evidence of Russian war crimes in court, there will be little need for lawyers to argue over its validity. . . .. International tribunals are adapting to the new landscape of digital documentation. There are scenes in Ukraine that look eerily like the conflicts of the 20th century, but the current war crimes investigation is unlike anything we have seen before.' back

Smith, Goldhahn & Tacon, Murujuga’s rock art is being destroyed – where is the outrage? , ' Three rock art panels were this month removed from Murujuga/Burrup in Western Australia to make way for a new A$6.4 billion fertiliser factory.. . . . The removal of rock art goes against international best practice in heritage conservation. Specifically, it breaches the globally accepted Burra Charter, which states that an object should “remain in its historical location” because this forms an important part of its cultural significance. Despite the travesty unfolding at Murujuga/Burrup, non-Indigenous archaeologists have largely been silent about the destruction. As three rock art specialists with a combined professional experience of 100 years, we consider it our professional and moral obligation to speak out. . . . .. Damage to rock art is not just an affront to Aboriginal people. It diminishes us all. As the global advocacy group the Rock Art Network says: This fragile and irreplaceable visual heritage has worldwide significance, contemporary relevance and for many indigenous peoples is still part of their living culture. If we neglect, destroy or disrespect rock art we devalue our future.' ' back

Svetlana Stephenson, How does the state’s appropriation of Victory Day help the Kremlin to justify the war in Ukraine? Sociologist Svetlana Stephenson explains , ' The victory over Hitler becomes an archetypical Russian victory over evil — a timeless phenomenon that does not need to be fleshed out with historical detail. Nazism becomes what sociologist Emile Durkheim called a “sacred evil”, radically different from the ordinary evil amenable to perception and analysis. This evil is associated with powerful global — and even otherworldly — forces. War becomes eschatological in character. In the Soviet version of history, the USSR fought against a particular state — Hitler’s Germany — and its allies. Nowadays, however, Russian propaganda and top politicians, including Putin, explicitly say that Russia is fighting satanism. Ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, in his increasingly unhinged manner, now calls on Russians to “stop the supreme ruler of hell”. . . . .. Thus, the progressive meaning of victory as something that paves the way to a better world has long been forgotten. Russia does not share a common future with the rest of humanity. We have “our own, different future”, as Putin has said. Russia is fighting for itself. “The battlefield to which fate and history have called us is the battlefield for our people, for the great historical Russia”. Meanwhile, war has turned from something to be avoided at all costs into part of daily life. What will be considered victory in the war with Ukraine? The authorities keep silent. Russia is now living in the world of Orwell’s 1984, where Oceania is constantly at war with Eastasia or Eurasia, and these wars have no discernible rationale. back

The Encyclopedia of Diderot and d'Alembert, Genius, ' Genius is the expansiveness of the intellect, the force of imagination and the activity of the soul. The way in which one receives his ideas is dependent on the way in which one remembers them. Man is thrown into the universe with more or less vivid feelings which belong to all mankind. Most people only experience strong feelings when the impression of those objects has an immediate effect on their needs or their tastes. Everything that is foreign to their passion, all that is without a connection to their way of living or is not apparent to them, or is only seen for a moment without being felt and to be forgotten forever.' back

Wojciech Hubert Zurek (2008), Quantum origin of quantum jumps: breaking of unitary symmetry induced by information transfer and the transition from quantum to classical, 'Submitted on 17 Mar 2007 (v1), last revised 18 Mar 2008 (this version, v3)) Measurements transfer information about a system to the apparatus, and then further on – to observers and (often inadvertently) to the environment. I show that even imperfect copying essential in such situations restricts possible unperturbed outcomes to an orthogonal subset of all possible states of the system, thus breaking the unitary symmetry of its Hilbert space implied by the quantum superposition principle. Preferred outcome states emerge as a result. They provide framework for the “wavepacket collapse”, designating terminal points of quantum jumps, and defining the measured observable by specifying its eigenstates.' back