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In describing how mathematical rigor was brought to bear on one of our oldest fascinations--the motions of the heavens--they introduce the people whose ideas led to the flourishing field now called nonlinear dynamics. In presenting the modern theory of dynamical systems, the models underlying much of modern science are described pictorially, using the geometrical language invented by Poincare. 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Could these 'megadisasters' have been predicted?  This book is about the science and mathematics that underlies efforts to understand and predict megadisasters. There are similarities in the variety of cataclysms that we are prone to, whether hurricanes, tsunamis, sudden changes of climate, or stock market crashes. These are all events that are associated with complex systems, with many variables, and their science and mathematics is that of 'chaotic systems'. Their behaviour is very difficult to predict. Other kinds of megadisasters are the risk of a massive asteroid impact, and the development of pandemics. Understanding and predicting these phenomena involve developing complex mathematical models, and we have a long way to go. In this book, Diacu describes the struggles of mathematicians and scientists over the centuries to get to grips with the nature of volcanoes, hurricanes, and other complex phenomena and prevent future tragedies.  But he also includes human stories that remind us of their terrifying power and the experience of being caught up in them.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49908708540689,"sku":"CIN0199237786G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51873220788497,"sku":"GOR003567909","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0199237786.jpg?v=1750973554"},{"product_id":"lost-millennium-book-florin-diacu-9780676976571","title":"The Lost Millennium","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe measure history--its defining moments, landmark documents, and great figures--by dates. The French Revolution began in 1789, the Magna Carta was originally issued in 1215, and Julius Caesar died in the year 44 BC. What makes these dates correct, though? Is it possible that there is a massive gap in the historical record and that the calendar we use today is off by about 1,000 years? Sparked by a chance meeting at a conference in Mexico more than fifteen years ago, Florin Diacu sets off on a journey into the field of historical chronology to answer these fascinating questions. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book reads like a detective story, describing in vivid detail Diacu's adventure back in time as he explores the shocking theory of a lost millennium. He meets a colorful cast of characters along the way. Chief among them is Anatoli Fomenko, a Russian mathematician who supports drastically revising historical chronology based on his extensive research in ancient astronomy, linguistics, cartography, and a crucial manuscript by Ptolemy. Fomenko, however, is not the only one to puzzle over time; Isaac Newton, Voltaire, and Edmund Halley, among others, also enter into this captivating quest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Lost Millennium\u003c\/i\u003e highlights the controversy surrounding the dating of ancient events, a fascinating tale full of mystery, debate, and excitement. Join the author as he pushes further and further in search of the truth.\u003c\/p\u003e--Anthony Grafton, Princeton University The Globe and Mail","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50357068464401,"sku":"CIN0676976573G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52399032598801,"sku":"CIN0676976573VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0676976573.jpg?v=1750944863"},{"product_id":"lost-millennium-book-florin-diacu-9781421402888","title":"The Lost Millennium","description":"We measure history-its defining moments, landmark documents, and great figures-by dates. The French Revolution began in 1789, the Magna Carta was originally issued in 1215, and Julius Caesar died in the year 44 BC. What makes these dates correct, though? 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In other words, how do we measure the shortest distance between two points of the physical space? Should we follow a straight line, as on a flat table, fly along a circle, as between Paris and New York, or take some other path, and if so, what would that path look like? If you accept that the model proposed here, which assumes a gravitational law extended to a universe of constant curvature, is a good approximation of the physical reality (and I will later outline a few arguments in this direction), then we can answer the above question for distances comparable to those of our solar system. More precisely, this monograph provides a mathematical proof that, for distances of the order of 10 AU, space is Euclidean. This result is, of course, not surprising for such small cosmic scales. Physicists take the flatness of space for granted in regions of that size. But it is good to finally have a mathematical confirmation in this sense.  Our main goals, however, are mathematical. 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