Records of the Future: Classical Entropy, Memory, and the 'Arrow of Time' (Quantum Physics free of Folklore) - Softcover

Alba-Juez, Felix

Softcover

ISBN 10: 152043880X ISBN 13: 9781520438801

Publisher: Independently published, 2017

Synopsis

'Records of the Future' starts where 'Galloping with Light' ended: on the surface of the Moon in 1969 where Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) asks himself a series of philosophical questions about the concept of time:

1. Was Einstein right when he said that the distinction between past, present, and future is “only a stubbornly persistent illusion”?

2. What’s the difference between our psychological sense of time and objective physical time?

3. Can Science prove that our instinctive sense of time flow is right? Does time really flow in a given direction?

4. What does the notion of probability have to do with time?

5. Are we unwise in believing we can influence our future?

6. Is there a rational solution to the infamous dichotomy between determinism and free will?

7. What does it really mean for a process to be reversible or irreversible?

8. What if all processes in the Universe were reversible? How fictional is reversibility?

9. What is the relation between classical Entropy and the ‘Arrow of Time’?

The fact that the reader may not have a scientific education does not mean that s/he does not have the intelligence to understand profound concepts -- as long as they are presented with semantic and epistemological clarity. After all, Einstein said that Science is simply the refinement of our intuition and everyday experiences.

About this title

About the Author

Felix was born in Burgos (Spain) in 1948. In 1949, his parents settled in Necochea (Argentina). In 1966 he graduated in Electrical Engineering at the 'Universidad Nacional del Sur' (UNS). In 1971, he started his academic life as Teaching Assistant of Mathematics at the UNS and from 1974 till 1983 he was Adjunct, Associate, and Full Professor at the 'Universidad Nacional de San Juan' (Argentina).
 
In 1983, he moved to Salt Lake City, USA as Postdoctoral Fellow and soon after became a Research Associate for the Department of Metallurgy at the University of Utah, conducting basic Research and Development on Optimal Control of Mineral Grinding Operations. In 1987, he left Academia and founded his own company working over the years with private companies and governmental entities as DuPont, ALCOA, US Department of Transportation, NASA, and Dow Chemical. His first patent was granted in 1992 in USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan, protecting a technology based on ultrasonic spectroscopy for measuring particle size in industrial suspensions and emulsions. 

From 1997 to 2001, Felix developed a fundamental theory for the generic mathematical modeling of multiple scattering of optical and acoustical waves interacting with highly-concentrated suspensions and emulsions. During 2001-2007, he developed a particle size analyzer based on optical spectroscopy, and commercialized a generic simulation software tool connectable to acoustic and optical spectrometers, so as to convert them into particle size analyzers. The patent for this generic technology was granted in 2007.
 
Felix is currently a scientific consultant, and writes books on Philosophy of Science in English and Spanish. He is now working on the series Quantum Physics free of Folklore, of which Records of the Future: Classical Entropy, Memory, and the 'Arrow of Time' is its first volume and Aiming at REALITY: Statistical Entropy, Disorder, and the Quantum is its second volume.

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 152043880X
• ISBN 13: 9781520438801
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 161