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The coupled interior-atmosphere system of terrestrial exoplanets remains poorly understood. Exoplanets show a wide variety of sizes, densities, surface temperatures, and interior structures, with important knock-on effects for this coupled…
A characteristic feature of the Earth is that diffuse thermal convection in the mantle produces localized deformation at the surface: Plate Tectonics. However, modelling this phenomenon remains a challenge, due to inability to simulate…
Strong dynamics constitutes one of the pillars of the standard model of particle interactions, and it accounts for the bulk of the visible matter in the universe. It is therefore a well posed question to ask if the rest of the universe can…
The theory of the dynamical systems is a very complex subject which has brought several surprises in the recent past in connection with the theory of chaos and fractals. The application of the tools of the dynamical systems in cosmological…
We have developed a model for the Earth rotation that gives a good account (data) of the Earth astronomical parameters. These data can be compared with the ones obtained using space-base telescopes. The expansion of the universe has an…
The parts contributed by the author in recent discussions with several physicists and mathematicians are reviewed, as they have been occasioned by the 2006 book "The Trouble with Physics", of Lee Smolin. Some of the issues addressed are the…
Traditional methods in educational research often fail to capture the complex and evolving nature of learning processes. This chapter examines the use of complex systems theory in education to address these limitations. The chapter covers…
The scaling of plate-tectonic convection is investigated by simulating thermal convection with pseudoplastic rheology and strongly temperature-dependent viscosity. The effect of mantle melting is also explored with additional…
Research during the last one decade or so suggests that the gravitational field equations in a large class of theories (including, but not limited to, general relativity) have the same status as the equations of, say, gas dynamics or…
This article serves as a pedagogical introduction to the problem of motion in classical field theories. The primary focus is on self-interaction: How does an object's own field affect its motion? General laws governing the self-force and…
A retrospective analysis of the field theory of gravitation, describing gravitational field in the same way as other fields of matter in the flat space-time, is done. The field approach could be called "quantum gravidynamics" to distinguish…
The different slope of the Wadati-Benioff zones oriented towards east and west is considered a main asymmetry of the Earth's globe. Under the Americas they have angles of about 30o, while under the Pacific east coasts (Asia, Japan) the…
On a scientific meta-level, it is discussed how an overall understanding of the physical universe can be built on the basis of well-proven theories, observations, and recent experiments. In the light of almost a century of struggle to make…
Sports are a popular and effective way to illustrate physics principles. Baseball in particular presents a number of opportunities to motivate student interest and teach concepts. Several articles have appeared in this journal on this…
Reductionism is a prevalent viewpoint in science according to which all physical phenomena can be understood from fundamental laws of physics. Anderson [Science, 177, 393 (1972)], Laughlin and Pines [PNAS, 97, 28 (2000)], and others have…
This chapter is build from three 1.5 hours lectures given in Udine in april 2018 on various aspects of Earth's core dynamics. The chapter starts with a short historical note on the discovery of Earth's magnetic field and core (section 1).…
We show how Geophysics may illustrate and thus improve classical Mechanics lectures concerning the study of Coriolis force effects. We are then interested in atmospheric as well as oceanic phenomena we are familiar with, and are for that…
String theory is at the moment the only advanced approach to a unification of all interactions, including gravity. But, in spite of the more than thirty years of its existence, it does not make any empirically testable predictions, and it…
Theory and empirical science should be in constant dialogue, but often find it hard to understand one another. Here we describe a graduate-level university course we developed to improve matters. The course was designed to help…
Teaching cosmology at the undergraduate or high school level requires simplifications and analogies, and inevitably brings the teacher into contact with at least one of the pedagogical interpretations of the expanding universe. The by far…