States of Matter, States of Mind

By Allan F.M. Barton

States of Matter, States of Mind is an easy-to-read introduction to the way the physical world is put together and stays together. The book presents the fundamental ideas and particles of the makeup of the universe to enable understanding of matter and why it behaves in the way it does. Written in an engaging manner, the book explains some of the intricate details and grand schemes of life and the universe, by making analogies with common everyday examples. For example, the recipe for a cake tells us nothing of how good the cake tastes, but is a model of the food, and a scientific model is no closer to the reality of the materials than a recipe is to the mouth-watering flavor of the cake. Illustrated with helpful cartoons, this book provides a vast knowledge of atoms and atmospheres. The first several chapters introduce terms and fundamental ideas while later chapters deal successively with particles and systems, from the electron to the universe as a system. Each new idea introduced builds upon the last. A user-friendly bibliography provides references for further reading.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0750304189
• ISBN13: 9780750304184
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: CRC Press
• Length: 398 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Models of matter, analogies in nature

Barton has written a book that should be compulsory reading for all budding university physcists and chemists and their teachers. He deals with models, analogies and other conceptual aids that are used in describing nature. His non-mathematical text captures very essential ingredients of science which are usually omitted in textbooks proper. Is it obvious that students understand the implications of model simplifications and unspoken ideality assumptions ?. How is reality added and model enhanced ? One of the nice features is that the book really deals with various sorts of matter: not only solid, liquid and gas but also surfactants, thin films, foams, aerogels, adhesives, gels, ceramics, glasses, liquid crystals, ........

A powerful thought anchor for non-science disciplines, too.

States of Matter is a beautiful critique on the models we use to understand our reality. The text is really humbling stuff -- not because I thought I "knew", but rather because it highlights that we can barely know what we don't know. This leaves us to publish an understanding of our reality that may, of course, be rigorous and functional, but at the same time must be continually subject to even total collapse as we move closer to the truth. In whole and in part, I've found compelling analogies in this book that can be practically applied across disciplines -- business, literature, etc.

A wonderful reference work for anyone studying "existence".

I found "States of Matter, States of Mind" to be an insightful compilation of the known interpretations of "matter" and forces as perceived through our limited senses and through our more highly sensitive laboratory instruments of detection. Allan Barton has done a wonderful service to all that may come across this work. One is taken through the maze of interpretations of the multiplicity of the patterns of existence - into the Classical/Newtonian - through the Quantum - and then out into the future of perception. I keep this work close by as a reference when I do my own research and writing. I highly recommend this work to all who endeavor to perceive "reality" in its true form.Michael Spirit