In Pursuit of the Unknown (70 page)

Tycho Brahe
12
,
58

U

ultraviolet catastrophe
248–9

uncertainty
290
,
299

see also
probability theory

Unified Field Theory
319

universal law of gravity
61–2

universe

age of
241

expansion of
236
,
241

‘heat death'
209

matter distribution
210
,
240–1

parallel universes
258

unknot, the
100–5

V

vacuum energy
239
,
328n

‘value at risk' calculations
309

variance
115
,
121
,
125–6

vector calculus
188
,
193
,
326n

vector fields
187

vectors defined
186

velocity

defined
39

as a vector
186

velocity fields
170

Venus missions
72

vertices

hypercubes
276

regular solids
91–6

vibrating strings
134–5
,
137–8
,
140
,
143
,
325n

and time intervals
40

vibrational frequencies
145–6

vibrational modes (black body radiation)
248

violin string vibration
133–4
,
137

vision, human
159–60

volcanic eruptions
147
,
177

Vulcan (hypothetical planet)
233–4
,
328n

W

Wallis, John
39
,
44
,
81–2

Wang Sang Koon
67
,
70
,
71

Warson, James
105

water, and fluid dynamics
168

Watt, James
198

wave equation
131
,
139
,
141–2
,
144

animations
325n

heat equation compared
152–3

Maxwell and
188–9

multi-dimensional
144

Schrödinger's
250–1
,
257

wave functions
250–1
,
252–3
,
255–6
,
258–60

wave number
143

wave-particle duality/wavicles
249–50

wave phenomena
133

wavelet/scalar quantization (WSQ) method
162

wavelets
161–2
,
163

waves, analysis
86

weather forecasting
289
,
292–3

Weber–Fechner law
33–4

Weierstrass, Karl
51

Weissing, Franz
291
,
292

Wessel, Caspar
81
,
82
,
87

wind tunnels
172–3

Wolfram, Stephen
320

X

X-events (extreme events)
302–4
,
306–7

X-ray diffraction
106
,
157

X-rays
192

Z

zero, approaching
50
,
51

zero, division by
45
,
51
,
322n