Steering the Universe

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface xi
4. John Archibald Wheeler: A Few Highlights of His Contributions to Physics 1
5. Early Estimates of the Strength of the Nuclear Spin-Orbit Force 15
6. Momentum Projection of Solitons Including Quantum Corrections 26
7. An S Matrix Theory for Classical Nonlinear Physics 42
8. Some Generalizations of the Virial Theorem 60
9. Does the Topology of Space Fluctuate? 74
10. Barrier Penetration and Initial Values in Kaluza-Klein Theories 90
11. Obvious, Incredible ... 104
12. Professor Wheeler and the Crack of Doom: Closed Cosmologies in the 5-d Kaluza-Klein Theory 122
13. Gravitation and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking 145
14. The Birth of Time 159
15. Black Holes and Quantum Coherence 167
16. Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Thermal Ambience Relative to an Accelerated Frame 176
17. Test of the Gravitomagnetic Field via Laser-Ranged Satellites 188
18. Static Electromagnetic Geon 196
19. The Geometrodynamic Content of the Regge Equations as Illuminated by the Boundary of a Boundary Principle 201
20. Canonical Geometrodynamics and General Covariance 229
21. Boundary Terms in the Action Principles of General Relativity 246
22. Bianchi Identities and the Automatic Conservation of Energy-Momentum and Angular Momentum in General-Relativistic Field Theories 256
23. The Boundary of a Boundary Principle: A Unified Approach 284
24. The Gravitational Field at Spatial Infinity 300
25. Gravitational Radiation Reaction on the Motion of Particles in General Relativity 311
26. Equivalent Lagrangians in Classical Field Theory 322
27. p-Form Electrodynamics 340
28. General Covariance and Quantum Theory 366
29. Steering the Universe 384
30. On Observing the Absence of an Atom 400
31. How to Evade the Confrontation with the Uncertainty Relations 408
32. Are the Quantum Rules Exact? The Case of the Imperfect Measurements 413
33. The Problems in Quantum Foundations in the Light of Gauge Theories 424
34. Joint Wigner Distribution for Spin-1/2 Particles 442
35. Wedges I 459
36. The Measurement of Quantum Noise Reduction in Squeezed States 499
37. Quantum Mechanics without Probability Amplitudes 507
38. Quantum Mechanical Computers 523
39. Computability and Physical Theories 549
40. Computation and Physics: Wheeler’s Meaning Circuit? 568
41. On Wheeler's Notion of “Law without Law” in Physics 583
42. Existence of “Free Will” as a Problem of Physics 592
43. On the Nature and Origin of Complexity in Discrete, Homogeneous, Locally-Interacting Systems 605
44. Descriptions of Plates 614