Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 163 | Nigel Goldenfeld on Phase Transitions, Criticality, and Biology
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Sep 6, 2021 Nigel Goldenfeld, a Chancellor's Distinguished Professor in Physics at UC San Diego, delves into the fascinating world of phase transitions and their implications across various systems. He discusses how simple physical models can illuminate complex biological phenomena, from evolutionary dynamics to genetic codes. The conversation navigates through topics like scale-free behavior, the significance of non-equilibrium transitions in fluid dynamics, and the interplay of ecological systems, all while highlighting the universal laws connecting physics and biology.
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Renormalization Group and Scale Interference
- The renormalization group reveals that neglecting small scales is incorrect at phase transitions.
- Scale interference, where small scales affect macroscopic behavior, is crucial for understanding critical phenomena.
Renormalization in Phase Transitions
- Renormalization, initially developed for quantum electrodynamics, also applies to phase transitions.
- The failure to account for scale interference leads to infinities in theoretical calculations.
Critical Phenomena and Complex Systems
- Critical phenomena, occurring around the critical temperature, exhibit a breakdown of usual physical assumptions.
- These phenomena, including scale interference and fluctuations, appear in complex systems like biological ones.
