Unstable Nature: Order, Entropy, Becoming

Unstable Nature is a popular science book offering a journey through the concept of  instability in modern science with a focus on physics. Conceived for the  curious reader wishing to go deeper in the fascinating and not yet  popularised world of instabilities, it provides an immersion into  paradoxical and unexpected phenomena - some of which hides in plain  sight in our daily lives. 

The book is written  without technical jargon, and new concepts and terminology needed for  the narrative are introduced gradually based on examples taken from  accessible everyday life. The chapters are connected through a path that  starts from exploring instabilities at the planetary scale and then  passes through a description of unstable dynamics in macroscopic  settings such as in human mechanical artifacts, fluid waves, animal  skin, vegetation structures, and chemical reactions, finally reaching  the sub atomic scale and the biological processes of human thought.  Before concluding with some general philosophical remarks, a modern  landscape about the possibility of seeing instabilities not only as a  detrimental effect but as resources to be harnessed for technology is  explored. 

The book is enriched by a variety of  professional anecdotes stemming from the direct research experience of  the author. It features numerous connections of scientific concepts  presented with other branches of the human experience and knowledge  including philosophy, engineering, history of science, biology,  chemistry, mathematics and computer science, poetry, and meditation.

Key Features:

• Presents an exciting introduction to the topic, which is accessible to those without a scientific background
• Explores milestone discoveries in the history of the concept of instability in physics
• Contains  anecdotes of key figures from the field, including James C. Maxwell,  Alan Turing, Vladimir Zakharov, Edward Lorenz, Enrico Fermi, and Mary  Tsingou