"The importance of knowledge consists not only in its direct practical
utility but also in the fact the it promotes a widely contemplative
habit of mind; on this ground, utility is to be found in much of the
knowledge that is nowadays labelled 'useless'. " Bertrand Russel, In
Praise of Idleness, London (1935) "Why are scientists in so many cases
so deeply interested in their work ? Is it merely because it is useful ?
It is only necessary to talk to such scientists to discover that the
utilitarian possibilities of their work are generally of secondary
interest to them. Something else is primary. " David Bohm, On
creativity, Abingdon (1996) In this volume, the dynamical critical
behaviour of many-body systems far from equilibrium is discussed.
Therefore, the intrinsic properties of the - namics itself, rather than
those of the stationary state, are in the focus of 1 interest.
Characteristically, far-from-equilibrium systems often display - namical
scaling, even if the stationary state is very far from being critical. A
1 As an example of a non-equilibrium phase transition, with striking
practical c- sequences, consider the allotropic change of metallic ?-tin
to brittle ?-tin. At o equilibrium, the gray ?-Sn becomes more stable
than the silvery ?-Sn at 13. 2 C. Kinetically, the transition between
these two solid forms of tin is rather slow at higher temperatures. It
starts from small islands of ?-Sn, the growth of which proceeds through
an auto-catalytic reaction.