This book provides the basis for understanding the elastic properties of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA), the methods used to manipulate them (e.g. optical, magnetic and acoustic tweezers and traps), and how to observe their interactions with proteins (e.g. fluorescence microscopy, FCS, FRET, etc.). It then exemplifies the use of these various methods in the study of three families of DNA enzymes: polymerases, helicases and topoisomerases. The book aims not to be exhaustive, but rather to stimulate the imagination of readers in the application of these single molecule approaches to the study of DNA/RNA and their interactions.

Radiation acoustics is a developing field lying at the intersection of acoustics, high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and condensed matter physics. Radiation Acoustics is among the first books to address this promising field of study, and the first to collect all of the most significant results achieved since research in this area began in earnest in the 1970s. The book begins by reviewing the data on elementary particles, absorption of penetrating radiation in a substance, and the mechanisms of acoustic radiation excitation. The next seven chapters present a theoretical treatment of thermoradiation sound generation in condensed media under the action of modulated penetrating radiation and radiation pulses. The author explores particular features of the acoustic fields of moving thermoradiation sound sources, sound excitation by single high-energy particles, and the efficiency and optimal conditions of thermoradiation sound generation. Experimental results follow the theoretical discussions, and these clearly demonstrate the validity of the thermoradiation theory. The book concludes with discussions on applications, including the large-scale DUMAND and GENIUS projects now on the horizon. Radiation acoustics holds enormous potential for applications in areas such as microelectronics, geophysics, and astrophysics. This book offers a unique opportunity to benefit from the approach and extensive experience of author Leonid N. Lyamshev, who in this, his last book, shows how he left an indelible mark on the world of acoustics.

Wigglers are the name given to so-called 'insertion devices' - used for concentrating radiation spatially for research purposes. This book contains a detailed presentation of the radiation produced by insertion devices, the engineering and the associated beamline instrumentation, along with scientific applications. Examples of the most important topics from a large variety of scientific fields are inlcuded (solid state physics, optical engineering, biomedical systems, and metrology among many others).

eBook available with sample pages: 020321823X

Soft X-rays are a powerful probe of matter. They interact selectively with electrons in atoms and molecules and can be used to study atomic physics, chemical reactions, surfaces and solids, and biological entities. Over the past 20 years, synchrotrons have emerged as powerful sources of soft X-rays for experimental use. A new, third generation of synchrotron light sources is scheduled to start operation over the next few years, beginning in 1993. These facilities are distinguished by their ultra-low emittance electron beams and by their undulators - precisely engineered magnetic devices that cause the electrons passing through them to produce highly coherent X-rays and ultraviolet light of unprecedented spectral brightness. The book should prove a useful addition to the library of any scientist who needs information on the world's most advanced imaging and spectroscopic techniques.

Discusses the wide range of chemistry in astronomical environments with an emphasis on the description of molecular processes that critically influence the nature and evolution of astronomical objects and the identification of specific observations that directly address significant astronomical questions. The subject areas of the symposium included atomic and molecular processes at low and high temperatures and photon interactions, the chemical structure of molecular clouds in the Milky Way and in external galaxies, the chemistry of outflows and their interactions with the interstellar medium, the chemical connections between the interstellar medium, and the solar system and pregalactic chemistry.

Neutrinos play a decisive part in nuclear and elementary particle physics, as well as in astrophysics and cosmology. Because they interact so weakly with matter, some of their basic properties, such as mass charge conjugation symmetry, are largely unknown. These subjects are considered in detail by authors, who also discuss such topics as neutrino mixing, neutrino decay, neutrino oscillations, double beta decay and related ideas. Physical concepts are stressed, and both theoretical methods and experimental techniques are presented. This second edition contains an expanded coverage of new experimental results and recent theoretical advances. In the intervening years since the first edition, many then unresolved problems such as tritium beta decay and reactor neutrino oscillations have been clarified. This edition also gives expanded coverage of solar and supernova neutrinos.

Hierarchical Composite Materials provides an in-depth analysis of a class of advanced composites that have properties that are anisotropic due to structural organization at different length scales. Chapters address how ordering occurs from the atomic-scale up to the microstructure and how control of these factors leads to the final materials' properties. Manufacturing procedures, properties, and applications of different functionally graded materials are discussed in detail. This book is ideal for materials scientists, mechanical engineers, chemists and physicists.

This book examines the motivation for electron scattering and develops the theoretical analysis of the process. It discusses our current theoretical understanding of the underlying structure of nuclei and nucleons at appropriate levels of resolution and sophistication, and summarizes present experimental electron scattering capabilities. Only a working knowledge of quantum mechanics and special relativity is assumed, making this a suitable textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses.

This thesis unifies the dissipative dynamics of an atom, particle or structure within an optical field that is influenced by the position of the atom, particle or structure itself. This allows the identification and exploration of the fundamental 'mirror-mediated' mechanisms of cavity-mediated cooling leading to the proposal of a range of new techniques based upon the same underlying principles. It also reveals powerful mechanisms for the enhancement of the radiation force cooling of micromechanical systems, using both active gain and the resonance of a cavity to which the cooled species are external. This work has implications for the cooling not only of weakly-scattering individual atoms, ions and molecules, but also for highly reflective optomechanical structures ranging from nanometre-scale cantilevers to the metre-sized mirrors of massive interferometers.

The contents of this book are the result of work performed in the past three years to provide some answers to questions raised by several colleagues wo- inginastrophysics. Examiningseveraltransportprocessesinplasmasrelated to dissipative e?ects in phenomena such as cooling ?ows, propagation of sound waves, thermal conduction in the presence of magnetic ?elds, an- lar momentum transfer in accretion disks, among many, one ?nds a rather common pattern. Indeed when values for transport coe?cients are required the overwhelming majority of authors refer to the classical results obtained by L. Spitzer and S. Braginski over forty years ago. Further, it is also often mentioned that under the prescribed working conditions the values of such coe?cients are usually insu?cient to provide agreement with observations. The methodology followed by these authors is based upon Landau's - oneering idea that collisions in plasmas may be substantially accounted for when viewed as a di?usive process. Consequently the ensuing basic kinetic equation is the Fokker-Planck version of Boltzmann's equation as essentially proposed by Landau himself nearly 70 years ago. Curiously enough the magni?cent work of the late R. Balescu in both Classical and Non-Classical transport in plasmas published in 1988 and also based on the Fokker-Planck equation is hardly known in the astrophysical audience. The previous work of Spitzer and Braginski is analyzed with much more rigorous vision in his two books on the subject.

Elliptical Flow: A Probe of the Pressure in Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions; H. Sorge. A Study of Low-Mass Dileptons at the CERn SPS; J. Murray, et al. Exclusive Study of Heavy Ion Collisions Using 2-8 AGeV Au Beams: Status of AGS Experiment E895; M. Kaplan. Analysis of the d/p Ratios in Au+Au Collisions at 11.1 GeV/c; E.J. Garcia-Solis. Recent Results from CERn-WA98; P. Stankus. Event-by-Event Physics at the CERN SPS; T. Trainor. Nuclear Temperature Measurement and Secondary Decay; X. Hongfei, et al. Net Proton and Negatively-Charged Hadron Spectra from the NA49 Experiment; M. Toy. Sequential and Pre-Equilibrion Nucleon Emission in Sn+Ca Reactions at 35 A MeV; D. Agnihotri, ete al. Dissipative Collisions and Multifragmentationi n the Fermi Energy Domain; W. Skulski. Fermionic Molecular Dynamics: Multifragmentation in Heavy-Ion Collisions and in Excited Nuclei; H. Felmeier, J. Schnack. Apparent Temperatures in Hot Quasi-Projectiles and the Caloric Curve; J. Peter, et al. Baryon Production in High Energy Pb-Pb Collissions - Recent Results from NA44; E.B. Holzer. Strangeness Production and Flow in Heavy-Ion Collisions; G.Q. Li, et al. Semihard Processes in Nuclear Collisions; K. Werner. 17 Additional Articles. Index.

Intended to provide scientists and engineers at synchrotron radiation facilities with a sound and convenient basis for designing beamlines for monochromatic soft x-ray radiation, this text will also be helpful to the users of synchrotron radiation who want to help ensure that beamlines being built are optimized for the experiments to be performed on them. The primary purpose of a beamline is to capture as much of the light of the source as possible and then to transfer the desired portion of that light as completely as possible to the experiment. With the development of dedicated, brilliant synchrotron radiation sources, the first half of the task has been greatly simplified. The beamline designer must contend with the second half of the problem -- conserving the brilliance of the source through an optical system which monochromatizes and focuses the radiation.

Computational Atomic Structure: An MCHF Approach deals with the field of computational atomic structure, specifically with the multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock (MCHF) approach and the manner in which this approach is used in modern physics. Beginning with an introduction to computational algorithms and procedures for atomic physics, the book describes the theory underlying nonrelativistic atomic structure calculations (making use of Brett-Pauli corrections for relativistic effects) and details how the MCHF atomic structure software package can be used to this end. The book concludes with a treatment of atomic properties, such as energy levels, electron affinities, transition probabilities, specific mass shift, fine structure, hyperfine-structure, and autoionization. This modern, reliable exposition of atomic structure theory proves invaluable to anyone looking to make use of the authors' MCHF atomic structure software package, which is available publicly via the Internet.

The application of nuclear physics methods is now widespread throughout physics, chemistry, metallurgy, biology, clinical medicine, geology, and archaeology. Accelerators, reactors, and various instruments that have developed together with nuclear physics have often been found to offer the basis for increasingly productive and more sensitive analytical techniques.
Nuclear Methods in Science and Technology provides scientists and engineers with a clear understanding of the basic principles of nuclear methods and their potential for applications in a wide range of disciplines.
The first part of the book covers the major points of basic theory and experimental methods of nuclear physics, emphasizing concepts and simple models that give a feel for the behavior of real systems. Using many examples, the second part illustrates the extraordinary possibilities offered by nuclear methods. It covers the Mossbauer effect, slow neutron physics, activation analysis, radiography, nuclear geochronology, channeling effects, nuclear microprobe, and numerous other topics in modern applied nuclear physics. The book explores applications such as tomography, the use of short-lived isotopes in clinical diagnoses, and nuclear physics in ecology and agriculture. Where alternative nonnuclear analytical techniques are available, the author compares the relevant nuclear method, enabling readers to judge which technique may be most useful for them.
Complete with a bibliography and extensive reference list for readers who want to delve deeper into a particular topic, this book applies various methods of nuclear physics to a wide range of disciplines.

The authors expound on non-traditional phenomena for transfer theory, which are nevertheless of considerable interest in wave measurements, and bring the advances of transfer theory as close as possible to the practical needs of those working in all areas of wave physics. The book opens with a historical overview of the topic, then moves on to examine the phenomenological theory of radiative transport, blending traditional theory with original ideas. The transport equation is derived from first principles, and the ensuing discussion of the diffraction content of the transport equation and non-classical radiometry is illustrated by practical examples from various fields of physics. Popular techniques of solving the transport equation are discussed, paying particular attention to wave physics and computing the coherence function. The book also examines various problems which are no longer covered by the traditional radiative transfer theory, such as enhanced backscattering and weak localization phenomena, nonlinear transport problems and kinetic equations for waves. This monograph bridges the gap between the simple power balance description in radiative transfer theory and modern coherence theory. It will be of interest to researchers and professionals working across a wide range of fields from optics, acoustics and radar theory to astrophysics, radioastronomy and remote sensing, as well as to students in these areas.

Computational Atomic Structure: An MCHF Approach deals with the field of computational atomic structure, specifically with the multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock (MCHF) approach and the manner in which this approach is used in modern physics. Beginning with an introduction to computational algorithms and procedures for atomic physics, the book describes the theory underlying nonrelativistic atomic structure calculations (making use of Brett-Pauli corrections for relativistic effects) and details how the MCHF atomic structure software package can be used to this end. The book concludes with a treatment of atomic properties, such as energy levels, electron affinities, transition probabilities, specific mass shift, fine structure, hyperfine-structure, and autoionization. This modern, reliable exposition of atomic structure theory proves invaluable to anyone looking to make use of the authors' MCHF atomic structure software package, which is available publicly via the Internet.

This textbook on optics provides an introduction to key concepts of wave optics and light propagation. It uniquely makes extensive use of Fourier methods and the angular-spectrum approach, especially to provide a unified approach to Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction. A recurring theme is that simple building blocks such as plane and spherical waves can be summed to construct useful solutions. The text pays particular attention to analysing topics in contemporary optics such as propagation, dispersion, laser beams and wave guides, apodisation, tightly-focused vector fields, unconventional polarization states, and light-matter interactions. Throughout the text, the principles are applied through worked examples, and the book is copiously illustrated with more than 240 figures. The 200 end-of-chapter exercises offer further opportunities for testing the reader's understanding.

Niels Bohr, who pioneered the quantum theory of the atom, had a broad conception of his obligations as a physicist. They included not only a responsibility for the consequences of his work for the wider society, but also a compulsion to apply the philosophy he deduced from his physics to improving ordinary people's understanding of the moral universe they inhabit. In some of these concerns Bohr resembled Einstein, although Einstein could not accept what he called the "tranquilizing philosophy" with which Bohr tried to resolve such ancient conundrums as the nature (or possibility) of free will. In this Very Short Introduction John Heilbron draws on sources never before presented in English to cover the life and work of one of the most creative physicists of the 20th century. In addition to his role as a scientist, Heilbron considers Bohr as a statesman and Danish cultural icon, who built scientific institutions and pushed for the extension of international cooperation in science to all nation states. As a humanist he was concerned with the cultivation of all sides of the individual, and with the complementary contributions of all peoples to the sum of human culture. Throughout, Heilbron considers how all of these aspects of Bohr's personality influenced his work, as well as the science that made him, in the words of Sir Henry Dale, President of the Royal Society of London, probably the "first among all the men of all countries who are now active in any department of science." ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials - known in the industry as NORM -has become an important part of the regular training required for workers in oil and gas production, refinery and petrochemical manufacturing, and in certain types of mining. Proper handling of NORM-contaminated wastes and use of appropriate radiation detection and protective equipment are now understood to be important components of good worker safety programs. Until now, no practical, easy-to-read, book was available to supplement worker training courses on NORM management. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials: Principles and Practices fills this void by providing, in a single publication, an ideal reference for industry managers, supervisors and line personnel. The book stresses the proper handling and management of NORM contaminated wastes and provides a firm understanding of the chemical properties of radioactive agents, their toxicological effects, and the appropriate containerization and disposal methods for these materials.

This book deals specifically with the manipulation of atoms by laser light, describing the focusing, channeling and reflection of atoms by laser fields. It also describes the potential fields required to cause the phase change of the wave function necessary for the atomic interactions to occur.

Electron collisions with atoms, ions, and molecules have been investigated since the earliest years of the last century because of their pervasiveness and importance in fields ranging from astrophysics and plasma physics to atmospheric and condensed matter physics. Written in an accessible yet rigorous style, this book introduces the theory of electron-atom scattering into both the non-relativistic and relativistic quantum frameworks. The book also includes exercises with an increasing degree of difficulty to allow the reader to become familiar with the subject.

This important book presents on approach to understanding the atomic nucleus that exploits simple algebraic techniques. The book focuses primarily on a panicular algebraic model, the Interacting Boson Model (IBM); ft outlines the algebraic structure, or group theoretical basis, of the IBM and other algebraic models using simple examples. Both the compa6son of the IBM with empirical data and its microscopic basis are explored, as are extensions to odd mass nuclei and to phenomena not originally encompassed within its purview. An important final chapter treats fermion algebraic approaches to nuclear structure which can be both more microscopic and more general, and which represent Promising avenues for future research. Each of the contributors to this work is a leading expert in the field of algebraic models; together they have formulated an introduction to the subject which will be an important resource for the series graduate student and the professional physicist alike.