This thesis identifies the turning point in chain length, after which alkanes self-solvate into a folded structure instead of an extended stretched conformation. After this turning point, London dispersion forces rearrange isolated n-alkanes into a particular hairpin-structure, while for shorter chain lengths, a simple stretched conformation is energetically preferred. This thesis can locate the experimental turning point for the first time in an interaction-free manner from measurements of unbranched alkanes at low temperatures in supersonic jet expansions. It contains a detailed analysis of the vibrational Raman spectra of the chain molecules, which is supported by comprehensive quantum chemical simulations. In this way, the detailed balance between inter-chain attraction and conformational flexibility can be quantified. The investigations are complemented by measurements of perfluoroalkanes and similarities and differences between the compounds are discussed. Furthermore, Nils Luttschwager determines the stiffnesses (elastic moduli) of two of the most common industrial polymers: polyethylene and polytetrafluorethylene. He uses in this thesis a sophisticated extrapolation to calculate this value from quantities of their building blocks, showing that the single polymer molecules can be as stiff as a rod of steel.

Crystals are everywhere, from natural crystals (minerals) through the semiconductors and magnetic materials in electronic devices and computers or piezoelectric resonators at the heart of our quartz watches to electro-optical devices. Understanding them in depth is essential both for pure research and for their applications. This book provides a clear, thorough presentation of their symmetry, both at the microscopic space-group level and the macroscopic point-group level. The implications of the symmetry of crystals for their physical properties are then presented, together with their mathematical description in terms of tensors. The conditions on the symmetry of a crystal for a given property to exist then become clear, as does the symmetry of the property. The geometrical representation of tensor quantities or properties is presented, and its use in determining important relationships emphasized. An original feature of this book is that most chapters include exercises with complete solutions. This allows readers to test and improve their understanding of the material. The intended readership includes undergraduate and graduate students in materials science and materials-related aspects of electrical and optical engineering; researchers involved in the investigation of the physical properties of crystals and the design of applications based on crystal properties such as piezoelectricity, electro-optics, optical activity and all those involved in the characterization of the structural properties of materials.

Our understanding of the rheological and seismic properties of the Earth's interior relies on interpreting geophysical observations using mineral physics data. The complexity of natural materials complicates these interpretations, but here the key features of such materials in controlling the attenuation of seismic waves are determined by a set of careful experiments. This thesis clearly explains how dynamic mechanical spectroscopy has been used to determine the visco-elastic properties of igneous and sedimentary rocks containing geological fluids. These experiments highlight, for the first time, the importance of mineral and rock microstructures as controls on geophysical properties of solids, particularly near the melting point. The results have impacts in areas ranging from volcanic processes, through the structure of the deep Earth, to fluid-saturated porous media.

This volume collects a a number of contributions on spontaneous symmetry breaking. Current studies in this general field are going ahead at a full speed. The book present review chapters which give an overview on the major break throughs of recent years. It covers a number of different physical settings which are introduced when a nonlinearity is added to the underlying symmetric problems and its strength exceeds a certain critical value. The corresponding loss of symmetry, called spontaneous symmetry breaking, alias self-trapping into asymmetric states is extensively discussed in this book. The book presents both active theoretical studies of spontaneous symmetry breaking effects as well as experimental findings, chiefly for Bose-Einstein-Condensates with the self-repulsive nonlinearity, and also for photorefractive media in optics.

The application of molecules in technological devices hinges on the proper understanding of their behavior on metallic electrodes or substrates. The intrinsic molecular electronic and magnetic properties are modified at a metallic interface, and greatly depend on the atomic configuration of the molecule-metal bond. This poses certain problems, such as the lack of reproducibility in the transport properties of molecular junctions, but also offers the possibility to induce new charge and spin configurations that are only present at the interface. The results presented in this thesis address this issue, providing a comprehensive overview of the influence of molecule-metal and molecule-molecule interactions on the electronic and magnetic properties of molecules adsorbed on metallic substrates. Using metal-phthalocyanines (MePc), a commonly used metal-organic complex as a model system, each chapter explores different aspects of the interaction with silver surfaces: the local adsorption geometry, self-assembly, the modifications of the electronic and magnetic characteristics due to hybridization and charge transfer, and finally the manipulation of molecular charge and spin states by electron doping using alkali atoms moved with the STM tip.

This book covers the Resistivity Recovery (RR) technique, underlying its physical principles, performance and problematic. A concise review on the state of the art is provided, showing the advances in radiation modelling, linking both experimental and theoretical fields. The reader will find a data compilation and comparison of up-to-date results obtained from the European Fusion Development Agreement model alloys.

This book presents the latest developments in noncontact atomic force microscopy. It deals with the following outstanding functions and applications that have been obtained with atomic resolution after the publication of volume 2: (1) Pauli repulsive force imaging of molecular structure, (2) Applications of force spectroscopy and force mapping with atomic resolution, (3) Applications of tuning forks, (4) Applications of atomic/molecular manipulation, (5) Applications of magnetic exchange force microscopy, (6) Applications of atomic and molecular imaging in liquids, (7) Applications of combined AFM/STM with atomic resolution, and (8) New technologies in dynamic force microscopy. These results and technologies are now expanding the capacity of the NC-AFM with imaging functions on an atomic scale toward making them characterization and manipulation tools of individual atoms/molecules and nanostructures, with outstanding capability at the level of molecular, atomic, and subatomic resolution. Since the publication of vol. 2 of the book Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy in 2009 the noncontact atomic force microscope, which can image even insulators with atomic resolution, has achieved remarkable progress. The NC-AFM is now becoming crucial for nanoscience and nanotechnology.

This book presents the latest advances in ultrafast science, including both ultrafast optical technology and the study of ultrafast phenomena. It covers picosecond, femtosecond, and attosecond processes relevant to applications in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. Ultrafast technology has a profound impact in a wide range of applications, amongst them biomedical imaging, chemical dynamics, frequency standards, material processing, and ultrahigh-speed communications. This book summarizes the results presented at the 19th International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena and provides an up-to-date view of this important and rapidly advancing field.

Recent advances in both experimental techniques and theoretical methodologies have meant that increasingly sophisticated studies concerning the formation, structures, energetics and reaction dynamics of state- or energy-selected molecular ions can now be performed. In order to better serve the ion chemistry and physics community, each volume of this series is dedicated to reviewing a specific topic, emphasizing new experimental and theoretical developments in the study of ions. The Wiley Series in Ion Chemistry and Physics will help stimulate new research directions and point to future opportunities in the field of ion chemistry and physics. This volume, the sixth in the series, concentrates on the area of large ions. The production, detection and analysis of large ions are areas which have taken on great importance in recent years, in particular in the biomedical and biochemical fields. The understanding of large ions presents unique and formidable challenges which are very different from those associated with the study of small ions. This volume focuses on some of the fundamental chemistry and physics associated with the behavior of large ions, with the contributors addressing the issues in a quantitative fashion, in order to elucidate clearly some of the key recent advances which have taken place. As such, Large Ions: Their Vaporization, Detection and Structural Analysis provides an excellent snapshot of current research in this fascinating and important area. The six chapters are written by some of the leading experts in the field, and together they will be of great interest to experts and newcomers, both of whom will benefit from the in-depth discussion of the latest methods and results.

SELDI is distinct from other TOF-MS technologies in that it couples features of chromatography and mass spectrometry, facilitating analyte enrichment and sample cleanup on an array surface. In the growing field of proteomics, SELDI technology has been widely used for biomarker discovery and characterization in diverse applications including diagnostics, drug development, and basic research. SELDI-based biomarker studies can typically be divided into four phases: discovery, validation, purification and identification, and assay development. SELDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry: Methods and Protocols provides an overview of the current applications of SELDI-TOF MS (surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry), with an emphasis on study and experimental design, data analysis and interpretation, and assay development. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters contain introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and accessible, SELDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry: Methods and Protocols will provide information on optimizing study design, experimental protocols, and data analysis and interpretation to yield robust biomarkers and biomarker assays, using examples from different disease areas.

Liquid-Chromatography-Mass-Spectrometry procedures have been shown to be successful when applied to drug development and analysis. LC-MS in Drug Analysis: Methods and Protocols provides detailed LC-MS/MS procedures for the analysis of several compounds of clinical significance. The first chapters provide the reader with an overview of mass spectroscopy, its place in clinical practice, its application of MS to TDM and toxicology, and the merits of LC-MS(/MS) and new sample preparation techniques. The following chapters discuss different approaches to screening for drugs of abuse and for general unknowns, as well as targeted measurement of specific analytes or classes of analytes including abused drugs, toxic compounds, and therapeutic agents. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, LC-MS in Drug Analysis: Methods and Protocols seeks to serve both professionals and novices with its well-honed methodologies.

"The book comprehensively covers all the current and the emerging areas of the physics and the technology of high permittivity gate dielectric materials, including, topics such as MOSFET basics and characteristics, hafnium-based gate dielectric materials, Hf-based gate dielectric processing, metal gate electrodes, flat-band and threshold voltage tuning, channel mobility, high-k gate stack degradation and reliability, lanthanide-based high-k gate stack materials, ternary hafnia and lanthania based high-k gate stack films, crystalline high-k oxides, high mobility substrates, and parameter extraction. Each chapter begins with the basics necessary for understanding the topic, followed by a comprehensive review of the literature, and ultimately graduating to the current status of the technology and our scientific understanding and the future prospects." .

This book presents an overview of material-specific factors that influence Tc and give rise to diverse Tc values for copper oxides and iron-based high- Tc superconductors on the basis of more than 25 years of experimental data, to most of which the author has made important contributions. The book then explains why both compounds are distinct from others with similar crystal structure and whether or not one can enhance Tc, which in turn gives a hint on the unresolved pairing mechanism. This is an unprecedented new approach to the problem of high-temperature superconductivity and thus will be inspiring to both specialists and non-specialists interested in this field. Readers will receive in-depth information on the past, present, and future of high-temperature superconductors, along with special, updated information on what the real highest Tc values are and particularly on the possibility of enhancing Tc for each member material, which is important for application. At this time, the highest Tc has not been improved for 20 years, and no new superconductors have been discovered for 5 years. This book will encourage researchers as well as graduate-course students not to give up on the challenges in the future of high- Tc superconductivity.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry presents critical reviews of the present and future trends in modern chemical research. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field. Review articles for the individual volumes are invited by the volume editors. Readership: research chemists at universities or in industry, graduate students.

This work is based on experiences acquired by the authors regarding often asked questions and problems during manifold education of beginners in analytical transmission electron microscopy. These experiences are summarised illustratively in this textbook. Explanations based on simple models and hints for the practical work are the focal points. This practically- oriented textbook represents a clear and comprehensible introduction for all persons who want to use a transmission electron microscope in practice but who are not specially qualified electron microscopists up to now.

This book covers the fundamental aspects of fiber lasers and fiber amplifiers, and includes a wide range of material from laser physics fundamentals to state-of-the-art topics, as well as industrial applications in the rapidly growing field of quantum electronics. Emphasis is placed on the nonlinear processes taking place in fiber lasers and amplifiers, their similarities, differences to, and their advantages over other solid-state lasers. The reader will learn basic principles of solid-state physics and optical spectroscopy of laser active centers in fibers, main operational laser regimes, and practical recommendations and suggestions on fiber laser research, laser applications, and laser product development. The book will be useful for students, researchers, and professionals who work with lasers, in the optical communications, chemical and biological industries.

As mass spectrometric methods now offer a level of specificity and sensitivity unrealized by spectrophotometric- and immunoassay-based methods, mass spectrometry has entered the clinical laboratory where it is being used for a wide range of applications. In Clinical Applications of Mass Spectrometry: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers provide detailed step-by-step procedures for the analysis of number of analytes of clinical importance. This versatile and expansive volume covers mass spectrometry methods for analytes including a variety of drugs, hormones, and metabolic compounds spanning the disciplines of toxicology, therapeutic drug monitoring, endocrinology, and pediatric metabolism. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include brief introductions to the analytes, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, readily reproducible analytical protocols, and detailed notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and dependable, Clinical Applications of Mass Spectrometry: Methods and Protocols offers its readers a wide array of valuable methods for experienced mass spectrometric labs that are looking to introduce new analyses as well as for those laboratories currently considering the addition of this resourceful and vital technology.

This book provides the most updated information of how membrane lipids mediate protein signaling from studies carried out in animal and plant cells. Also, there are some chapters that go beyond and expand these studies of protein-lipid interactions at the structural level. The book begins with a literature review from investigations associated to sphingolipids, followed by studies that describe the role of phosphoinositides in signaling and closing with the function of other key lipids in signaling at the plasma membrane and intracellular organelles.

In this thesis single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectroscopy was used to study the folding of a protein that belongs to the large and important family of repeat proteins. Cohen shows that the dynamics of the expanded conformations is likely to be very fast, suggesting a spring-like motion of the whole chain. The findings shed new light on the elasticity of structure in repeat proteins, which is related to their function in binding multiple and disparate partners. This concise research summary provides useful insights for students beginning a PhD in this or a related area, and researchers entering this field.

In this book, density functional theory (DFT) is introduced within the overall context of quantum chemistry. DFT has become the most frequently used theory in quantum chemistry calculations. However, thus far, there has been no book on the fundamentals of DFT that uses the terminology and methodology of quantum chemistry, which is familiar to many chemists, including experimentalists. This book first reviews the basic concepts and historical background of quantum chemistry and then explains those of DFT, showing how the latter fits into the bigger picture. Recent interesting topics of DFT in chemistry are also targeted. In particular, the physical meanings of state-of-the-art exchange-correlation functionals and their corrections are described in detail. Owing to its unconventionality, this book is certain to be of great interest not only to chemists but also to solid state physicists.

Lepidoptera and Coleoptera - butterflies and beetles - are the most beautifully colored insects we can find. This book explores the origin of these brilliant colors from a physics perspective, beginning with the simplest question: Why Colors? The author masterfully explains at an introductory level the coloring of insects and illustrates his points with more than 240 brilliant figures. The book is a rich source for optical physicists, biologists, and teachers alike.

This book covers the latest research work done in the area of interface mechanics of collagen and chitin-based biomaterials along with various techniques that can be used to understand mechanics of biological systems and materials. Topics covered include Raman spectroscopy of biological systems, scale dependence of the mechanical properties and microstructure of crustaceans thin films as biomimetic materials, as well as the role of molecular-level modeling. The use of nanomechanics to investigate interface thermomechanics of collagen and chitin-based biomaterials is also covered in detail. This book also: * Details spectroscope experiments as well as nanomechanic experiments * Reviews exhaustively phenomenological models and Raman spectroscopy of biological systems * Covers the latest in multiscaling for molecular models to predict lab-scale sample properties and investigates interface thermomechanics

Advances in the synthesis of new materials with often complex, nano-scaled structures require increasingly sophisticated experimental techniques that can probe the electronic states, the atomic magnetic moments and the magnetic microstructures responsible for the properties of these materials. At the same time, progress in synchrotron radiation techniques has ensured that these light sources remain a key tool of investigation, e.g. synchrotron radiation sources of the third generation are able to support magnetic imaging on a sub-micrometer scale. With the Sixth Mittelwihr School on Magnetism and Synchrotron Radiation the tradition of teaching the state-of-the-art on modern research developments continues and is expressed through the present set of extensive lectures provided in this volume. While primarily aimed at postgraduate students and newcomers to the field, this volume will also benefit researchers and lecturers actively working in the field.

This book presents cutting-edge concepts, paradigms, and research highlights in the field of computational materials science and engineering, and provides a fresh, up-to-date perspective on solving present and future materials challenges. The chapters are written by not only pioneers in the fields of computational materials chemistry and materials science, but also experts in multi-scale modeling and simulation as applied to materials engineering. Pedagogical introductions to the different topics and continuity between the chapters are provided to ensure the appeal to a broad audience and to address the applicability of integrated computational materials science and engineering for solving real-world problems.

Reflecting the expanding field's need for reliable protocols, Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Microscopy: Methods and Protocols offers techniques from a worldwide team of experts on this versatile and vital subject. The topics covered fall into four broad categories: steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescent probe development, and the various sub-categories of fluorescence microscopy, such as fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), live cell FRET imaging (FRETim), fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy (FFS), and single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy (smFS). Written as a part of the popular Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include the kind of unambiguous detail and key implementation advice that proves essential for successful results. Comprehensive and practical, Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Microscopy: Methods and Protocols aims to guide both 'novice' and established scientists toward furthering their research with these invaluable techniques.