The first part of this book overviews the physics of lasers and describes some of the more common types of lasers and their applications. Applications of lasers include CD/DVD players, laser printers and fiber optic communication devices. Part II of this book describes the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation. The experimental techniques used to create a Bose-Einstein condensate provide an interesting and unconventional application of lasers; that is, the cooling and confinement of a dilute gas at very low temperature.

Handbook of Natural Polymers, Volume One: Sources, Synthesis, and Characterization is a comprehensive resource covering extraction and processing methods for polymers from natural sources, with an emphasis on the latest advances. Sections cover the current state-of-the-art, challenges and opportunities in natural polymers. Following sections cover extraction, synthesis and characterization methods organized by polymer type. Along with broad chapters discussing approaches to starch-based and polysaccharide-based polymers, dedicated chapters offer in-depth information on nanocellulose, chitin and chitosan, gluten, alginate, natural rubber, gelatin, pectin, lignin, keratin, gutta percha, shellac, silk, wood, casein, albumin, collagen, hemicellulose, polyhydroxyalkanoates, zein, soya protein, and gum. Final chapters explore other key themes, including filler interactions and properties in natural polymer-based composites, biocompatibility and cytotoxicity, and biodegradability, life cycle, and recycling. Throughout the book, information is supported by data, and guidance is offered regarding potential scale-up and industry factors.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs): Commercialization Prospects guides the reader through the various steps in the conceptualization, design, preparation and innovative applications of molecularly imprinted polymers while also demystifying the challenges relating to commercialization. Sections cover molecularly imprinted polymers, design, modeling, compositions and material selection. Other sections describe novel methods and discuss the challenges relating to the use of molecularly imprinted polymers in specific application areas. The final chapters of the book explore the current situation in terms of patents and commercialized materials based on MIPs, as well as prospects and possible opportunities. This is a valuable resource for all those with an interest in the development, application, and commercialization of molecularly imprinted polymers, including researchers and advanced students in polymer science, polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, materials science, chemical engineering, and biomedicine, as well as engineers, scientists and R&D professionals with an interest in MIPs for advanced applications.

Phenomena of Optical Metamaterials provides an overview of phenomena enabled by artificial and designed metamaterials and their application for photonic devices. The book explores the study of active metamaterials with tunable and switchable properties and novel functionalities, such as the control of spontaneous emission and enhancement. Topics addressed cover theory, modelling and design, applications in practical devices, fabrication, characterization, and measurement, thus helping readers understand and develop new artificial, functional materials.

Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE): From Research to Mass Production, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive overview of the latest MBE research and applications in epitaxial growth, along with a detailed discussion and 'how to' on processing molecular or atomic beams that occur on the surface of a heated crystalline substrate in a vacuum. The techniques addressed in the book can be deployed wherever precise thin-film devices with enhanced and unique properties for computing, optics or photonics are required. It includes new semiconductor materials, new device structures that are commercially available, and many that are at the advanced research stage. This second edition covers the advances made by MBE, both in research and in the mass production of electronic and optoelectronic devices. Enhancements include new chapters on MBE growth of 2D materials, Si-Ge materials, AIN and GaN materials, and hybrid ferromagnet and semiconductor structures.

In the last years there have been great advances in the applications of topology and differential geometry to problems in condensed matter physics. Concepts drawn from topology and geometry have become essential to the understanding of several phenomena in the area. Physicists have been creative in producing models for actual physical phenomena which realize mathematically exotic concepts and new phases have been discovered in condensed matter in which topology plays a leading role. An important classification paradigm is the concept of topological order, where the state characterizing a system does not break any symmetry, but it defines a topological phase in the sense that certain fundamental properties change only when the system passes through a quantum phase transition. The main purpose of this book is to provide a brief, self-contained introduction to some mathematical ideas and methods from differential geometry and topology, and to show a few applications in condensed matter. It conveys to physicists the basis for many mathematical concepts, avoiding the detailed formality of most textbooks.

'Witty, approachable and captivating' - Robin Ince 'A fascinating exploration of how we learned what matter really is' - Sean Carroll 'A delightfully fresh and accessible approach to one of the great quests of science' - Graham Farmelo 'Lays out not just what we know, but how we found out (and what is left to be discovered' - Katie Mack 'If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe' - Carl Sagan Inspired by Sagan's famous line, How To Make An Apple Pie From Scratch sets out on a journey to unearth everything we know about our universe: how it started, how we found out, and what we still have left to discover. Will we ever be able to understand the very first moments of the world we inhabit? What is matter really made of? How did anything survive the fearsome heat of the Big Bang? In pursuit of answers, we meet the scientists, astronomers and philosophers who brought us to our present understanding of the world - offering readers a front-row seat to the most dramatic journey human beings have ever embarked on. Harry Cliff's How To Make An Apple Pie From Scratch is an essential, fresh and funny guide to how we got to where we are now - and what we have to come.

Statistical Thermodynamics of Semiconductor Alloys is the consideration of thermodynamic properties and characteristics of crystalline semiconductor alloys by the methods of statistical thermodynamics. The topics presented in this book make it possible to solve such problems as calculation of a miscibility gap, a spinodal decomposition range, a short-range order, deformations of crystal structure, and description of the order-disorder transitions. Semiconductor alloys, including doped elemental semiconductors are the basic materials of solid-state electronics. Their structural stability and other characteristics are key to determining the reliability and lifetime of devices, making the investigation of stability conditions an important part of semiconductor physics, materials science, and engineering. This book is a guide to predicting and studying the thermodynamic properties and characteristics of the basic materials of solid-state electronics.

Solid State Physics provides the latest information on the branch of physics that is primarily devoted to the study of matter in its solid phase, especially at the atomic level. This prestigious serial presents timely and state-of-the-art reviews pertaining to all aspects of solid state physics.

This book is devoted to superconductivity, which is one of the most interesting problems in physics. In accordance with the outline of the book, it treats the key problems in the field of superconductivity, in particular, it discusses the mechanism(s) of superconductivity. This book is useful for researchers and graduate students in the fields of solid state physics, quantum field theory, and many-body theory.