This book presents the fundamental physics of optical interferometry as applied to biophysical, biological and medical research. Interference is at the core of many types of optical detection and is a powerful probe of cellular and tissue structure in interfererence microscopy and in optical coherence tomography. It is also the root cause of speckle and other imaging artefacts that limit range and resolution. For biosensor applications, the inherent sensitivity of interferometry enables ultrasensitive detection of molecules in biological samples for medical diagnostics. In this book, emphasis is placed on the physics of light scattering, beginning with the molecular origins of refraction as light propagates through matter, and then treating the stochastic nature of random fields that ultimately dominate optical imaging in cells and tissue. The physics of partial coherence plays a central role in the text, with a focus on coherence detection techniques that allow information to be selectively detected out of incoherent and heterogeneous backgrounds. Optical Interferometry for Biology and Medicine is divided into four sections. The first covers fundamental principles, and the next three move up successive scales, beginning with molecular interferometry (biosensors), moving to cellular interferometry (microscopy), and ending with tissue interferometry (biomedical). An outstanding feature of the book is the clear presentation of the physics, with easy derivations of the appropriate equations, while emphasizing "rules of thumb" that can be applied by experimental researchers to give semi-quantitative predictions.

The photorefractive effect is now firmly established as one of the highest-sensitivity nonlinear optical effects, making it an attractive choice for use in many optical holographic processing applications. As with all technologies based on advanced materials, the rate of progress in the development of photorefractive applications has been principally limited by the rate at which breakthroughs in materials science have supplied better photorefractive materials. The last ten years have seen an upsurge of interest in photorefractive applications because of several advances in the synthesis and growth of new and sensitive materials. This book is a collection of many of the most important recent developments in photorefractive effects and materials. The introductory chapter, which provides the necessary tools for understanding a wide variety of photorefractive phenomena, is followed by seven contributed chapters that offer views of the state-of-the-art in several different material systems. The second chapter represents the most detailed study to date on the growth and photorefractive performance of BaTi03, one of the most important photorefractive ferroelectrlcs. The third chapter describes the process of permanently fixing holographic gratings in ferroelectrics, important for volumetric data storage with ultra-high data densities. The fourth chapter describes the discovery and theory of photorefractive spatial solitons. Photorefractive polymers are an exciting new class of photo refractive materials, described in the fifth chapter. Polymers have many advantages, primarily related to fabrication, that could promise a breakthrough to the marketplace because of ease and low-cost of manufacturing.

Ever wonder why soap bubbles become invisible right before they pop? Or why lenses are so blue they look purple? How is it possible to image black holes at the heart of distant galaxies? The answer to all these questions is Interference. This book tells the story of the science of optical interferometry - mankind's most sensitive form of measurement - and of the scientists who tamed light to make outstanding discoveries, from lasers and holograms to astronomy and quantum physics. In the past several years, interferometry has been used to discover exoplanets orbiting distant stars, to take the first image of a black hole, to detect the first gravitational waves and to create the first programmable quantum computer. This list of achievements points to the fertile and active field of interferometry for which this book provides a convenient and up - to - date guide for a wide audience interested in the science of light.

This book presents the fundamental physics of optical interferometry as applied to biophysical, biological and medical research. Interference is at the core of many types of optical detection and is a powerful probe of cellular and tissue structure in interfererence microscopy and in optical coherence tomography. It is also the root cause of speckle and other imaging artefacts that limit range and resolution. For biosensor applications, the inherent sensitivity of interferometry enables ultrasensitive detection of molecules in biological samples for medical diagnostics. In this book, emphasis is placed on the physics of light scattering, beginning with the molecular origins of refraction as light propagates through matter, and then treating the stochastic nature of random fields that ultimately dominate optical imaging in cells and tissue. The physics of partial coherence plays a central role in the text, with a focus on coherence detection techniques that allow information to be selectively detected out of incoherent and heterogeneous backgrounds. Optical Interferometry for Biology and Medicine is divided into four sections. The first covers fundamental principles, and the next three move up successive scales, beginning with molecular interferometry (biosensors), moving to cellular interferometry (microscopy), and ending with tissue interferometry (biomedical). An outstanding feature of the book is the clear presentation of the physics, with easy derivations of the appropriate equations, while emphasizing "rules of thumb" that can be applied by experimental researchers to give semi-quantitative predictions.

The photorefractive effect is now firmly established as one of the highest-sensitivity nonlinear optical effects, making it an attractive choice for use in many optical holographic processing applications. As with all technologies based on advanced materials, the rate of progress in the development of photorefractive applications has been principally limited by the rate at which breakthroughs in materials science have supplied better photorefractive materials. The last ten years have seen an upsurge of interest in photorefractive applications because of several advances in the synthesis and growth of new and sensitive materials. This book is a collection of many of the most important recent developments in photorefractive effects and materials. The introductory chapter, which provides the necessary tools for understanding a wide variety of photorefractive phenomena, is followed by seven contributed chapters that offer views of the state-of-the-art in several different material systems. The second chapter represents the most detailed study to date on the growth and photorefractive performance of BaTi03, one of the most important photorefractive ferroelectrlcs. The third chapter describes the process of permanently fixing holographic gratings in ferroelectrics, important for volumetric data storage with ultra-high data densities. The fourth chapter describes the discovery and theory of photorefractive spatial solitons. Photorefractive polymers are an exciting new class of photo refractive materials, described in the fifth chapter. Polymers have many advantages, primarily related to fabrication, that could promise a breakthrough to the marketplace because of ease and low-cost of manufacturing.

The best parts of physics are the last topics that our students ever see. These are the exciting new frontiers of nonlinear and complex systems that are at the forefront of university research and are the basis of many high-tech businesses. Topics such as traffic on the World Wide Web, the spread of epidemics through globally-mobile populations, or how the synchronization of global economies are governed by universal principles just as profound as Newton's laws. Nonetheless, the conventional university physics curriculum reserves most of these topics for graduate study because of the assumed need for advanced mathematics. However, by using only linear algebra and calculus, combined with exploratory computer simulations, all of these topics become accessible to advanced undergraduate students. The structure of this book combines the three main topics of modern dynamics - chaos theory, dynamics on complex networks, and general relativity - into a coherent framework. By taking a geometric view of physics, concentrating on the time evolution of physical systems as trajectories through abstract spaces, these topics share a common and simple mathematical language through which any student can gain a unified physical intuition. Given the growing importance of complex dynamical systems in many areas of science and technology, this text provides students with an up-to-date foundation for their future careers. This second edition has an updated introductory chapter and has added key topics to help students prepare for their GRE physics subject exam. It also has expanded chapters on Hamiltonian dynamics, Hamiltonian chaos, and Econophysics, while increasing the number of homework problems at the end of each chapter. The second edition is designed to fulfill the textbook needs of any advanced undergraduate course in mechanics.