Bøker i IOP Concise Physics-serien

Explores the physics and technology inherent to preserving and restoring old forms of transport as well as creating modern transport for today and for future needs. This book provides readers with insight into some of the diverse applications for physics outside of research laboratories.

Jet physics is an incredibly rich subject detailing the narrow cone of hadrons and other particles produced by the hadronization of a quark or gluon in a particle physics or heavy ion experiment. This book is a general overview of jet physics for scientists not directly involved in the field. It presents the basic experimental and theoretical problems arising when dealing with jets, and describing the solutions proposed in recent years.

This book is written for students and other interested readers as a look inside the diverse range of applications for physics outside of the scientific research environment. This first volume covers several different areas of the arts and design ranging from stage lighting to sculpting. The author has interviewed experts in each area to explain how physics and technology impact their work. These are all useful examples of how physics encountered in taught courses relates to the real world.

This book looks at the early history of nuclear power, at what happened next, and at its longer-term prospects. The main question is: can nuclear power overcome the problems that have emerged? It was once touted as the ultimate energy source, freeing mankind from reliance on dirty, expensive fossil energy. Sixty years on, nuclear only supplies around 11.5% of global energy and is being challenged by cheaper energy options. While the costs of renewable sources, like wind and solar, are falling rapidly, nuclear costs have remained stubbornly high. Its development has also been slowed by a range of other problems, including a spate of major accidents, security concerns and the as yet unresolved issue of what to do with the wastes that it produces. In response, a new generation of nuclear reactors is being developed, many of them actually revised versions of the ideas first looked at in the earlier phase. Will this new generation of reactors bring nuclear energy to the forefront of energy production in the future?

One hundred years after gravitational waves were first predicted, their first real direct effects were observed in 2015. This is the story of that hunt, and the insight it is producing into an array of topics in modern science, from the creation of the chemical elements to insights into the properties of gravity itself.

Gene therapy as a potential method for treatment of genetic disorders and other malignancies as well as treatment of many cancers has attracted a great amount of attention in recent years.Current research focuses on stable and smart drug/gene delivery systems, including controlled release. Smart nanostructures have been considered as a promising approach when applied to drug and gene delivery systems, and could solve the problems related to the inefficient transfer of medication to the affected cells.

Uses a hands-on approach to nonlinear dynamics using commonly available software, including the free dynamical systems software Xppaut, Matlab and the Maple symbolic algebra system. Detailed instructions for various common procedures, including bifurcation analysis using the version of AUTO embedded in Xppaut, are provided.

Nanomaterials and nanostructures are the original product of nanotechnology, and the key building blocks for enabling technologies. In this context, this book presents a concise overview of the synthesis and characterization methods of nanomaterials and nanostructures, while integrating facets of physics, chemistry, and engineering.

Biophotonic diagnostics/biomedical spectroscopy can revolutionise the medical environment by providing a responsive and objective diagnostic environment. This book aims to explain the fundamentals of the physical techniques used combined with the particular requirements of analysing medical/clinical samples as a resource for any interested party. In addition, it will show the potential of this field for the future of medical science and act as a driver for translation across many different biological problems/questions.

Based on a set of 18 class-tested lectures delivered to fourth-year physics undergraduates at Griffith University in Brisbane, this book book presents new discoveries by the Nobel-prize winning LIGO collaboration.

Examines the forces of nature, and what investigations of these forces can tell us about the world we see about us. The intention of this book is to introduce ideas of how the visible world, and those parts of it that we cannot observe, either because they are too small or too large for our scale of perception, can be understood by consideration of only a few fundamental forces.

The cryosphere encompasses all regions of the planet that experiences water in ice form for some portion of the year. In this book, authors Melody Sandells and Daniela Flocco deliver an introduction to the physics of the cryosphere. This includes the Arctic, Antarctic, large parts of North America, Eurasia, and some parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

Following a brief overview of the background observational material, the basic equations describing the structure and evolution of single stars are derived. The relevant physical processes, which include the equation of state, opacity, nuclear reactions and neutrino losses are then reviewed. Subsequent chapters describe the evolution of low-mass stars from formation to the final white dwarf phase.

While neutron halos were discovered 30 years ago, this is the first book written on the subject of this exotic form of nuclei that typically contain many more neutrons than stable isotopes of those elements. It provides an introductory description of the halo and outlines the discovery and evidence for its existence. It also discusses different theoretical models of the halo's structure.

One of the major scientific thrusts in recent years has been to try to harness quantum phenomena to increase dramatically the performance of a wide variety of classical information processing devices. In particular, it is generally accepted that quantum computers and communication systems promise to revolutionize our information infrastructure.

Microelectronics is a challenging course to many undergraduate students and is often described as very messy. This book tries to illustrate the major ideas and the basic analysis techniques, so that students can derive the right equations easily when facing an electronic circuit.

Offers a presentation of a minimal set of von Neumann postulates while introducing language and notation to facilitate subsequent discussion of quantum calculations based in finite dimensional Hilbert spaces. The chapters that follow address two-state quantum systems, entanglement of multiple two-state systems, quantum angular momentum theory and quantum approaches to statistical mechanics.

This book begins with an examination of the numbers of women in physics in English-speaking countries, before moving on to examine factors that affect girls and their decision to continue in science, right through to education and on into the problems that women in physics careers face.

Demonstrates the concept of Fourier ptychography, a new imaging technique that bypasses the resolution limit of the employed optics. In particular, it transforms the general challenge of high-throughput, high-resolution imaging from one that is coupled to the physical limitations of the optics to one that is solvable through computation.

Directly connects the physical world to environmental issues that the world is facing today and will face in the future. This book shows how the first and second laws of thermodynamics limit the efficiencies of fossil fuel energy conversions to less than 100%, while also discussing how clever technologies can enhance overall performance.

In the 116 year history of the Nobel Prize in Physics, only two women have won the award - Marie Curie (1903) and Maria Mayer (1963). During the 60 years between those awards, several women did work of similar calibre. This book focuses on those women, providing biographies for each that discuss both how they made their discoveries and the gender-specific reception of those discoveries.

Offers an introduction to quantum information with special emphasis on continuous-variable systems (such as light) which can be described as collections of harmonic oscillators. It covers a selection of basic concepts, focusing on their physical meaning and mathematical treatment. This is an excellent reference for students and researchers.

Provides an introduction to the concept of symmetries in electromagnetism and explicit symmetry breaking. It begins with a brief background on the origin of the concept of symmetry and its meaning in fields such as architecture, mathematics and physics. This book unravels the beauty and excitement of this area to scientists and engineers.

What does it take to consider a planet potentially habitable? If a planet is suitable for life, could life be present? Is life on other planets inevitable? Searching for Habitable Worlds answers these questions and provides both the general public and astronomy enthusiasts with a richly illustrated discussion of the most current knowledge regarding the search for extrasolar planets.

Space curves around you, time slows down, particles are waves, a cat is both alive and dead. What's going on? It all starts to make sense when we untangle the universe with this clear and enlightening book. Day-dreamers and deep-thinkers, these are the concepts that will send your mind wandering to new places with a deeper understanding of the natural world.