Advances in Spectroscopy for Lasers and Sensing

Advances in Spectroscopy for Lasers and Sensing
Author: Baldassare Di Bartolo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 574
Release: 2006-07-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402047894

This volume presents the Proceedings of "New Development in Optics and Related Fields," held in Italy in June, 2005. This meeting was organized by the International School of Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy of the "Ettore Majorana" Center for Scientific Culture. The purpose of this Institute was to provide a comprehensive and coherent treatment of the new techniques and contemporary developments in optics and related fields.

Group Theory

Group Theory
Author: Eugene P. Wigner
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2013-09-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1483275760

Group Theory and its Application to the Quantum Mechanics of Atomic Spectra describes the applications of group theoretical methods to problems of quantum mechanics with particular reference to atomic spectra. The manuscript first takes a look at vectors and matrices, generalizations, and principal axis transformation. Topics include principal axis transformation for unitary and Hermitian matrices; unitary matrices and the scalar product; linear independence of vectors; and real orthogonal and symmetric matrices. The publication also ponders on the elements of quantum mechanics, perturbation theory, and transformation theory and the bases for the statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics. The book discusses abstract group theory and invariant subgroups, including theorems of finite groups, factor group, and isomorphism and homomorphism. The text also reviews the algebra of representation theory, rotation groups, three-dimensional pure rotation group, and characteristics of atomic spectra. Discussions focus on eigenvalues and quantum numbers, spherical harmonics, and representations of the unitary group. The manuscript is a valuable reference for readers interested in the applications of group theoretical methods.

Eureka

Eureka
Author: Chad Orzel
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-12-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780465074969

When it comes to science, too often people say "I just don't have the brains for it"--and leave it at that. Why is science so intimidating, and why do people let themselves feel this way? What makes one person a scientist and another disinclined even to learn how to read graphs? The idea that scientists are people who wear lab coats and are somehow smarter than the rest of us is a common, yet dangerous, misconception that puts science on an intimidating pedestal. How did science become so divorced from everyday experience? In Eureka, science popularizer Chad Orzel argues that even the people who are most forthright about hating science are doing science, often without even knowing it. Orzel shows that science is central to the human experience: every human can think like a scientist, and regularly does so in the course of everyday activities. The common misconception is that science is a body of (boring, abstract, often mathematical) facts. In truth, science is a process: Looking at the world, Thinking about what makes it work, Testing your mental model by comparing it to reality, and Telling others about your results--all things that people do daily. By revealing the connection between the everyday activities that people do--solving crossword puzzles, playing sports, or even watching mystery shows on television--and the processes used to make great scientific discoveries, Eureka shows that this process is one everybody uses regularly, and something that anyone can do.