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Elsevier

Books in Physics

Physics titles offer comprehensive research and advancements across the fundamental and applied areas of physical science. From quantum mechanics and particle physics to astrophysics and materials science, these titles drive innovation and deepen understanding of the principles governing the universe. Essential for researchers, educators, and students, this collection supports scientific progress and practical applications across a diverse range of physics disciplines.

  • Waves in Layered Media

    • 2nd Edition
    • L Brekhovskikh
    • English
    Waves in Layered Media discusses different theories about the relationship between waves and media. The book specifically covers several factors that can affect the behavior and formation of various kinds of waves in different types of media. Comprised of nine chapters, the book establishes the fundamentals by first tackling simplest concepts, such as the behavior plane wave and discretely layered media. The succeeding chapters cover much more complex ideas, such as the refraction and reflection of waves, spherical wave, and wave in inhomogeneous media. The book will be a great asset to researchers whose work involves acoustics, or to professionals whose line of work involves sound waves.

  • Dynamics of Gas-Surface Scattering

    • 1st Edition
    • Frank O. Goodman
    • English
    Dynamics of Gas-Surface Scattering deals with the dynamics of scattering as inferred from known properties of gases and solids. This book discusses measurements of spatial distributions of scattered atomic and molecular streams, and of the energy and momentum which gas particles exchange at solid surfaces. It also considers two regimes of scattering, both of which are associated with a lower range of incident gas energies: the thermal and structure scattering regimes. Comprised of 10 chapters, this book opens with a brief historical overview of the early experiments that investigated the dynamics of scattering of gases by surfaces. The discussion then turns to some elements of the kinetic theory of gases; intermodular potentials and interaction regimes; and classical-mechanical lattice models used in gas-surface scattering theory. The applications of molecular beams to the study of gas-surface scattering phenomena are also described. The remaining chapters focus on experiments and theories on scattering of molecular streams by surfaces of solids, with emphasis on thermal and structure regimes of inelastic scattering; quantum theory of gas-surface scattering; and quantum mechanical scattering phenomena. This text concludes with an analysis of energy exchange processes that may occur when a solid surface is completely immersed in a still gas. This monograph will be a valuable resource for students and practitioners of physics, chemistry, and applied mathematics.

  • Qualitative Analysis of Physical Problems

    • 1st Edition
    • M Gitterman
    • English
    Qualitative Analysis of Physical Problems reviews the essential features of all the main approaches used for the qualitative analysis of physical problems and demonstrates their application to problems from a wide variety of fields. Topics covered include model construction, dimensional analysis, symmetry, and the method of the small parameter. This book consists of six chapters and begins by looking at various approaches for the construction of models, along with nontrivial applications of dimensional analysis to some typical model systems. The following chapters focus on the application of symmetry to the microscopic and macroscopic properties of systems; the implications of analyticity and occurrence of singularities; and some methods of deriving the magnitude of the solutions (that is, approximate numerical values) for problems that usually cannot be solved exactly in closed form. The final chapter demonstrates the use of qualitative analysis to address the problem of second harmonic generation in nonlinear optics. This monograph will be a useful resource for graduate students, experimental and theoretical physicists, chemists, engineers, college and high school teachers, and those who are interested in obtaining a general perspective of modern physics.

  • Physical and Applied Acoustics

    An Introduction
    • 1st Edition
    • Erwin Meyer
    • English
    Physical and Applied Acoustics: An Introduction explores the mechanical-acoustica... or acoustical-electrica... analogies that are based on common theoretical relationships. This book is composed of 11 chapters that discuss the theory, experiment, and technological applications of physical and applied acoustics. The introductory chapters deal with the sound wave propagation in liquids and gases, as well as the statistical theory of room acoustics. These topics are followed by discussions on sound absorption in different medium; the concept of sound radiation pressure; directional characteristics of sound sources; measurement and calibration of acoustics; and the fundamental physical and psychological facts of acoustics. The subsequent chapters cover the use of electroacoustics for the transmission of speech and music. A chapter examines the production and detection of extremely high-frequency sound, called quantum acoustics. The concluding chapter highlights the interaction phenomena between sound and flow in a medium.

  • Laser spectroscopy IX

    • 1st Edition
    • Michael Feld
    • English
    Laser Spectroscopy IX documents the proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy, held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, June 18-23, 1989. The scientific program consisted of oral and poster presentations. There were 52 invited talks organized into 14 topical sessions, some with panel discussions. About 60 additional invited contributions were presented in three evening poster sessions. Also included were 15 post deadline oral and poster presentations. These proceedings contain summaries of essentially all of these contributions. The contributions made by researchers at the conference are organized into 14 parts. Part I focuses on laser cooling. Part II presents studies on laser spectroscopy. Part III includes papers on cavity Q.E.D. Parts IV, V, and VI examine noise and coherence, quantum size effects, and surface spectroscopy, respectively. Part VII deals with laser light sources. Part VIII includes papers on trapped ion spectroscopy. Part IX covers ultrafast spectroscopy while Part X takes up fundamental measurements, including those of positronium, the Rydberg constant, and lead and thallium isotopes. Parts XI-XIV cover, respectively, molecular spectroscopy and dynamics, applications in radiation forces, highly excited states and dynamics, and laser spectroscopy for biomedicine.

  • Optical System Design

    • 1st Edition
    • Rudolf Kingslake
    • English
    Optical System Design covers the basic knowledge of optics and the flow of light through an optical system. This book is organized into 16 chapters that deal with various components of an optical system, from light and images to spectroscopic apparatus. The book first discusses the simple components of an optical system, including its light, lens, oblique beams, and photochemical aspects. It then deals with the system’s projection, plane mirrors, prisms, magnifying instruments, and telescope. Other components considered are the surveying instruments, mirror imaging systems, photographic optics, and spectroscopic apparatus. This book is of value to undergraduate students with courses in geometrical optics and system design.

  • Handbook on Plasma Instabilities

    • 1st Edition
    • Ferdinand Cap
    • English
    Handbook on Plasma Instabilities, Volume 1 serves as an introduction to the field of plasma physics and plasma instabilities. Topics covered include basic plasma physics, statistical plasma theory, and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), as well as the many-species theory and plasma containment. The motion of individual particles, oscillations and waves, and MHD instabilities of a real and an ideal plasma are also discussed. This volume is comprised of 13 chapters and begins with a survey of the various applications of plasma sciences and an overview of the fundamental concepts of plasma physics. Basic plasma physics, the physics of instabilities, orbit theory, kinetic theory, MHD, and the many-fluid theory are then presented. The following chapters focus on the principles of plasma containment and waves in plasmas, together with the basic features of plasma instabilities and their classification. The classical MHD stability theory of an ideal and of a real plasma is also described. The final chapter is devoted to drift waves and drift instabilities in inhomogeneous plasmas, paying particular attention to the theory of gradient instabilities and the microscopic theory of waves in non-homogeneous collisionless plasmas. This handbook is intended for beginners in plasma physics and plasma instabilities and for physicists and engineers working actively in the field.

  • Vibrational Spectroscopy At High External Pressures

    The Diamond Anvil Cell
    • 1st Edition
    • John R. Ferraro
    • English
    Vibrational Spectroscopy at High External Pressures: The Diamond Anvil Cell presents the effects of high pressure on the vibrational properties of materials as accomplished in a diamond anvil cell (DAC). The DAC serves the dual purpose of generating the pressures and being transparent to infrared radiation, allowing the observation of changes caused by pressure. The optical probes highlighted will deal principally with infrared and Raman scattering, although some observations in the visible region will also be presented. The book begins with a discussion of the effects of pressure and pressure units. This is followed by separate chapters on the instrumentation needed to study vibrational transitions under pressure and pressure calibration and various methods used to measure pressure in the DAC. Subsequent chapters deal with applications in basic areas of inorganic, coordination, and organic compounds. These include the effects of pressure on spin states and various geometries; pressure effects on organic molecules; applications in geochemistry, conductors, forensic science, and lubricants; and miscellaneous topics such as metallic hydrogen, metallic xenon, and CuCl.

  • Geophysical Data Analysis: Discrete Inverse Theory

    • 1st Edition
    • William Menke
    • English
    Geophysical Data Analysis: Discrete Inverse Theory is an introductory text focusing on discrete inverse theory that is concerned with parameters that either are truly discrete or can be adequately approximated as discrete. Organized into 12 chapters, the book’s opening chapters provide a general background of inverse problems and their corresponding solution, as well as some of the basic concepts from probability theory that are applied throughout the text. Chapters 3-7 discuss the solution of the canonical inverse problem, that is, the linear problem with Gaussian statistics, and discussions on problems that are non-Gaussian and nonlinear are covered in Chapters 8 and 9. Chapters 10-12 present examples of the use of inverse theory and a discussion on the numerical algorithms that must be employed to solve inverse problems on a computer. This book is of value to graduate students and many college seniors in the applied sciences.

  • Ion Beam Modification of Materials

    • 1st Edition
    • J.S. Williams + 2 more
    • English
    This conference consisted of 15 oral sessions, including three plenary papers covering areas of general interest, 22 specialist invited papers and 51 contributed presentations as well as three poster sessions. There were several scientific highlights covering a diverse spectrum of materials and ion beam processing methods. These included a wide range of conventional and novel applications such as: optical displays and opto-electronics, motor vehicle and tooling parts, coatings tailored for desired properties, studies of fundamental defect properties, the production of novel (often buried) compounds, and treating biomedical materials. The study of nanocrystals produced by ion implantation in a range of host matrices, particularly for opto-electronics applications, was one especially new and exciting development. Despite several decades of study, major progress was reported at the conference in understanding defect evolution in semiconductors and the role of defects in transient impurity diffusion. The use of implantation to tune or isolate optical devices and in forming optically active centres and waveguides in semiconductors, polymers and oxide ceramics was a major focus of several presentations at the conference. The formation of hard coatings by ion assisted deposition or direct implantation was also an area which showed much recent progress. Ion beam techniques had also developed apace, particularly those based on plasma immersion ion implantation or alternative techniques for large area surface treatment. Finally, the use of ion beams for the direct treatment of cancerous tissue was a particularly novel and interesting application of ion beams.

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