bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In the Moonlight
Authors: Frova Andrea , Marenzana Mariapiera , Mcmanus Jim
Published: November 2023

In contrast to what was commonly believed at the time, Galileo demonstrates that the extreme brightness of the part of the lunar surface lit by the sun at any moment is proof that it is irregular and rugged, rather than perfectly spherical and mirror-like, as Aristotelians would have had it. The faint “cinereous light” of the part of the surface not lit by the sun he attributes to light diffusion by the earth. Galileo dares come to the almost sacrilegious conclusion that the earth and the moon are identical in nature. The arguments used provide him with the opportunity to express his great admiration for the human mind and his confidence in its powers.
An Ingenious Wrong Theory
Authors: Frova Andrea , Marenzana Mariapiera , Mcmanus Jim
Published: November 2023

Galileo believed he could provide incontrovertible proof that the earth moves using a model in which the rise and fall of the waters of the seas is caused by the accelerations and decelerations that points on the earth’s surface are subjected to, as a consequence of the planet’s combined motions of rotation and revolution about the sun. The model is as ingenious as it is flawed. Other phenomena capable of demonstrating the earth’s rotation were right there in front of Galileo, but, as far as we know, either he did not notice them, or he deemed them not worth considering. Simplicio’s comment in closing the dialogue offended the sensibilities of Pope Urban VIII.
The Seized Atmosphere
Authors: Frova Andrea , Marenzana Mariapiera , Mcmanus Jim
Published: November 2023

Yet another dialogue on whether or not the earth rotates. In support of the hypothesis that it does, Galileo advances two arguments, one conceptual and one practical: the former holds that it is more rational that it should be the earth that moves, as opposed to the unlikely proposition, favored by Aristotelians, that it is all the stars that move collectively; the latter is based on the existence of the trade-winds which, over the vast expanses of the surface of the oceans, blow permanently towards the west, just as might be expected if the atmosphere were not quite keeping pace with the earth’s rotation. Galileo’s explanation seems simple and straightforward, but, as was the case with his far more elaborate theory concerning tides, it is wrong.
Quarrels Among Scientists*
Authors: Frova Andrea , Marenzana Mariapiera , Mcmanus Jim
Published: November 2023

This chapter looks at another excerpt from The Assayer—one, however, which does not deal with comets, the main topic of the book. The reader will find, instead, an impassioned attack on ethically incorrect scientists, those who, according to Galileo, had usurped his ideas or attacked him out of malice. The way he makes a fool of Father Grassi, his main opponent of the moment, is delightful.
The Scientist and the Cicada *
Authors: Frova Andrea , Marenzana Mariapiera , Mcmanus Jim
Published: November 2023

Again from The Assayer, here is the tale of the scientist and the cicada. This is an allegory about learning to “know that one does not know”, about discovering that knowledge extends without end, and also about how satisfying curiosity merely serves to stimulate it the more. And, perhaps, about other, more disturbing, truths.
Imaginary-Time Green’s Functions
Authors: Bruus Henrik , Flensberg Karsten
Published: November 2023

We have seen that physical observables often have the form of Green’s functions, or that they can be derived in a simple way from the Green’s functions. In all the situations we have so far studied the physical observables have been related to the retarded Green’s functions.
Feynman Diagrams and External Potentials
Authors: Bruus Henrik , Flensberg Karsten
Published: November 2023

From the previous chapters on linear response theory and Green’s functions, it is clear that complete calculations of thermal averages of time-dependent phenomena in quantum field theory are a rather formidable task. Even the basic imaginary time-evolution operator Û (τ ) itself is an infinite series to all orders in the interaction Û(ϊ) . One simply faces the problem of getting lost in the myriads of integrals, and not being able to maintain a good physical intuition of which terms are important. In 1948 Feynman solved this problem as part of his seminal work on quantum electrodynamics by inventing the ingenious diagrams that today bear his name. The Feynman diagrams are both an exact mathematical representation of perturbation theory to infinite order and a powerful pictorial method that elucidate the physical content of the complicated expressions. In this chapter, we introduce the Feynman diagrams for the case of non-interacting particles in an external potential. Our main example of their use will be the analysis of electron-impurity scattering in disordered metals.
Introduction
Authors: Challet Damien , Marsili Matteo , Zhang Yi-Cheng
Published: November 2023

‘It’s night already and I’m still sat at the trading desk, staring at the screen where the price history of the past twenty or so trading periods zigzags so teasingly. Now the trading frenzy is at its most intense, I have just scored five consecutive successful trades, a feat I never achieved previously during the whole day. I feel euphoric and invincible now, for the first time after countless hours’ numb sitting I can stretch my aching neck and back, savouring the prospect of getting the upper hand of the seemingly indomitable market. In hindsight I might blame my previous bluntness on my own miscalculations: wasn’t that moving average line stretching far out of the previous range, and I failed to react, for wanting to play contrarian? That double-shoulder on the trading chart was full of warning bells of imminent perils, but I stuck obstinately to my position. I saw that mini-crash coming and should have gotten out of my position way before ... had I not been too greedy! Yet invincible I feel now, even though I’m still under for the day, having suffered huge losses during the afternoon session, and on a few times I was on the brink of being wiped out entirely of my authorized loss limit. My rival traders are invisible, for me they are just emotionless professionals ready to prey on any mistakes on my part, and on their fellow traders. But as my last straight winning track shows, I finally see through their schemes. The price history indicates that we have just come out from one of the characteristic volatility clusters—currently the slow, steady upward trend confirms my gut feeling that finally I can outsmart those cunning, bastard traders on the other side.
Understanding the Minority Game dynamics
Authors: Challet Damien , Marsili Matteo , Zhang Yi-Cheng
Published: November 2023

It is an extraordinary event in scientific research to hit by chance a model that can be solved analytically. That is even more extraordinary for a model such as the Minority Game, which was introduced and defined as a binary algorithm, without writing down a single equation. The path towards the analytic solution of the Minority Game is the subject of the present chapter. We shall see that a wide range of sophisticated tools of statistical physics—from non-equilibrium stochastic dynamics to the replica method—will be required along the way. This path is full of surprises: the non-trivial behaviour shown by early numerical simulations turns out to be only a small part of the richness of behaviours which the Minority Game has in store for us.
Quest for better cooperation
Authors: Challet Damien , Marsili Matteo , Zhang Yi-Cheng
Published: November 2023

Financial markets are the primary target for which Minority Games have been devised and studied. But at the same time, Minority Games have also been used as a tool to pose different questions.
Radiative transitions in atoms
Authors: Fox Mark
Published: November 2023

This chapter gives an overview of the theory of optical absorption and emission in atoms at the level appropriate to introductory quantum and atomic-physics texts. The aim is to provide an introduction to the more advanced treatment of these topics given later in the book, especially in Chapters 9 and 10. It is assumed that the reader is reasonably familiar with the concepts, and so the material is only developed in summary form. Readers who are less well acquainted with these topics may find it helpful to refer to the bibliography for further details.
Working in Primary Health Care
Authors: Cape John , Millar Yvonne
Published: November 2023

Today, many clinical psychologists can be found working within primary health care settings. This chapter concerns this development, and explores some of the issues raised by it. Health policy, in the United Kingdom and internationally, has increasingly emphasized the role of primary care and psychologists have recognized the importance of playing their part at this first point of contact in the healthcare system. Likewise, the potential of clinical psychology here has been recognized, and it seems highly likely that this trend will continue to grow in the coming years.
Working With Adults of Working Age
Authors: Llewelyn Sue
Published: November 2023

Psychological distress has always been widespread amongst at least a proportion of adults of working age in many societies, both currently and in the past, and there has always been a range of ways of trying to respond to it. Most distress is never presented for professional help but is dealt with by family, friends, and communities, for better or for worse. Clinical psychology represents just one source of help for adults who are depressed, anxious, or who have major relationship problems. Within clinical psychology there are a range of models which inform interventions for those disorders. This chapter outlines some of the main types of difficulty often presented, and will describe the range of treatments available to reduce distress. Throughout the chapter there is reference to the competencies which clinical psychologists aim to call upon in all areas of their work and which are used specifically when working with adults.
Working With Older People
Authors: Fossey Jane
Published: November 2023

An interest in and perspective on lifespan development is essential for anyone working with older adults. How people have adapted through the phases of their lives and in the context of their cultural history often makes assessment and intervention with older people a rewarding experience. Inevitably the clinical psychologist is also faced with issues of personal reflection and development as they lead their own lives towards their own old age, and so need to be mindful of how this contributes to the work they do. They also need to be aware of their own preconceptions. The principles and practices of therapeutic work with adults certainly apply, and can be adapted for an older client group quite easily. However, ageist attitudes have continued to abound in society, many of which go unnoticed or are taken as fact. Samuel Johnson noted in the eighteenth century that there is a wicked inclination in most people to suppose an old man decayed in his intellect. If a young or middle-aged man, when leaving a company, does not recollect where he laid his hat, it is nothing: but if the same inattention is discovered in an old man, people will shrug their shoulders and say ‘his memory is going ‘. The broad impact of similar attitudes is evidenced today in The Times newspaper, which has invented an anti-ageist column ‘ Not Dead Yet ‘ to challenge in a humorous way the many negative remarks made about people as they age in our society.
Working With Addictions
Authors: Wanigaratne Shamil , Ashby, Kirsty , Jones Alison
Published: November 2023

In recent years there has been growing interest amongst clinical psychologists in working with those who experience a variety of addictions. This chapter outlines the role of psychologists within addiction services and the nature of the individuals they work with. Our current conceptualization of the term ‘addiction ‘ includes any human behaviour that has become excessive, with the individual ‘s control over it impaired, which is damaging to the individual and society. Addiction has been described as the single most pervasive public and mental health problem of our time. The word ‘addiction ‘ is derived from the Latin verb addicere meaning ‘to devote; to give oneself over ‘ and implies impaired control.
Working With Physically Disabled People
Authors: Kennedy Paul
Published: November 2023

Clinical psychologists aim to work in partnership with service users, providers, and planners to ensure, enable, and maximize the fullest access to, and participation in, physical, psychological, social, and vocational domains. The prevalence of disability increases with age and as people live longer, many more people will experience a longer period of their life in a state of limited physical functioning. Much of health care expenditure is associated with the care and management of chronic disease and disability. There is a growing recognition of the contribution individuals can make to their associated morbidity and mortality. In the United Kingdom there has been a significant growth in the number of clinical health and rehabilitation psychologists working in the National Health Service (NHS). Historically, the contribution of clinical psychologists to people with physical disabilities was to assess psychopathology, but now clinical psychologists contribute not only to the management of mood and adjustment disorders, but also contribute to rehabilitation planning, assist with the amelioration of psychophysiological aspects, and have taken the lead in developing a variety of self-management and resilience enhancing techniques. Before discussing this contribution further, it would be helpful to describe the terms most commonly used, summarize the main causes, and outline the incidence and prevalence of the major conditions involved.
Working in Cross-Cultural and International Settings
Authors: Hall John
Published: November 2023

The formal discipline of psychology began as essentially a western European science. The subject matter with which it deals was originally drawn from a range of backgrounds, with an appeal to philosophy from classical Greece, and to the empiricists Locke and Hume in the eighteenth century, founded against a background of nineteenth-century European physiology and psychophysics, and nourished with mostly American empirical evidence. The conventional dating of the beginnings of academic psychology in 1879 in a laboratory at Leipzig only underlines this point.
DNA supercoiling
Authors: Bates Andrew D , Maxwell Anthony
Published: November 2023

In the first chapter, we described the classical double-helical structure of DNA, and the local alterations of that structure that can occur as a consequence of specific nucleotide sequences. We hope you now have a good feel for these concepts, and we will move on to the main subject of this book, the supercoiling of DNA, a global alteration of structure that arises directly from the double-helical nature of the molecule.
Relativistic optics
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

Optics is one of the fields to which relativity brought considerable simplification. In the old ether theory, light behaved simply only in the ether frame, and it made a difference how the observer and the source separately move through the ether. Relativity eliminated this middleman: every inertial frame is now known to be as ‘primary’ as the ether was once thought to be.
Spacetime and four-vectors
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

We have now reached a point at which further progress can be greatly clarified and simplified by the introduction of a new concept combining space and time and a corresponding mathematical technique that is tailor-made for special relativity. The new concept is Minkowski’s 4-dimensional ‘spacetime’ (now usually called Minkowski space) and the mathematical technique is the ‘4-vector’ calculus in that spacetime. (Later we shall recognize this as only a part of a more comprehensive ‘4-tensor’ calculus.)
Relativistic particle mechanics
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

What we have done so far has been essentially an elaboration of Einstein’s two basic axioms, without the addition of further hypotheses. We have seen how Newton’s concepts of space and time could be replaced by a somewhat more complicated but still elegant and harmonious spacetime structure that accommodates Einstein’s axioms. But now we have arrived at the next point in the program of special relativity, namely the scrutiny of the existing laws of physics and the modification of those that are found to be not Lorentz-invariant.
Four-tensors; Electromagnetism in vacuum
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

As we saw in the last chapter, the mathematical formalism of 4-vectors is ideally suited for the discussion of particle mechanics, where the chief quantities involved— velocity, acceleration, momentum, and force—are indeed 4-vectors. But when it comes to electromagnetism, it turns out that 4-vectors, though important, are not enough. One might perhaps have expected that the electric and magnetic field 3-vectors e and b should give rise to corresponding field 4-vectors E and B, but this is not so.
Curved spaces and the basic ideas of general relativity
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

One of the most revolutionary features of general relativity is the essential use it makes of curved space (actually, of curved spacetime). Though everyone knows intuitively what a curved surface is, or rather, what it looks like, people are often puzzled how this idea can be generalized to three or even higher dimensions. This is mainly because one cannot visualize a 4-space in which the 3-space can look bent. But no such surrounding or ‘embedding’ space is needed to understand curvature. On the contrary, an embedding space introduces elements that are quite irrelevant to our purpose.
Static and stationary spacetimes
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

Loosely speaking, a gravitational field is stationary if it does not change in time, and it is static if, additionally, ‘there is no rotation’. Examples are the following: the fields in a uniformly accelerating rocket or on a uniformly rotating disk in Minkowski space (these are a little unusual in having no sources); the fields of an arbitrary massive body at rest, or of an axially symmetric body rotating uniformly; the field of a gravitating fluid flowing uniformly around an arbitrarily shaped closed tube that is fixed in space.
Geodesics, curvature tensor and vacuum field equations
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

Whereas historically SR could progress quite a long way (until 1908, to be exact) without recourse to tensors, no such elementary access to GR is possible. The very foundations of the theory, the field equations, require the language of tensors even for their enunciation.
An exact plane gravitational wave
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

In this short chapter we shall exhibit and discuss one very special gravitational wave, not so much because in itself it has any practical importance, but rather to familiarize the reader with the very idea of gravitational waves and with some of the topological subtleties that may arise. In this particular case these are quite as surprising as was the topology of Kruskal space.
Light propagation in FRW universes
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

Almost all the information we have of the cosmos comes to us via electromagnetic waves of one kind or another—which, for brevity, we shall here just call ‘light’. Evidently, in order to interpret the observations, we must understand what happens to the light on its long journey to us. We shall make a simplifying assumption about the universe, namely that it is sufficiently rarefied so as not to impede the null-geodetic propagation of light.
Dynamics of FRW universes
Authors: Rindler Wolfgang
Published: November 2023

In a famous laborintensive paper of 1938, Einstein, Infeld, and Hoffmann showed that the field equations of general relativity actually imply the geodesic law of motion— which had originally been regarded as one of the axioms of the theory. Of course, that law had been strongly suggested by the equivalence principle, but that could not be considered a ‘proof’. Even the rigor of the 1938 paper was soon challenged and numerous improvements followed. But the result itself is not in question: the field equations determine the motion.
Elementary Climate Physics
Authors: Taylor F W
Published: November 2023

Climate Physics is a modern subject based on a space-era understanding of the physical properties of the atmosphere and ocean, their planetary-scale history and evolution, new global measurement systems and sophisticated computer models, which collectively make quantitative studies and predictions possible. At the same time, interest in understanding the climate has received an enormous boost from the concern generated by the realization that rapid climate change, much of it forced by the relentless increase in population and industrialization, is potentially a serious threat to the quality of life on Earth. Our ability to resist and overcome any such threat depends directly on our ability to understand what physical effects are involved and to predict how trends may develop. In an introductory course like that presented here, we want to clarify the basics, topic by topic, and see how far we can get by applying relatively simple Physics to the climate problem. This provides a foundation for more advanced work, which we can identify and appreciate at this level although of course a full treatment requires more advanced books, of which there are many.
Solar radiation and the energy budget of the earth
Authors: Taylor F W
Published: November 2023

Table 2.1 compares the principal sources of energy available to drive the Earth’s climate system. It confirms what we would expect intuitively: that virtually all, in fact 99.97%, of the energy arrives from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The remainder, from the interior of the Earth, from space in the form of energetic particles (most, but not all, of which also originate in the Sun), cosmic rays, and from human power production using fossil and radioactive fuels, are negligible for most purposes.
Atmosphere and climate
Authors: Taylor F W
Published: November 2023

The atmosphere is a complicated thermodynamic ‘heat engine’, consisting of a layer of gas, vertically and to some extent horizontally inhomogeneous, gravitationally bound to the surface of a rapidly rotating33 sphere with complex surface topography, and fed with radiant energy originating effectively at infinity. Its response is extremely variable on time-scales of hours or days, as our weather frequently testifies. In order to deal quantitatively with the role of the atmosphere in the climate, we want to investigate the mean state of this complex and dynamic system, typically averaged over a year or longer so that fluctuations due to weather (and even those due to the seasons in many cases) are suppressed in favour of secular or long-term changes, particularly those which may occur in response to external forcing.
Ocean and climate
Authors: Taylor F W
Published: November 2023

The ocean has a key role in the Earth’s energy budget, primarily by contributing to the massive poleward transport of heat that is required to balance the latitudinal gradient in mean solar input. This meridional transport of energy is divided roughly equally between the atmosphere and the ocean, and if the ocean were not present or if its circulation slowed down the polar regions would be much colder, and the equatorial regions much warmer, than currently.
The ozone layer
Authors: Taylor F W
Published: November 2023

Nevertheless, it is still one of the more important minor constituents of the atmosphere. One reason is because ozone has more strong absorption bands in the ultraviolet (UV) than the other common atmospheric gases, and so it dominates radiative transfer in this part of the spectrum. It also has important bands in the infrared. Ozone is extremely chemically active, as a result of which it plays a key role in determining the amounts of other constituents with which it reacts. It follows that ozone will be fairly short-lived; in the stratosphere, the lifetime of a typical atmospheric ozone molecule is just marginally longer than the diurnal cycle, at 1 to 2 days.
Rubber goes East
Authors: Loadman John
Published: November 2023

It is probably useful to note at the beginning of this chapter the location of the Hevea or Para’ rubber tree which was, and still is, believed to provide the best rubber. With two very small exceptions, it is confined to the land south of the River Amazon, dropping from its estuary at Bele’m to about 15o south, then swinging west to the border between Peru and Bolivia, before swinging round in a great loop taking in about one-third of Peru, before rejoining the Amazon where Brazil, Peru, and Colombia meet. The two exceptions are a small looped incursion to the north-west of Manaos (today known as Manaus) and a triangular excursion north of the estuary delta 1o or so north of the equator. Between 1851, the year of the ‘Great Exhibition’ in London, and 1855 a Scottish explorer, Richard Spruce, was searching for new plants in the Amazon basin. Thousands were brought to England but he did not bring any Hevea seedlings as he knew that these would not survive the long journey home. He thought of bringing some seeds back but found that these quickly turned rancid after collection, so he abandoned that idea. He did, however, make detailed studies of the tapping and collecting procedures adopted by the natives and noted that the price (demand) was rising rapidly. He also realised that the tappers were essentially slaves, given advances for tools and food which were to be paid off against future earnings.
The King and the Congo
Authors: Loadman John
Published: November 2023

In the early 1880s the article shown in Fig. 7.1 appeared in a British magazine. But the truth was somewhat different. In the previous chapters we have seen that wild natural rubber could be obtained from many plants and that these are widely distributed across the tropics, sub-tropics, and even the tem perate regions of the Earth. However, only one region other than Amazonia made a significant contribution to the world’s supply of this material during the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen turies, and this was the Congo.
Water Waves
Authors: Darrigol Olivier
Published: November 2023

As d’Alembert and Euler admitted, one could well know how to write the basic equations of hydrodynamics without knowing how to apply them to concrete problems. In the case of fluid resistance, this gap could only be filled in the twentieth century. Yet there is one kind of problem that earlier fluid theorists could solve to their satisfaction, namely, the motion of waves on the free surface of water. In 1781, Lagrange wrote the basic equations of water waves, and solved them in the simplest case of small waves on shallow water. His nineteenth-century followers determined the celerity of small, plane, monochromatic waves on water of constant depth, the pattern of waves created by a local action on the water surface, the shape of oscillatory or solitary waves of finite size, and the effect of friction, wind, and a variable bottom on the size and shape of the waves.
Instability
Authors: Darrigol Olivier
Published: November 2023

In the previous chapter, we encountered a special kind of instability, now called the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, which occurs when two fluid masses slide on each other, for instance along smoke jets or on a plane water surface under wind. Helmholtz arrived at this instability by reasoning on vortex sheets and used it to explain phenomena that seemed to elude Euler’s equations. He was neither the first nor the last theorist to emphasize the role of instabilities in fluid mechanics. The nineteenth-century interest in this question was for two reasons. Firstly, the discrepancy between actual fluid behavior and known solutions of the hydrodynamic equations suggested the instability of these solutions. Secondly, the British endeavor to reduce all physics to the motion of a perfect liquid presupposed the stability of the forms of motion used to describe matter and ether. Instability in the former case and stability in the latter case needed to be proved.

In nineteenth-century parlance, kinetic instability broadly meant a departure from an expected regularity of motion. In hydrodynamics alone, this notion included unsteadiness of motion, non-uniqueness of the solutions of the fundamental equations under given boundary conditions, sensibility of these solutions to infinitesimal local perturbation, sensibility to infinitesimal harmonic perturbations, sensibility to finite perturbations, and sensibility to infinitely-small viscosity. Although this spectrum of meanings is much wider than a modern treatise on hydrodynamic stability would tolerate, it must be respected in a historical study that does not artificially separate issues that nineteenth- century writers conceived as a whole.
Conclusion
Authors: Darrigol Olivier
Published: November 2023

Hydrodynamics evolved considerably in the course of its application to various phenomena. So did all major theories of mathematical physics. The myths that make Newton the sole creator of mechanics, Cauchy the father of the theory of elasticity, Clausius the founder of thermodynamics, and Maxwell the unique inventor of modern electrodynamics do not resist historical analysis. These theories have changed so much since the first formulations of their fundamental principles and equations that a modern physicist who reads the mythical founders can barely recognize a kinship with present theories. This estrangement is not limited to notations and styles of presentation, but runs very deeply into the conceptual structure of the theory.

In many cases, these structural changes have occurred during attempts to apply the theory to a specific class of phenomena. For example, William Rowan Hamilton’s attempt to apply mechanics to light rays led to the Hamiltonian formulation of mechanics; Charles-Eugène Delaunay’s application of the same theory to the motion of the Moon yielded a new perturbation theory based on action and angle variables; Saint-Venant’s application of the theory of elasticity to the flexion and torsion of prisms produced the semi-inverse method of approximation; the application of thermodynamics to mixtures and chemical reactions led to the concept of thermodynamic potential; Hendrik Lorentz’s application of Maxwell’s electrodynamics to certain optical phenomena led him to separate ether and matter; the application of quantum mechanics to solid-state physics engendered the theory of bands; and its application to field-mediated interactions prompted Richard Feynman’s path-integral formulation.
Introduction
Authors: Tabeling Patrick , Chen Suelin
Published: November 2023

In recent years, considerable progress has been made in the field of miniaturization. It is now effectively possible to miniaturize all kinds of systems—e.g. mechanical, fluidic, electromechanical, or thermal—down to sub-micrometric sizes. In the 1980s, these achievements gave rise to a new field known as MEMS (microelectro-mechanical systems). Later, in the 1990s, this domain became considerably diversified, with MEMS devices being fabricated for chemical, biological, and biomedical applications.
The electro hydrodynamics of microsystems
Authors: Tabeling Patrick , Chen Suelin
Published: November 2023

Introduction We have seen in Chapter 1 that miniaturization easily allows the production of intense electric fields. It is thus not surprising that researchers in the domain of microsystems have tried during these last several years to profit from electrohydro dynamics (that is, the coupling between an electric field and moving particles or fluids) to act on the flow of fluids or the movement of charges in miniaturized systems. Many types of miniaturized electrophoretic separators, dielectrophoretic microcytometers, and electro-osmotic micropumps have thus been created. A few of these systems were successfully commercialized: this was the case, for example, of the electrophoretic separation systems of DNA and proteins produced by Caliper/Agilent.
Micrfluidics and thermal transfers
Authors: Tabeling Patrick , Chen Suelin
Published: November 2023

Introduction The preceding chapters have discussed the phenomena of thermal exchanges in microsystems. It was shown that miniaturization facilitates thermal exchange: the characteristic thermal diffusion times are shorter in miniaturized systems and the heat flux exchanges at a fixed temperature difference are larger (see Chapter 1). This property is advantageous for controlling exo or endothermic chemical reactions, as well as for the implementation of biological processes requiring thermal cycling (one important example is PCR, for the amplification of DNA). On the other hand, it is difficult to impose a temperature difference in the middle of a microsystem. It is thus hard to conceive of microturbines with a high Carnot efficiency, or the measurement of chemical kinetics using the temperature jump, or T-jump technique.
An introduction to micro fabrication
Authors: Tabeling Patrick , Chen Suelin
Published: November 2023

Introduction In this chapter we introduce the most common techniques of micro fabrication used in microfluidics today. The chapter is just an introduction, offering a simplified presentation of the implementation of these processes. The reader will note that in this chapter, we devote several pages to silicon technology. There are several reasons for this: first, the range of micro fabrication possibilities available using this method is very large. Also, silicon micro fabrication is often an unavoidable step in many other technologies. Finally, this technology is an immense resource of know-how, and expertise from which all alternative technologies can benefit.
Some microfluidic devices
Authors: Tabeling Patrick , Chen Suelin
Published: November 2023

When this book was written, many microfluidic devices were in existence. Some of them have already been mentioned briefly in preceding chapters; but it seems instructive to be more precise. The goal of this chapter is to describe in detail some typical microfluidic systems, either available on the market or published in research articles. One can hope, judging from the rate at which this field is progressing, that this chapter will rapidly become obselete.
General Physical Properties of Rubbers
Authors: Treloar L R G
Published: November 2023

THE original material of commerce known as rubber (or more precisely ‘indiarubber’) is obtained in the form of latex from the tree Hevea Braziliensis. The more expressive term ‘caoutchouc’, derived from the Maya Indian words meaning ‘weeping wood’, in reference to the exudation of the latex from a wound in the bark (Le Bras 1965), has been retained by the French, and transliterated into other European languages. The word rubber is derived from the ability of this material to remove marks from paper, to which attention was drawn by the chemist Priestley in 1770 (Memmler 1934, p. 3). In current usage the term rubber is not restricted to the original natural rubber, but is applied indiscriminately to any material having mechanical properties substantially similar to those of natural rubber, regardless of its chemical constitution.
The Elasticity of A Molecular Network
Authors: Treloar L R G
Published: November 2023

The general form of the force-extension curve for a well-vulcanized rubber in simple extension is shown in Fig. 1.1 (p. 2). The abscissae in this diagram represent the extension as a percentage of the unstrained length, and the ordinates the tensile force per unit area of the unstrained cross-section. This representation of the force is used for experimental convenience, but the quantity so defined differs from the true stress, or force per unit area measured in the strained state. In classical elasticity theory, which is limited to small strains, the difference is unimportant since the area does not change significantly on straining, but in rubbers the difference between the force per unit unstrained area (or nominal stress) and the true stress is considerable.
Swelling Phenomena
Authors: Treloar L R G
Published: November 2023

A NUMBER of references have already been made to the swelling of rubbers by organic liquids and to the effects of such swelling on their mechanical properties. The nature of the swelling process in itself, and the factors which determine the degree of swelling attained in any particular circumstances, have not, however, yet been considered. The property of swelling in suitable low-molecular-weight liquids is one which is possessed by a wide range of high polymers, both natural and synthetic. In many respects this property is akin to solution, and, as in the case of solution, it is markedly dependent on the nature of the swelling liquid.
Cross-Linking and Modulus
Authors: Treloar L R G
Published: November 2023

IN considering the extent to which the statistical theory is capable of representing the properties of a rubber in a quantitative manner attention has so far been concentrated on the form of the stress-strain relations for various types of strain. We have seen (Chapter 5) that to a first approximation the theoretical stress-strain relations, which involve only a single elastic constant G, provide an adequate basis for the interpretation of the properties of an actual rubber (provided that the strains do not approach the limiting extensibility of the network) though significant deviations are also observed, particularly in the case of simple extension.
Thermodynamic Analysis of Gaussian Network
Authors: Treloar L R G
Published: November 2023

THE general significance of the thermodynamic study of the process of elastic deformation in rubberlike materials has already been discussed in Chapter 2, in which it was shown that from experiments on the temperature dependence of the stress in the extended state it is possible to derive the separate contributions due to the changes of internal energy and of entropy associated with the deformation process. The statistical theory in its. elementary form attributes the elastic stress solely to the changes in configurational entropy of the molecular network; on this basis, therefore, the internal energy contribution to the stress should be zero.
Invitation to Discrete Mathematics
Authors: Matoušek Jirří , Nešetřil Jaroslav
Published: November 2023

This book is a clear and self-contained introduction to discrete mathematics. Aimed mainly at undergraduate and early graduate students of mathematics and computer science, it is written with the goal of stimulating interest in mathematics and an active, problem-solving approach to the presented material. The reader is led to an understanding of the basic principles and methods of actually doing mathematics (and having fun at that). Being more narrowly focused than many discrete mathematics textbooks and treating selected topics in an unusual depth and from several points of view, the book reflects the conviction of the authors, active and internationally renowned mathematicians, that the most important gain from studying mathematics is the cultivation of clear and logical thinking and habits useful for attacking new problems. More than 400 enclosed exercises with a wide range of difficulty, many of them accompanied by hints for solution, support this approach to teaching. The readers will appreciate the lively and informal style of the text accompanied by more than 200 drawings and diagrams. Specialists in various parts of science with a basic mathematical education wishing to apply discrete mathematics in their field can use the book as a useful source, and even experts in combinatorics may occasionally learn from pointers to research literature or from presentations of recent results. Invitation to Discrete Mathematics should make a delightful reading both for beginners and for mathematical professionals. The main topics include: elementary counting problems, asymptotic estimates, partially ordered sets, basic graph theory and graph algorithms, finite projective planes, elementary probability and the probabilistic method, generating functions, Ramsey's theorem, and combinatorial applications of linear algebra. General mathematical notions going beyond the high-school level are thoroughly explained in the introductory chapter. An appendix summarizes the undergraduate algebra needed in some of the more advanced sections of the book.
Drawing graphs in the plane
Authors: Matoušek Jirří , Nešetřil Jaroslav
Published: November 2023

Often it is advantageous to draw graphs. As you can see, most of the graphs in this book are specificed by a picture (instead of a list of vertices and edges, say). But so far we have been studying properties of graphs not related to their drawings, and the role of drawings was purely auxiliary. In this chapter the subject of analysis will be the drawing of graphs itself and we will mainly investigate graphs that can be drawn in the plane without edge crossings. Such graphs are called planar.
Finite projective planes
Authors: Matoušek Jirří , Nešetřil Jaroslav
Published: November 2023

Mathematicians are often interested in objects that are highly regular in some sense. A good example is the regular Platonic solids we have seen in Section 6.3. They are scarce, beautiful, and also very useful. For instance, symmetry groups related to them play an important role in physics.
Quantum Physics A First Encounter
Authors: Scarani Valerio
Published: November 2023

Quantum physics is often perceived as a weird and abstract theory, which physicists must use in order to make correct predictions. But many recent experiments have shown that the weirdness of the theory simply mirrors the weirdness of phenomena: it is Nature itself, and not only our description of it, that behaves in an astonishing way. This book selects those, among these typical quantum phenomena, whose rigorous description requires neither the formalism, nor an important background in physics. The first part of the book deals with the phenomenon of single-particle interference, covering the historical questions of wave-particle duality, objective randomness and the boundary between the quantum and the classical world, but also the recent idea of quantum cryptography. The second part introduces the modern theme of entanglement, by presenting two-particle interference phenomena and discussing Bell’s inequalities. A concise review of the main interpretations of quantum physics is provided.
Let’S Step Back
Authors: Scarani Valerio
Published: November 2023

Leaving Saint-Michel, I take my leave of Jean-Paul who is going home, and I turn left to walk down the College Steps, a covered lane that descends into the heart of Fribourg. There, in front of the cathedral, three busy roads meet to form a roundabout. I continue my walk along the south side of the cathedral. Cars continue to stream down the road. Now that the roundabout is no longer in view, I cannot know by which route each car has entered it. In order to arrive alongside me, as it does now, this car could have taken three possible paths. I have put myself, in relation to the cars, in a situation of indistinguishability. Well then, why is the road network not a quantum interferometer? The answer is a matter of common sense – the indistinguishability of cars is only apparent, it is due to an ignorance that can easily be overcome. In order to obtain the information about the path by which each car entered the roundabout, it would suffice for me to go back a few paces or to ask the driver – neither of these steps would modify what the destination of the car will be.
Dimensions And Boundaries
Authors: Scarani Valerio
Published: November 2023

I am of the opinion that experimental physics is not given the credit it deserves in our society. Applied physics, ultimately industrial physics, is conveniently praised because it directly affects our lives. As for the high repute of theoretical physics, just stop and list five renowned physicists on the back of an envelope: I predict that the five names you have written down are those of five theoreticians (you can easily verify it on the internet). Experimentalists are those people who work in academic laboratories, confirming theories that they are (wrongly) supposed not to have understood, and making claims on possible applications that seldom attract the interest of industry. Of course, any physicist knows the truth: without the genius and the hard work of the experimentalists, there would simply be no physics at all. The laser is a striking example20: the basic equations had been written down by Einstein himself in 1917, but it required some brilliant experimentalists to make it real – against the scepticism of many colleagues, and without having any particular application in mind. In this and the following chapters, while discussing, as promised, some deeper questions raised by quantum physics, I hope to also provide a convenient description of what a real experiment looks like – still, leaving aside the most thankless tasks: purchase of materials, days and nights spent making adjustments, error calculations
A Nice Idea
Authors: Scarani Valerio
Published: November 2023

For the last chapter devoted to the interference of a particle, we go back a few years in time, to 1984. If until now everything has taken place in the familiar setting of old Europe (Fribourg, Vienna, Grenoble, Constance), this time the change of scene will be much greater – this year, the IEEE International Conference on Computers, Systems and Signal Processing, one of the most important gatherings of computer scientists and communication theoreticians, is taking place in the city of Bangalore, at the heart of the immense triangle that is India. However, all conference rooms look the same. Gilles Brassard, computer scientist from the University of Montreal, is not too dis- oriented when he is preparing himself to present a project done in collaboration with Charles Bennett, trained as a chemist, currently a theoretician at IBM in New York. The title of the lecture arouses the curiosity of those who glance absent-mindedly through the conference programme: Brassard is going to speak on ‘quantum cryptography’.
On The Origin Of Correlations
Authors: Scarani Valerio
Published: November 2023

In Chapter 2, we saw that indistinguishability deriving from cars in relation to the knowledge of a pedestrian does not lead to any surprising modification in the properties of those cars. Indistinguishability in everyday life is linked to the ignorance of the observer, which can be overcome, while indistinguishability at the particle level cannot be removed without leading to qualitative change of the physical properties. The arguments in Chapter 2, as well as the failure of the ‘Heisenberg mechanism’ discussed in Chapter 4, have taught us that quantum indistinguishability is not a kind of insurmountable ignorance. Quantum indistinguishability is therefore a new idea – to affirm that two paths for a car are indistinguishable is not the same as affirming that two alternatives for a particle are indistinguishable. We are going to see that it is possible to argue in a similar way on the subject of correlations – in the quantum world, the notion of correlations appears in a new, unexpected light.