High density digital magnetic and magneto-optical storage devices are widely used in audio, video, and data processing information technology, as well as in CAD/CAM computer systems.
The development of new materials is recognized as one of the major elements in the overall technological evolution that must go on in order to sustain and even improve the quality of life for citizens of all nations.
In September 1985, in an attempt to simulate the chemistry in a carbon star, Harry Kroto, Bob Curl and Richard Smalley set up a mass spectrometry experiment to study the plasma produced by focusing a pulsed laser on solid graphite.
One of the most spectacular consequences of the description of the superfluid condensate in superfluid He or in superconductors as a single macroscopic quantum state is the quantization of circulation, resulting in quantized vortex lines.
Rapid advances are taking place in the application of density functional theory (DFT) to describe complex electronic structures, to accurately treat large systems and to predict physical and chemical properties.
In the ten years since the scientific rationale for the design, synthesis and application of inorganic and organometallic polymers (IOPs) was first conceptualised, we have witnessed the first tentative exploration of IOPs as precursors to new materials, with efforts focusing on the design and synthesis of novel ceramic precursors.
It is well known that the density of molecular hydrogen can be increased by compression and/or cooling, the ultimate limit in density being that of liquid hydrogen.
Let us begin by quoting from the Preface to the author's Statistical Physics (Moscow, Nauka 1982; also published in English by Harwood in 1986): ''My God!
An extensive body of research is involved in pushing miniaturisation to its physical limit, encompassing the miniaturisation of electronic devices, the manipulation of single atoms by scanning tunnelling microscopy, bio-engineering, the chemical synthesis of complex molecules, microsensor technology, and information storage and retrieval.
Turbulence is a dangerous topic which is often at the origin of serious fights in the scientific meetings devoted to it since it represents extremely different points of view, all of which have in common their complexity, as well as an inability to solve the problem.
Silicon dioxide plays a central role in most contemporary electronic and photonic technologies, from fiber optics for communications and medical applications to metal-oxide-semiconductor devices.
The aim of this NATO ASI has been to present an up-to-date overview of current areas of interest in amorphous materials, with particular emphasis on electronic properties and device applications.
For many years, the physics of strongly correlated systems was considered a theorists' playground, right at the border with pure mathematics, where physicists from the `real world' did not venture.
Nanometer scale physics is progressing rapidly: the top-down approach of semiconductor technology will soon encounter the scale of the bottom-up approaches of supramolecular chemistry and spatially localized excitations in ionic crystals.
A collection of lectures on a variety of modern subjects in wave scattering, including fundamental issues in mesoscopic physics and radiative transfer, recent hot topics such as random lasers, liquid crystals, lefthanded materials and time-reversal, as well as modern applications in imaging and communication.
A comprehensive collection of papers on theoretical aspects of electronic processes in simple and synthetic metals, superconductors, bulk and low-dimensional semiconductors under extreme conditions, such as high magnetic and electric fields, low and ultra-low temperatures.
The NATO sponsored Advanced Research Workshop on "e;Concepts in Electron Correlation"e; took place on the Croatian island of Hvar during the period from the 29th of September to the 3rd of October, 2002.
The main scope of this Cargese NATO Advanced Study Institute (June 5-17 2000) was to bring together a number of international experts, covering a large spectrum of the various Physical Aspects of Fracture.
The primary objective of this NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) was to present an up-to-date overview of various current areas of interest in the field of photovoltaic and related photoactive materials.
Soft Condensed Matter commonly deals with materials that are mechanically soft and, more importantly, particularly prone to thermal fluctuation effects.
The physics of strongly correlated fermions and bosons in a disordered envi- ronment and confined geometries is at the focus of intense experimental and theoretical research efforts.
In recent interactions with industrial companies it became quite obvious, that the search for new materials with strong anisotropic properties are of paramount importance for the development of new advanced electronic and magnetic devices.
Topological defects are the subject of intensive studies in many different branches of physics ranging from cosmology to liquid crystals and from elementary particles to colloids and biological systems.
It is possible to "e;stretch"e; a liquid and, when suitably prepared, liquids are capable of sustaining substantial levels of tension, often for significant periods of time.
Detailed coverage of all aspects of microwave superconductivity: fundamentals, fabrication, measurement, components, circuits, cryogenic packaging and market potential.
This volume is based on lectures given at the NATO-Advanced Study Institute on Structure and Dynamics of Polymer and Colloid Systems held in Les Houches, France from September 14-24, 1999.
Many mesoscopic systems display `adaptive' behaviour - changes in some physical property that results from a small change in an internal or external driving force.
