Quantum Physics for Scientists and Technologists


Book Description

Quantum Physics for Scientists and Technologists is a self-contained, comprehensive review of this complex branch of science. The book demystifies difficult concepts and views the subject through non-physics fields such as computer science, biology, chemistry, and nanotechnology. It explains key concepts and phenomena in the language of non-physics majors and with simple math, assuming no prior knowledge of the topic. This cohesive book begins with the wavefunction to develop the basic principles of quantum mechanics such as the uncertainty principle and wave-particle duality. Comprehensive coverage of quantum theory is presented, supported by experimental results and explained through applications and examples without the use of abstract and complex mathematical tools or formalisms. From there, the book: Takes the mystery out of the Schrodinger equation, the fundamental equation of quantum physics, by applying it to atoms Shows how quantum mechanics explains the periodic table of elements Introduces the quantum mechanical concept of spin and spin quantum number, along with Pauli's Exclusion Principle regarding the occupation of quantum states Addresses quantum states of molecules in terms of rotation and vibration of diatomic molecules Explores the interface between classical statistical mechanics and quantum statistical mechanics Discusses quantum mechanics as a common thread through different fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology Each chapter features real-world applications of one or more quantum mechanics principles. "Study Checkpoints" and problems with solutions are presented throughout to make difficult concepts easy to understand. In addition, pictures, tables, and diagrams with full explanations are used to present data and further explain difficult concepts. This book is designed as a complete course in quantum mechanics for senior undergraduates and first-year graduate students in non-physics majors. It also applies to courses such as modern physics, physical chemistry and nanotechnology. The material is also accessible to scientists, engineers, and technologists working in the fields of computer science, biology, chemistry, engineering, and nanotechnology.




Quantum Physics for Scientists and Technologists


Book Description

Quantum Physics for Scientists and Technologists is a self-contained, comprehensive review of this complex branch of science. The book demystifies difficult concepts and views the subject through non-physics fields such as computer science, biology, chemistry, and nanotechnology. It explains key concepts and phenomena in the language of non-physics majors and with simple math, assuming no prior knowledge of the topic. This cohesive book begins with the wavefunction to develop the basic principles of quantum mechanics such as the uncertainty principle and wave-particle duality. Comprehensive coverage of quantum theory is presented, supported by experimental results and explained through applications and examples without the use of abstract and complex mathematical tools or formalisms. From there, the book: Takes the mystery out of the Schrodinger equation, the fundamental equation of quantum physics, by applying it to atoms Shows how quantum mechanics explains the periodic table of elements Introduces the quantum mechanical concept of spin and spin quantum number, along with Pauli's Exclusion Principle regarding the occupation of quantum states Addresses quantum states of molecules in terms of rotation and vibration of diatomic molecules Explores the interface between classical statistical mechanics and quantum statistical mechanics Discusses quantum mechanics as a common thread through different fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology Each chapter features real-world applications of one or more quantum mechanics principles. "Study Checkpoints" and problems with solutions are presented throughout to make difficult concepts easy to understand. In addition, pictures, tables, and diagrams with full explanations are used to present data and further explain difficult concepts. This book is designed as a complete course in quantum mechanics for senior undergraduates and first-year graduate students in non-physics majors. It also applies to courses such as modern physics, physical chemistry and nanotechnology. The material is also accessible to scientists, engineers, and technologists working in the fields of computer science, biology, chemistry, engineering, and nanotechnology.




What Is Real?


Book Description

"A thorough, illuminating exploration of the most consequential controversy raging in modern science." --New York Times Book Review An Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review Longlisted for PEN/E.O. Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing Longlisted for Goodreads Choice Award Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's solipsistic and poorly reasoned Copenhagen interpretation. Indeed, questioning it has long meant professional ruin, yet some daring physicists, such as John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett, persisted in seeking the true meaning of quantum mechanics. What Is Real? is the gripping story of this battle of ideas and the courageous scientists who dared to stand up for truth. "An excellent, accessible account." --Wall Street Journal "Splendid. . . . Deeply detailed research, accompanied by charming anecdotes about the scientists." --Washington Post




Quantum Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers


Book Description

If you need a book that relates the core principles of quantum mechanics to modern applications in engineering, physics, and nanotechnology, this is it. Students will appreciate the book's applied emphasis, which illustrates theoretical concepts with examples of nanostructured materials, optics, and semiconductor devices. The many worked examples and more than 160 homework problems help students to problem solve and to practise applications of theory. Without assuming a prior knowledge of high-level physics or classical mechanics, the text introduces Schrödinger's equation, operators, and approximation methods. Systems, including the hydrogen atom and crystalline materials, are analyzed in detail. More advanced subjects, such as density matrices, quantum optics, and quantum information, are also covered. Practical applications and algorithms for the computational analysis of simple structures make this an ideal introduction to quantum mechanics for students of engineering, physics, nanotechnology, and other disciplines. Additional resources available from www.cambridge.org/9780521897839.




Quantum Mechanics with Applications to Nanotechnology and Information Science


Book Description

Quantum mechanics transcends and supplants classical mechanics at the atomic and subatomic levels. It provides the underlying framework for many subfields of physics, chemistry and materials science, including condensed matter physics, atomic physics, molecular physics, quantum chemistry, particle physics, and nuclear physics. It is the only way we can understand the structure of materials, from the semiconductors in our computers to the metal in our automobiles. It is also the scaffolding supporting much of nanoscience and nanotechnology. The purpose of this book is to present the fundamentals of quantum theory within a modern perspective, with emphasis on applications to nanoscience and nanotechnology, and information-technology. As the frontiers of science have advanced, the sort of curriculum adequate for students in the sciences and engineering twenty years ago is no longer satisfactory today. Hence, the emphasis on new topics that are not included in older reference texts, such as quantum information theory, decoherence and dissipation, and on applications to nanotechnology, including quantum dots, wires and wells. This book provides a novel approach to Quantum Mechanics whilst also giving readers the requisite background and training for the scientists and engineers of the 21st Century who need to come to grips with quantum phenomena The fundamentals of quantum theory are provided within a modern perspective, with emphasis on applications to nanoscience and nanotechnology, and information-technology Older books on quantum mechanics do not contain the amalgam of ideas, concepts and tools necessary to prepare engineers and scientists to deal with the new facets of quantum mechanics and their application to quantum information science and nanotechnology As the frontiers of science have advanced, the sort of curriculum adequate for students in the sciences and engineering twenty years ago is no longer satisfactory today There are many excellent quantum mechanics books available, but none have the emphasis on nanotechnology and quantum information science that this book has




Quantum Mechanics


Book Description

Explore the relationship between quantum mechanics and information-age applications This volume takes an altogether unique approach to quantum mechanics. Providing an in-depth exposition of quantum mechanics fundamentals, it shows how these concepts are applied to most of today's information technologies, whether they are electronic devices or materials. No other text makes this critical, essential leap from theory to real-world applications. The book's lively discussion of the mathematics involved fits right in with contemporary multidisciplinary trends in education: Once the basic formulation has been derived in a given chapter, the connection to important technological problems is summarily described. A book for the information age, Quantum Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications to Technology promises to become a standard in departments of electrical engineering, applied physics, and materials science, as well as physics. It is an excellent text for senior undergraduate and graduate students, and a helpful reference for practicing scientists, engineers, and chemists in the semiconductor and electronic industries.




Quantum Aspects of Life


Book Description

This book presents the hotly debated question of whether quantum mechanics plays a non-trivial role in biology. In a timely way, it sets out a distinct quantum biology agenda. The burgeoning fields of nanotechnology, biotechnology, quantum technology, and quantum information processing are now strongly converging. The acronym BINS, for Bio-Info-Nano-Systems, has been coined to describe the synergetic interface of these several disciplines. The living cell is an information replicating and processing system that is replete with naturally-evolved nanomachines, which at some level require a quantum mechanical description. As quantum engineering and nanotechnology meet, increasing use will be made of biological structures, or hybrids of biological and fabricated systems, for producing novel devices for information storage and processing and other tasks. An understanding of these systems at a quantum mechanical level will be indispensable.




Semiconductor Quantum Science and Technology


Book Description

Semiconductor quantum science and technology is exploring the exciting and emerging prospects of integrating quantum functionality on semiconductor platforms to convert current information technology into quantum information technology. The past twenty years have led to incredible advances in this field. This book brings together the leading scientists who present the main achievements and challenges by reviewing and motivating the state-of-the-art at a tutorial level. The key challenges include creating quantum-light sources, quantum information processing via strong light-matter interaction, discovering new quantum materials as well as quasiparticles, and determining new quantum spectroscopic methodologies for superior control of quantum phenomena. As an important step, integration of these solutions on a semiconductor chip is discussed, and outlook for the future of semiconductor quantum science and technology is given. Leading experts present their vision on semiconductor quantum science and technology All aspects needed to realize semiconductor quantum science and technology are explained Quantum semiconductors from overviewed a tutorial introduction to the state-of-the-art




Between Science and Technology


Book Description

This book contains the papers presented at a conference organised in honour of H.B.G. Casimir's 80th birthday. Outstanding scientists from different fields of research were invited to discuss important recent developments and put them in a broader perspective.The resulting book is devoted to the following relationships between fundamental physical research and technological developments:- - the prognoses of technologically relevant phenomena on the basis of physical research; - the dependence of technological developments on physical research; - the spin-off of physical research for other disciplines; - the fact that fundamental research is required for the advancement of physics in general and of applied physics in particular. The famous Dutch physicist H.B.G. Casimir has made substantial contributions to the development of 20th century physics and was for several years head of Philips Research Laboratories. The diversity of topics addressed in this book reflects his wide range of interests.




Advanced Quantum Mechanics


Book Description

This book is based on lecture notes developed in last twenty-two years during which the authors have been teaching a core graduate course, Quantum Mechanics II, in Fudan University. It covers a very broad range of topics, presenting the state of the art in Quantum Mechanics. Discussions on some topics such as Levinson theorem, Casimir effect, the essence of special relativity, the interpretation of wave function, geometric phase, fractional statistics, and paradoxes in quantum mechanics, reflect to some extent the authors' own research results. The book is profound, practical, enlightening, and pleasantly readable. It is not only a very good textbook for students majoring in theoretical, experimental, or applied physics, but also a very useful reference for researchers as well.