Physics Letters

This book provides a thorough introduction to the phenomenology of heavy flavour physics, those working on the B-factories, LHCb, BTeV, HERA and the Tevatron. It explains how heavy quark theory could be implemented on the lattice, and discusses the status of CP-violation in the neutral kaon system.

This volume contains very carefully compiled material presenting bibliographic descriptions of approximately 3500 papers, with a computer-generated index on authors, subject headings, corporate addresses and journals. There are many on-line services available on fullerenes, but they serve mainly current-awareness functions; none of them is selectively complete and carefully indexed and none can replace a complete retrospective bibliography, which most researchers in the field would want to have on hand in their laboratories and offices.

The book is a follow-up to the computerized fullerene bibliography related to the 1985-1993 period. It is a well-indexed overview of the journal literature on a topic for which the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded. It is an indispensable tool for any specialist interested in the literature of one of the most researched interdisciplinary topics in the sciences.

Nanotechnology is a 'catch-all' description of activities at the level of atoms and molecules that have applications in the real world. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair, or 10 times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. Nanotechnology is now used in precision engineering, new materials development as well as in electronics; electromechanical systems as well as mainstream biomedical applications in areas such as gene therapy, drug delivery and novel drug discovery techniques. This book presents the latest research in this frontier field. Contents: Preface; Electrospinning: A Novel Method for Metal Oxide Fibres; Nanofocusing Probe Optimisation in a Near-Field Head for an Ultra-High Density Optical Memory; Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Metallic Nanocluster Interfaces; Pre- and Post-Breakdown Conduction of Thin SiO2 Gate Oxides of MOS Devices: A Conductive Atomic Force Microscope Study; Topographic and Electrical Characterisation of Afm-Grown SiO2 on Si; Solvothermal Route used to Synthesize BN Nanocrystals and the Catalytic Effect of BN Nanocrystals; Covalently Attached Multilayer Self-Assembly Films and Micropatterns Comprising Metal

This book gives a comprehensive account of the development and present status of the field of soft (i.e. non-perturbative) phenomena encountered in the production of (multi-) hadronic final states by the collision of various types of particles at high energies. Phenomenological models used to describe the data are in general inspired by Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD) and the book repeatedly crosses the border OCo if at all existent OCo between soft (non-perturbative) and hard (perturbative) QCD."

Lasers and electro-optics is a field of research leading to constant breakthroughs. Indeed, tremendous advances have occurred in optical components and systems since the invention of laser in the late 50s, with applications in almost every imaginable field of science including control, astronomy, medicine, communications, measurements, etc. If we focus on lasers, for example, we find applications in quite different areas. We find lasers, for instance, in industry, emitting power level of several tens of kilowatts for welding and cutting; in medical applications, emitting power levels from few milliwatt to tens of Watt for various types of surgeries; and in optical fibre telecommunication systems, emitting power levels of the order of one milliwatt. This book is divided in four sections. The book presents several physical effects and properties of materials used in lasers and electro-optics in the first chapter and, in the three remaining chapters, applications of lasers and electro-optics in three different areas are presented