Atomic/Molecular/Optical Physics
All contributors in Atomic/Molecular/Optical Physics
Optics & Physics of Metamaterials & Invisibility
Physicists doing research in optics and metamaterials may someday move invisibility cloaking from the realm of fantasy and magic to the realm of science and technology. more...
Can Hubble Space Telescope See Flag on the Moon?
Basic physics provides a formula for calculating the smallest detail the Hubble Space Telescope can resolve on the surface of the Moon. It is larger than a flag. more...
Obama Taps Steven Chu, Physics Nobel Laureate
Barack Obama's designated energy secretary shared the 1997 Nobel prize in physics. What is the science behind Chu's Nobel prize in physics? more...
Dispersion & Refraction in Optics
When white light passes through a prism it spreads out into all the colors of the rainbow. Physics tells us this results from refraction and dispersion. more...
Optics & Total Internal Reflection
Total internal reflection is the fundamental physics principle behind rainbows, the brilliance of diamonds, fiber optic cables, and other technologies. more...
When light is reflected the incident and reflected angles are equal. Specular reflection is from a smooth surface, and diffuse reflection from a rough surface. more...
In optics, Snell's law of refraction tells us that light is refracted, or bent, when it passes from one medium to another. more...
All feature articles in Atomic/Molecular/Optical Physics
Molecular Light Absorbance and Fluorescence
By: Art Ayers
Electrons can emit or absorb only specific amounts of energy to change orbitals and this energy change usually takes place via photons of light. more...
Invisibility - To Bend or Break from the Ether
By: Don Kaiser
People throughout history have romanticized about being invisible. Now scientists are synthesizing new materials that could turn this fantasy into a reality. more...
How Scanning Electron Microscopy Works
By: Sarah Mikula
Many people have a general idea of what electron microscopy is but why would someone ever choose to use a scanning electron microscope? more...
By:
Rupert Taylor
Twenty years ago two scientists said they had produced cold nuclear fusion, but nobody could repeat their work; now there is renewed interest in the science. more...
Operating A Nuclear Power Station
By: Anthony Toole
The central nucleus of an atom, is composed of tiny particles called protons and neutrons, held together by forces of enormous magnitude. more...
Properties of Fermions and Bosons
By: Isaac M. McPhee
Fermion and Boson classifications are not entirely set in stone. While individual particles are either one or the other, systems of particles can cause the laws to fail. more...
By: Isaac M. McPhee
Satyendra Bose and Albert Einstein published a paper in 1924 which to this day helps to explain the difference between various types of subatomic particles. more...
All contributing articles in Atomic/Molecular/Optical Physics