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Helmholtz Reciprocity
The Helmholtz reciprocity principle describes how a ray of light and its reverse ray encounter matched optical adventures, such as reflections, refractions, and absorptions in a passive medium, or at an interface. It does not apply to moving, non-linear, or magnetic media. For example, incoming and outgoing light can be considered as reversals of each other,Hapke, B. (1993). ''Theory of Reflectance and Emittance Spectroscopy'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, , Section 10C, pages 263-264. without affecting the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) outcome. If light was measured with a sensor and that light reflected on a material with a BRDF that obeys the Helmholtz reciprocity principle one would be able to swap the sensor and light source and the measurement of flux would remain equal. In the computer graphics scheme of global illumination, the Helmholtz reciprocity principle is important if the global illumination algorithm reverses light paths ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray (optics)
In optics, a ray is an idealized geometrical model of light or other electromagnetic radiation, obtained by choosing a curve that is perpendicular to the ''wavefronts'' of the actual light, and that points in the direction of energy flow. Rays are used to model the propagation of light through an optical system, by dividing the real light field up into discrete rays that can be computationally propagated through the system by the techniques of '' ray tracing''. This allows even very complex optical systems to be analyzed mathematically or simulated by computer. Ray tracing uses approximate solutions to Maxwell's equations that are valid as long as the light waves propagate through and around objects whose dimensions are much greater than the light's wavelength. '' Ray optics'' or ''geometrical optics'' does not describe phenomena such as diffraction, which require wave optics theory. Some wave phenomena such as interference can be modeled in limited circumstances by adding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
T-symmetry
T-symmetry or time reversal symmetry is the theoretical symmetry of physical laws under the transformation of time reversal, : T: t \mapsto -t. Since the second law of thermodynamics states that entropy increases as time flows toward the future, in general, the macroscopic universe does not show symmetry under time reversal. In other words, time is said to be non-symmetric, or asymmetric, except for special equilibrium states when the second law of thermodynamics predicts the time symmetry to hold. However, quantum noninvasive measurements are predicted to violate time symmetry even in equilibrium, contrary to their classical counterparts, although this has not yet been experimentally confirmed. Time ''asymmetries'' (see Arrow of time) generally are caused by one of three categories: # intrinsic to the dynamic physical law (e.g., for the weak force) # due to the initial conditions of the universe (e.g., for the second law of thermodynamics) # due to measurements (e.g., for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferromagnetism
Ferromagnetism is a property of certain materials (such as iron) that results in a significant, observable magnetic permeability, and in many cases, a significant magnetic coercivity, allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagnetic materials are noticeably attracted to a magnet, which is a consequence of their substantial magnetic permeability. Magnetic permeability describes the induced magnetization of a material due to the presence of an external magnetic field. For example, this temporary magnetization inside a steel plate accounts for the plate's attraction to a magnet. Whether or not that steel plate then acquires permanent magnetization depends on both the strength of the applied field and on the coercivity of that particular piece of steel (which varies with the steel's chemical composition and any heat treatment it may have undergone). In physics, multiple types of material magnetism have been distinguished. Ferromagnetism (along with the similar effec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inelastic Scattering
In chemistry, nuclear physics, and particle physics, inelastic scattering is a process in which the internal states of a particle or a system of particles change after a collision. Often, this means the kinetic energy of the incident particle is not conserved (in contrast to elastic scattering). Additionally, relativistic collisions which involve a transition from one type of particle to another are referred to as inelastic even if the outgoing particles have the same kinetic energy as the incoming ones. Processes which are governed by elastic collisions at a microscopic level will appear to be inelastic if a macroscopic observer only has access to a subset of the degrees of freedom. In Compton scattering for instance, the two particles in the collision transfer energy causing a loss of energy in the measured particle. Electrons When an electron is the incident particle, the probability of inelastic scattering, depending on the energy of the incident electron, is usually smaller t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elastic Scattering
Elastic scattering is a form of particle scattering in scattering theory, nuclear physics and particle physics. In this process, the internal states of the Elementary particle, particles involved stay the same. In the non-relativistic case, where the relative velocities of the particles are much less than the speed of light, elastic scattering simply means that the total kinetic energy of the system is conserved. At relativistic velocities, elastic scattering also requires the final state to have the same number of particles as the initial state and for them to be of the same kind. Rutherford scattering When the incident particle, such as an alpha particle or electron, is diffraction, diffracted in the Coulomb potential of atoms and molecules, the elastic scattering process is called Rutherford scattering. In many electron diffraction techniques like reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), transmission electron diffraction (TED), and gas electron diffraction (GED), wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark-field Microscopy
Dark-field microscopy, also called dark-ground microscopy, describes microscopy methods, in both light and electron microscopy, which exclude the unscattered beam from the image. Consequently, the field around the specimen (i.e., where there is no specimen to scatter the beam) is generally dark. In optical microscopes a darkfield condenser lens must be used, which directs a cone of light away from the objective lens. To maximize the scattered light-gathering power of the objective lens, oil immersion is used and the numerical aperture (NA) of the objective lens must be less than 1.0. Objective lenses with a higher NA can be used but only if they have an adjustable diaphragm, which reduces the NA. Often these objective lenses have a NA that is variable from 0.7 to 1.25. Light microscopy applications In optical microscopy, dark-field describes an illumination technique used to enhance the contrast in unstained samples. It works by illuminating the sample with light that wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kikuchi Pattern
Kikuchi lines are patterns of electrons formed by scattering. They pair up to form bands in electron diffraction from single crystal specimens, there to serve as "roads in orientation-space" for microscopists uncertain of what they are looking at. In transmission electron microscopes, they are easily seen in diffraction from regions of the specimen thick enough for multiple scattering. Unlike diffraction spots, which blink on and off as one tilts the crystal, Kikuchi bands mark orientation space with well-defined intersections (called zones or poles) as well as paths connecting one intersection to the next. Experimental and theoretical maps of Kikuchi band geometry, as well as their direct-space analogs e.g. bend contours, electron channeling patterns, and fringe visibility maps are increasingly useful tools in electron microscopy of crystalline and nanocrystalline materials. Because each Kikuchi line is associated with Bragg diffraction from one side of a single set of lattice p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electron Diffraction
Electron diffraction is a generic term for phenomena associated with changes in the direction of electron beams due to elastic interactions with atoms. It occurs due to elastic scattering, when there is no change in the energy of the electrons. The negatively charged electrons are scattered due to Coulomb forces when they interact with both the positively charged atomic core and the negatively charged electrons around the atoms. The resulting map of the directions of the electrons far from the sample is called a diffraction pattern, see for instance Figure 1. Beyond patterns showing the directions of electrons, electron diffraction also plays a major role in the contrast of images in electron microscopes. This article provides an overview of electron diffraction and electron diffraction patterns, collective referred to by the generic name electron diffraction. This includes aspects of how in a general way electrons can act as waves, and diffract and interact with matter. It a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transmission Electron Microscopy
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a microscopy technique in which a beam of electrons is transmitted through a specimen to form an image. The specimen is most often an ultrathin section less than 100 nm thick or a suspension on a grid. An image is formed from the interaction of the electrons with the sample as the beam is transmitted through the specimen. The image is then magnified and focused onto an imaging device, such as a fluorescent screen, a layer of photographic film, or a detector such as a scintillator attached to a charge-coupled device or a direct electron detector. Transmission electron microscopes are capable of imaging at a significantly higher resolution than light microscopes, owing to the smaller de Broglie wavelength of electrons. This enables the instrument to capture fine detail—even as small as a single column of atoms, which is thousands of times smaller than a resolvable object seen in a light microscope. Transmission electron micr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Born Approximation
Generally in scattering theory and in particular in quantum mechanics, the Born approximation consists of taking the incident field in place of the total field as the driving field at each point in the scatterer. The Born approximation is named after Max Born who proposed this approximation in the early days of quantum theory development. It is the perturbation method applied to scattering by an extended body. It is accurate if the scattered field is small compared to the incident field on the scatterer. For example, the scattering of radio waves by a light styrofoam column can be approximated by assuming that each part of the plastic is polarized by the same electric field that would be present at that point without the column, and then calculating the scattering as a radiation integral over that polarization distribution. Approximate scattering amplitude Starting with a physical model based on the Schrodinger wave equation for scattering from a potential the scattering ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green's Function
In mathematics, a Green's function (or Green function) is the impulse response of an inhomogeneous linear differential operator defined on a domain with specified initial conditions or boundary conditions. This means that if L is a linear differential operator, then * the Green's function G is the solution of the equation where \delta is Dirac's delta function; * the solution of the initial-value problem L y = f is the convolution Through the superposition principle, given a linear ordinary differential equation (ODE), one can first solve for each , and realizing that, since the source is a sum of delta functions, the solution is a sum of Green's functions as well, by linearity of . Green's functions are named after the British mathematician George Green, who first developed the concept in the 1820s. In the modern study of linear partial differential equations, Green's functions are studied largely from the point of view of fundamental solutions instead. Under many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schrödinger Equation
The Schrödinger equation is a partial differential equation that governs the wave function of a non-relativistic quantum-mechanical system. Its discovery was a significant landmark in the development of quantum mechanics. It is named after Erwin Schrödinger, an Austrian physicist, who postulated the equation in 1925 and published it in 1926, forming the basis for the work that resulted in his Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933. Conceptually, the Schrödinger equation is the quantum counterpart of Newton's second law in classical mechanics. Given a set of known initial conditions, Newton's second law makes a mathematical prediction as to what path a given physical system will take over time. The Schrödinger equation gives the evolution over time of the wave function, the quantum-mechanical characterization of an isolated physical system. The equation was postulated by Schrödinger based on a postulate of Louis de Broglie that all matter has an associated matter wave. The equati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
