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Graser
A gamma-ray laser, or graser, is a hypothetical device that would produce coherent gamma rays, just as an ordinary laser produces coherent rays of visible light. Potential applications for gamma-ray lasers include medical imaging, spacecraft propulsion, and cancer treatment. In his 2003 Nobel lecture, Vitaly Ginzburg cited the gamma-ray laser as one of the 30 most important problems in physics. The effort to construct a practical gamma-ray laser is interdisciplinary, encompassing quantum mechanics, nuclear and optical spectroscopy, chemistry, solid-state physics, and metallurgy—as well as the generation, moderation, and interaction of neutrons—and involves specialized knowledge and research in all these fields. The subject involves both basic science and engineering technology. Research The problem of obtaining a sufficient concentration of resonant excited (isomeric) nuclear states for collective stimulated emission to occur turns on the broadening of the gamma-ray sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gravity Laser
A gravity laser, also sometimes referred to as a gaser, graser, or glaser, is a hypothetical device for stimulated emission of coherent gravitational radiation or gravitons, much in the same way that a standard laser produces coherent electromagnetic radiation. Principle of function While photons exist as excitations of a vector potential and so contain an oscillating dipole term, gravitons are a spin-2 field and so have an oscillating quadrupole term. For efficient lasing to occur, there are several conditions that must be met: # There must be particles in an excited state capable of emitting radiation at the desired frequency. In a normal laser, these would be valence electrons in an excited state. For a gaser, the more straightforward analog would be a binary system of massive bodies. # These particles must couple to supplied radiation, in order to provide stimulated emission. This could be possible in a gaser by a stimulated analog of the Penrose process. # The particles must ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectral Line
A spectral line is a weaker or stronger region in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum. It may result from emission (electromagnetic radiation), emission or absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to identify atoms and molecules. These "fingerprints" can be compared to the previously collected ones of atoms and molecules, and are thus used to identify the atomic and molecular components of stars and planets, which would otherwise be impossible. Types of line spectra Spectral lines are the result of interaction between a Quantum mechanics, quantum system (usually atoms, but sometimes molecules or atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei) and a single photon. When a photon has about the right amount of photon energy, energy (which is connected to its frequency) to allow a change in the energy state of the system (in the case of an atom this is usually an electron cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ground-state
The ground state of a quantum-mechanical system is its stationary state of lowest energy; the energy of the ground state is known as the zero-point energy of the system. An excited state is any state with energy greater than the ground state. In quantum field theory, the ground state is usually called the vacuum. If more than one ground state exists, they are said to be degenerate. Many systems have degenerate ground states. Degeneracy occurs whenever there exists a unitary operator that acts non-trivially on a ground state and commutes with the Hamiltonian of the system. According to the third law of thermodynamics, a system at absolute zero temperature exists in its ground state; thus, its entropy is determined by the degeneracy of the ground state. Many systems, such as a perfect crystal lattice, have a unique ground state and therefore have zero entropy at absolute zero. It is also possible for the highest excited state to have absolute zero temperature for systems that e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutron Capture
Neutron capture is a nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus and one or more neutrons collide and merge to form a heavier nucleus. Since neutrons have no electric charge, they can enter a nucleus more easily than positively charged protons, which are repelled Electrostatics, electrostatically. Neutron capture plays a significant role in the cosmic nucleosynthesis of heavy elements. In stars it can proceed in two ways: as a rapid process (r-process) or a slow process (s-process). Nuclei of Mass number, masses greater than 56 Iron peak, cannot be formed by exothermic thermonuclear reactions (i.e., by nuclear fusion) but can be formed by neutron capture. Neutron capture on protons yields a line at 2.223 MeV predicted and commonly observed in solar flares. Neutron capture at small neutron flux At small neutron flux, as in a nuclear reactor, a single neutron is captured by a nucleus. For example, when natural gold (197Au) is irradiated by neutrons (n), the isotope gold-198, 198A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Pumped Laser
A nuclear pumped laser is laser pumped with the energy of fission fragments. The lasing medium is enclosed in a tube lined with uranium-235 and subjected to high neutron flux in a nuclear reactor core. The fission fragments of the uranium create excited plasma with inverse population of energy levels, which then lases. Other methods, e.g. the He-Ar laser, can use the He(n,p)H reaction, the transmutation of helium-3 in a neutron flux, as the energy source, or employing the energy of the alpha particles. This technology may achieve high excitation rates with small laser volumes. Some example lasing media: * carbon dioxide * 3helium-argon * 3helium-krypton * 3helium-xenon Development Research in nuclear pumped lasers started in the early 1970s when researchers were unable to produce a laser with a wavelength shorter than 110 nm with the end goal of creating an x-ray laser. When laser wavelengths become that short the laser requires a huge amount of energy which must also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excited State
In quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ..., an excited state of a system (such as an atom, molecule or Atomic nucleus, nucleus) is any quantum state of the system that has a higher energy than the ground state (that is, more energy than the absolute minimum). Excitation refers to an increase in energy level above a chosen starting point, usually the ground state, but sometimes an already excited state. The temperature of a group of particles is indicative of the level of excitation (with the notable exception of systems that exhibit negative temperature). The lifetime of a system in an excited state is usually short: Spontaneous emission, spontaneous or stimulated emission, induced emission of a quantum of energy (such as a photon or a phonon) usually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radiochemistry
Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads to a substance being described as being ''inactive'' as the isotopes are ''stable''). Much of radiochemistry deals with the use of radioactivity to study ordinary chemical reactions. This is very different from radiation chemistry where the radiation levels are kept too low to influence the chemistry. Radiochemistry includes the study of both natural and man-made radioisotopes. Main decay modes All radioisotopes are unstable isotopes of elements— that undergo nuclear decay and emit some form of radiation. The radiation emitted can be of several types including alpha, beta, gamma radiation, proton, and neutron emission along with neutrino and antiparticle emission decay pathways. 1. α (alpha) radiation—the emission of an alpha part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borrmann Effect
The Borrmann effect (or Borrmann–Campbell effect after Gerhard Borrmann and Herbert N. Campbell) is the anomalous increase in the intensity of X-rays transmitted through a crystal when it is being set up for Bragg reflection. The Borrmann effect—a dramatic increase in transparency to X-ray beams—is observed when X-rays satisfying Bragg's law In many areas of science, Bragg's law — also known as Wulff–Bragg's condition or Laue–Bragg interference — is a special case of Laue diffraction that gives the angles for coherent scattering of waves from a large crystal lattice. It descr ... diffract through a perfect crystal. The minimization of absorption seen in the Borrmann effect has been explained by noting that the electric field of the X-ray beam approaches zero amplitude at the crystal planes, thus avoiding the atoms. References * * * Borrmann, Gerhard; ''Über Extinktionsdiagramme von Quarz'', Physikalische Zeitschrift 42, 157–162 (1941)''Die Absorption von Rön ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resonance
Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when an object or system is subjected to an external force or vibration whose frequency matches a resonant frequency (or resonance frequency) of the system, defined as a frequency that generates a maximum amplitude response in the system. When this happens, the object or system absorbs energy from the external force and starts vibrating with a larger amplitude. Resonance can occur in various systems, such as mechanical, electrical, or acoustic systems, and it is often desirable in certain applications, such as musical instruments or radio receivers. However, resonance can also be detrimental, leading to excessive vibrations or even structural failure in some cases. All systems, including molecular systems and particles, tend to vibrate at a natural frequency depending upon their structure; when there is very little damping this frequency is approximately equal to, but slightly above, the resonant frequency. When an Oscillation, oscillat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gain (laser)
In laser physics, gain or amplification is a process where the medium transfers part of its energy to the emitted electromagnetic radiation, resulting in an increase in optical power. This is the basic principle of all lasers. Quantitatively, ''gain'' is a measure of the ability of a laser medium to increase optical power. However, overall a laser consumes energy. Definition The gain can be defined as the derivative of logarithm of power ~P~ as it passes through the medium. The factor by which an input beam is amplified by a medium is called the gain and is represented by G. :G = \frac\ln(P)=\frac where ~z~ is the coordinate in the direction of propagation. This equation neglects the effects of the transversal profile of the beam. In the quasi-monochromatic paraxial approximation, the gain can be taken into account with the following equation : 2ik\frac= \Delta_E + 2 \nu E + i G E, where ~\nu~ is variation of index of refraction (Which is supposed to be small), ~E~ is complex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emission Spectrum
The emission spectrum of a chemical element or chemical compound is the Spectrum (physical sciences), spectrum of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation emitted due to electrons making a atomic electron transition, transition from a high energy state to a lower energy state. The photon energy of the emitted photons is equal to the energy difference between the two states. There are many possible electron transitions for each atom, and each transition has a specific energy difference. This collection of different transitions, leading to different radiated wavelengths, make up an emission spectrum. Each element's emission spectrum is unique. Therefore, spectroscopy can be used to identify elements in matter of unknown composition. Similarly, the emission spectra of molecules can be used in chemical analysis of substances. Emission In physics, emission is the process by which a higher energy quantum mechanical state of a particle becomes converted to a lower one through the emis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermal Motion
The kinetic theory of gases is a simple classical model of the thermodynamic behavior of gases. Its introduction allowed many principal concepts of thermodynamics to be established. It treats a gas as composed of numerous particles, too small to be seen with a microscope, in constant, random motion. These particles are now known to be the atoms or molecules of the gas. The kinetic theory of gases uses their collisions with each other and with the walls of their container to explain the relationship between the macroscopic properties of gases, such as volume, pressure, and temperature, as well as transport properties such as viscosity, thermal conductivity and mass diffusivity. The basic version of the model describes an ideal gas. It treats the collisions as perfectly elastic and as the only interaction between the particles, which are additionally assumed to be much smaller than their average distance apart. Due to the time reversibility of microscopic dynamics (microscopic r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
