Fractals and Disordered Systems - Second Edition

Fractals and Disordered Systems - Second Edition

Fractals and disordered systems have recently become the focus of intense interest in research. This book discusses in great detail the effects of disorder on mesoscopic scales (fractures, aggregates, colloids, surfaces and interfaces, glasses and polymers) and presents tools to describe them in mathematical language. A substantial part is devoted to the development of scaling theories based on fractal concepts. In 10 chapters written by leading experts in the field, the reader is introduced to basic concepts and techniques in disordered systems and is led to the forefront of current research. In each chapter, the connection between theory and experiment is emphasized, and a special chapter on ‘Fractals and Experiment’ presents experimental studies of fractal systems. This second edition has been substantially revised and updates the literature in this important field. It is pedagogically written and so will be useful for students, teachers, and scientists who want to become familiar with this facinating subject.

Fractals and Disordered Systems - Second Edition

Optical Properties of Photonic Structures

Optical Properties of Photonic Structures

The collection of articles in this book offers a penetrating shaft into the still burgeoning subject of light propagation and localization in photonic crystals and disordered media. While the subject has its origins in physics, it has broad significance and applicability in disciplines such as engineering, chemistry, mathematics, and medicine. Unlike other branches of physics, where the phenomena under consideration require extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, energy, or isolation from competing effects, the phenomena related to light localization survive under the most ordinary of conditions. This provides the science described in this book with broad applicability and vitality. However, the greatest challenge to the further development of this field is in the reliable and inexpensive synthesis of materials of the required composition, architecture and length scale, where the proper balance between order and disorder is realized.

Optical Properties of Photonic Structures