The Physics of Atoms and Quanta is a thorough introduction to experiments and theory in this field. Every classical and modern aspect is covered and discussed in detail. As this text ends with the fundamentals of classical bonding, it leads into the second and more advanced book by the same authors entitled "Molecular Physics and Elements of Quantum Chemistry". This 6th edition includes new developments, such as new experiments on quantum entanglement, the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradoxon, Bell's inequality, Schrödinger's cat, and decoherence; the quantum computer, quantum information, Bose-Einstein-Condensation, and the atom laser are also discussed. Here, the student will find 170 problems and their solutions, which make this book a real study text.

The highly positive affirmation and wide reception that this book continues to receive from professors and students ahke is the occasion for this 7th edition. Once again we have included a number of valuable suggestions for improvements, which we address as appropriate. In addition, we refer to a number of developments in atomic physics. Of these new developments in regard to exotic atoms, we mention antihydrogen in par ticular, because fundamental experiments in matter and antimatter can be expected in the future. Furthermore, we have inserted a chapter on the behaviour of atoms in strong elec trical fields. Experiments with corresponding lasers could only recently be realized. We thank our Jenaer colleague, R. Sauerbrey, for his contribution of this chapter. We have also included a new chapter on the behaviour of the hydrogen atom in strong magnetic fields. The results are of profound interest for two very different fields of physics: on the one hand, according to classical physics, one expects chaotic behaviour from Rydberg atoms in magnetic fields that can be created in the laborato ry; thus, an association can be drawn to aspects of chaos theory and the problems of quantum chaos. On the other hand, the very strong fields necessary for low quantum numbers are realized in the cosmos, in particular with white dwarfs and neutron stars.

Unique approach covering all theoretical and experimental aspects 170 problems and solutions Covers all new developments Standard textbook in atomic physics

Autorentext
Prof. Hans Christoph Wolf, geboren 1929 in Karlsruhe, Studium der Physik, Chemie und Biologie in Freiburg und Tübingen, 1952 Promotion. 1952-1954 Wissenschaftler im Bereich Physikalische Chemie an der TH München. Nach einigen Jahren als Privatdozent an der (damaligen) TH Stuttgart ab 1964 ordentlicher Professor und Direktor des 3. Physikalischen Instituts der Universität Stuttgart. Forschungsschwerpunkt: die Physik organischer Festkörper. Der Autor ist Träger des Otto-Hahn-Preises der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft und der Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker sowie Mitglied im Editorial Board vieler internationaler Zeitschriften. Er wurde 1997 emeritiert.

Inhalt
The Mass and Size of the Atom.- Isotopes.- The Nucleus of the Atom.- The Photon.- The Electron.- Some Basic Properties of Matter Waves.- Bohr's Model of the Hydrogen Atom.- The Mathematical Framework of Quantum Theory.- Quantum Mechanics of the Hydrogen Atom.- Lifting of the Orbital Degeneracy in the Spectra of Alkali Atoms.- Orbital and Spin Magnetism. Fine Structure.- Atoms in a Magnetic Field: Experiments and Their Semiclassical Description.- Atoms in a Magnetic Field: Quantum Mechanical Treatment.- Atoms in an Electric Field.- General Laws of Optical Transitions.- Many-Electron Atoms.- X-Ray Spectra, lnternal Shells.- Structure of the Periodic System. Ground States of the Elements.- Nuclear Spin, Hyperfine Structure.- The Laser.- Modern Methods of Optical Spectroscopy.- Progress in Quantum Physics: A Deeper Understanding and New Applications.- Fundamentals of the Quantum Theory of Chemical Bonding.