Ahmed H Zewail - Böcker

Ever since the beginning of mankind's efforts to pursue scientific inquiry into the laws of nature, visualization of the very distant and the very small has been paramount. The examples are numerous. A century ago, the atom appeared mysterious, a “raisin or plum pie of no structure,” until it was visualized on the appropriate length and time scales. Similarly, with telescopic observations, a central dogma of the cosmos was changed and complexity yielded to simplicity of the heliocentric structure and motion in our solar system.For matter, in over a century of developments, major advances have been made to explore the inner microscopic structures and dynamics. These advances have benefited many fields of endeavor, but visualization was incomplete; it was limited either to the 3D spatial structure or to the 1D temporal evolution. However, in systems with myriads of atoms, 4D spatiotemporal visualization is essential for dissecting their complexity. The biological world is rich with examples, and many molecular diseases cannot be fully understood without such direct visualization, as, for example, in the case of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The same is true for phenomena in materials science, chemistry, and nanoscience.This anthology is an account of the collected works that have emerged over the past decade from Caltech. Through recent publications, the volume provides overviews of the principles, the electron-based techniques, and the applications made. Thanks to advances in imaging principles and technology, it is now possible with 4D electron microscopy to reach ten orders of magnitude improvement in time resolution while simultaneously conserving the atomic spatial resolution in visualization. This is certainly a long way from Robert Hooke's microscopy, which was recorded in his 1665 masterpiece Micrographia.

Ever since the beginning of mankind's efforts to pursue scientific inquiry into the laws of nature, visualization of the very distant and the very small has been paramount. The examples are numerous. A century ago, the atom appeared mysterious, a “raisin or plum pie of no structure,” until it was visualized on the appropriate length and time scales. Similarly, with telescopic observations, a central dogma of the cosmos was changed and complexity yielded to simplicity of the heliocentric structure and motion in our solar system.For matter, in over a century of developments, major advances have been made to explore the inner microscopic structures and dynamics. These advances have benefited many fields of endeavor, but visualization was incomplete; it was limited either to the 3D spatial structure or to the 1D temporal evolution. However, in systems with myriads of atoms, 4D spatiotemporal visualization is essential for dissecting their complexity. The biological world is rich with examples, and many molecular diseases cannot be fully understood without such direct visualization, as, for example, in the case of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The same is true for phenomena in materials science, chemistry, and nanoscience.This anthology is an account of the collected works that have emerged over the past decade from Caltech. Through recent publications, the volume provides overviews of the principles, the electron-based techniques, and the applications made. Thanks to advances in imaging principles and technology, it is now possible with 4D electron microscopy to reach ten orders of magnitude improvement in time resolution while simultaneously conserving the atomic spatial resolution in visualization. This is certainly a long way from Robert Hooke's microscopy, which was recorded in his 1665 masterpiece Micrographia.

Why can't we have peace in our world, and what is its future? Can we provide basic education for all children? Why the decline in the Arab and Muslim World after reaching the acme of achievement? Is Islam the problem? In the land of opportunity — the United States of America — can the Republic maintain world leadership? Can the US sustain its leadership in innovation and prosperity, given the evolution of its culture and politics and the rise of other superpowers? In this century, how does knowledge acquisition through education and scientific research determine the "Wealth of Nations"?This volume, The Collected Work, is an assemblage of the author's "Reflections on World Affairs: Peace and Politics." The focus is on education, science for the have-nots — as well as for the haves — and science in diplomacy. Prof. Zewail believes that the use of the "soft power" of education, diplomacy, and economic development is far more effective, and much less expensive, than the hegemony of military aggression or politicized foreign aid. From his unique position straddling between East-West cultures and values, it is clear that most problems in our world arise from "not knowing" and "not having." It follows that education is critical, not only for enlightenment, or the "knowing," but also for boosting productivity and enhancing the "having."

Why can't we have peace in our world, and what is its future? Can we provide basic education for all children? Why the decline in the Arab and Muslim World after reaching the acme of achievement? Is Islam the problem? In the land of opportunity — the United States of America — can the Republic maintain world leadership? Can the US sustain its leadership in innovation and prosperity, given the evolution of its culture and politics and the rise of other superpowers? In this century, how does knowledge acquisition through education and scientific research determine the "Wealth of Nations"?This volume, The Collected Work, is an assemblage of the author's "Reflections on World Affairs: Peace and Politics." The focus is on education, science for the have-nots — as well as for the haves — and science in diplomacy. Prof. Zewail believes that the use of the "soft power" of education, diplomacy, and economic development is far more effective, and much less expensive, than the hegemony of military aggression or politicized foreign aid. From his unique position straddling between East-West cultures and values, it is clear that most problems in our world arise from "not knowing" and "not having." It follows that education is critical, not only for enlightenment, or the "knowing," but also for boosting productivity and enhancing the "having."

This is an avant-garde book edited by Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail with contributions from eminent scientists including four Nobel prize winners. The perspectives of these world leaders in physics, chemistry, and biology define potential new frontiers at the interface of disciplines and including physical, systems, and synthetic biology.This book brings about the confluence of concepts and tools, and that of different disciplines, to address significant problems of our time: visualization; theory and computation for complexity; macromolecular function, protein folding and misfolding; and systems integration from cells to consciousness. The scope of tools is wide-ranging, spanning imaging, crystallography, microfluidics, single-molecule spectroscopy, and synthetic probe targeting. Concepts such as dynamic self-assembly, molecular recognition, non-canonical amino acids, and others are covered in various chapters as they are cornerstones in building the trilogy description of behavior-structure, dynamics, and function.The volume is uniquely structured to provide overviews with historical perspectives on the evolution of ideas and on the future of physical biology and biological complexity, from atoms to medicine.

This is an avant-garde book edited by Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail with contributions from eminent scientists including four Nobel prize winners. The perspectives of these world leaders in physics, chemistry, and biology define potential new frontiers at the interface of disciplines and including physical, systems, and synthetic biology.This book brings about the confluence of concepts and tools, and that of different disciplines, to address significant problems of our time: visualization; theory and computation for complexity; macromolecular function, protein folding and misfolding; and systems integration from cells to consciousness. The scope of tools is wide-ranging, spanning imaging, crystallography, microfluidics, single-molecule spectroscopy, and synthetic probe targeting. Concepts such as dynamic self-assembly, molecular recognition, non-canonical amino acids, and others are covered in various chapters as they are cornerstones in building the trilogy description of behavior-structure, dynamics, and function.The volume is uniquely structured to provide overviews with historical perspectives on the evolution of ideas and on the future of physical biology and biological complexity, from atoms to medicine.

The modern electron microscope, as a result of recent revolutionary developments and many evolutionary ones, now yields a wealth of quantitative knowledge pertaining to structure, dynamics, and function barely matched by any other single scientific instrument. It is also poised to contribute much new spatially-resolved and time-resolved insights of central importance in the exploration of most aspects of condensed matter, ranging from the physical to the biological sciences.Whereas in all conventional EM methods, imaging, diffraction, and chemical analyses have been conducted in a static — time-integrated — manner, now it has become possible to unite the time domain with the spatial one, thereby creating four-dimensional (4D) electron microscopy. This advance is based on the fundamental concept of timed, coherent single-electron packets, or electron pulses, which are liberated with femtosecond durations. Structural phase transitions, mechanical deformations, and the embryonic stages of melting and crystallization are examples of phenomena that can now be imaged in unprecedented structural detail with high spatial resolution, and ten orders of magnitude as fast as hitherto.No monograph in existence attempts to cover the revolutionary dimensions that EM in its various modes of operation nowadays makes possible. The authors of this book chart these developments, and also compare the merits of coherent electron waves with those of synchrotron radiation. They judge it prudent to recall some important basic procedural and theoretical aspects of imaging and diffraction so that the reader may better comprehend the significance of the new vistas and applications now afoot.This book is not a vade mecum — numerous other texts are available for the practitioner for that purpose. It is instead an in-depth exposé of the paradigm concepts and the developed techniques that can now be executed to gain new knowledge in the entire domain of biological and physical science, and in the four dimensions of space and time.

The modern electron microscope, as a result of recent revolutionary developments and many evolutionary ones, now yields a wealth of quantitative knowledge pertaining to structure, dynamics, and function barely matched by any other single scientific instrument. It is also poised to contribute much new spatially-resolved and time-resolved insights of central importance in the exploration of most aspects of condensed matter, ranging from the physical to the biological sciences.Whereas in all conventional EM methods, imaging, diffraction, and chemical analyses have been conducted in a static — time-integrated — manner, now it has become possible to unite the time domain with the spatial one, thereby creating four-dimensional (4D) electron microscopy. This advance is based on the fundamental concept of timed, coherent single-electron packets, or electron pulses, which are liberated with femtosecond durations. Structural phase transitions, mechanical deformations, and the embryonic stages of melting and crystallization are examples of phenomena that can now be imaged in unprecedented structural detail with high spatial resolution, and ten orders of magnitude as fast as hitherto.No monograph in existence attempts to cover the revolutionary dimensions that EM in its various modes of operation nowadays makes possible. The authors of this book chart these developments, and also compare the merits of coherent electron waves with those of synchrotron radiation. They judge it prudent to recall some important basic procedural and theoretical aspects of imaging and diffraction so that the reader may better comprehend the significance of the new vistas and applications now afoot.This book is not a vade mecum — numerous other texts are available for the practitioner for that purpose. It is instead an in-depth exposé of the paradigm concepts and the developed techniques that can now be executed to gain new knowledge in the entire domain of biological and physical science, and in the four dimensions of space and time.

Recent improvements in the performance of light sources,i.e., reduction in pulse length and increases in wavelengthrange and power levels, have led toultrafast technologybecoming a basic tool in a wide variety of scientificfields. This book presents the very latest developments inthe rapidly rxpanding field of ultrashofrt lase pulses andtheir applications in physics, chemistry, biology, andartificial devices. It provides the most up-to-date recordof current research and references in the field of ultrafastphenomena.Contents:Elementary Dynamics: Chemistry, Biology and Physics -Spectrospcopy and Advances in Measurements - Tools: Sourcesand Amplifiers - High Intensity and Nonlinear Effects -Semiconductors, Confinement and Opto-Electronics - Biology:Primary Dynamics, Electron and Energy Transfer - Chemistry:Electron and Energy Transfer, and Solvation Dynamics.

This volume contains papers presented at the Ninth International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena held at Dana Point, CA, USA, from May 2 to 6, 1994. The biannual Ultrafast Phenomena Conferences provide a forum for discussion of the latest advances in ultrafast optics and applications in science and engineering. The vitality and excitement of the various disciplines sharing common interest in ultrafast phenomena were well represented at the meeting by the 438 participants from 18 countries, including 98 students. Cross-fertilization of ultrafast concepts and techniques among the various scientific and engineering disciplines continues to be the primary driving force behind this successful meeting. Progress was reported in the technology of generating ultrafast pulses, includ­ ing extensions in pulse width, output power, wavelength range, and intensity. Ultrafast spectroscopy continues to impact and expand the knowledge base of fundamental processes in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. A new series of lively, late-night panel discussions were introduced at this meeting, re­ flecting the maturing of the field into applications, while at the same time keeping a strong interest in fundamentals. Acknowledgements. Many people and organizations contributed to the success of this meeting. The members of the program committee deserve special thanks for reviewing all the papers and organizing the final program. The staff of the Opti­ cal Society of America very expertly took care of the conference arrangements.

“This two-volume set provides an excellent source of information on the state of the art in femtosecond spectroscopy. It is an invaluable reference for experts in the field as well as those interested in mastering the experimental and theoretical aspects of ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy.”J Am Chem Soc.These two volumes on Femtochemistry present a timely contribution to a field central to the understanding of the dynamics of the chemical bond. This century has witnessed great strides in time and space resolutions, down to the atomic scale, providing chemists, biologists and physicists with unprecedented opportunities for seeing microscopic structures and dynamics. Femtochemistry is concerned with the time resolution of the most elementary motions of atoms during chemical change - bond breaking and bond making - on the femtosecond (10-15 second) time scale. This atomic scale of time resolution has now reached the ultimate for the chemical bond and as Lord George Porter puts it, chemists are near the end of the race against time. These two volumes cover the general concepts, techniques and applications of femtochemistry.Professor Ahmed Zewail, who has made the pioneering contributions in this field, has from over 250 publications selected the articles for this anthology. These volumes begin with a commentary and a historical chronology of the milestones. He then presents a broad perspective of the current state of knowledge in femtochemistry by researchers around the world and discusses possible new directions. In the words of a colleague, ';it is a must on the reading-list for all of my students ...; all readers will find this to be an informative and valuable overview.';The introductory articles in Volume I provide reviews for both the non-experts as well as for experts in the field. This is followed by papers on the basic concepts. For applications, elementary reactions are studied first and then complex reactions. Volume I is complete with studies of solvation dynamics, non-reactive systems, ultrafast electron diffraction and the control of chemical reactions.Volume II continues with reaction rates, the concept of elementary intramolecular vibrational-energy redistribution (IVR) and the phenomena of rotational coherence which has become a powerful tool for the determination of molecular structure via time resolution. The second volume ends with an extensive list of references, according to topics, based on work by Professor Zewail and his group at Caltech.These collected works by Professor Zewail will certainly be indispensable to both experts and beginners in the field. The author is known for his clarity and for his creative and systematic contributions. These volumes will be of interest and should prove useful to chemists, biologists and physicists. As noted by Professor J Manz (Berlin) and Professor A W Castleman, Jr. (Penn State): femtochemistry is yielding exciting new discoveries from analysis to control of chemical reactions, with applications in many domains of chemistry and related fields, e.g., physical, organic and inorganic chemistry, surface science, molecular biology, … etc.

“This two-volume set provides an excellent source of information on the state of the art in femtosecond spectroscopy. It is an invaluable reference for experts in the field as well as those interested in mastering the experimental and theoretical aspects of ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy.”J Am Chem Soc.These two volumes on Femtochemistry present a timely contribution to a field central to the understanding of the dynamics of the chemical bond. This century has witnessed great strides in time and space resolutions, down to the atomic scale, providing chemists, biologists and physicists with unprecedented opportunities for seeing microscopic structures and dynamics. Femtochemistry is concerned with the time resolution of the most elementary motions of atoms during chemical change - bond breaking and bond making - on the femtosecond (10-15 second) time scale. This atomic scale of time resolution has now reached the ultimate for the chemical bond and as Lord George Porter puts it, chemists are near the end of the race against time. These two volumes cover the general concepts, techniques and applications of femtochemistry.Professor Ahmed Zewail, who has made the pioneering contributions in this field, has from over 250 publications selected the articles for this anthology. These volumes begin with a commentary and a historical chronology of the milestones. He then presents a broad perspective of the current state of knowledge in femtochemistry by researchers around the world and discusses possible new directions. In the words of a colleague, ';it is a must on the reading-list for all of my students ...; all readers will find this to be an informative and valuable overview.';The introductory articles in Volume I provide reviews for both the non-experts as well as for experts in the field. This is followed by papers on the basic concepts. For applications, elementary reactions are studied first and then complex reactions. Volume I is complete with studies of solvation dynamics, non-reactive systems, ultrafast electron diffraction and the control of chemical reactions.Volume II continues with reaction rates, the concept of elementary intramolecular vibrational-energy redistribution (IVR) and the phenomena of rotational coherence which has become a powerful tool for the determination of molecular structure via time resolution. The second volume ends with an extensive list of references, according to topics, based on work by Professor Zewail and his group at Caltech.These collected works by Professor Zewail will certainly be indispensable to both experts and beginners in the field. The author is known for his clarity and for his creative and systematic contributions. These volumes will be of interest and should prove useful to chemists, biologists and physicists. As noted by Professor J Manz (Berlin) and Professor A W Castleman, Jr. (Penn State): femtochemistry is yielding exciting new discoveries from analysis to control of chemical reactions, with applications in many domains of chemistry and related fields, e.g., physical, organic and inorganic chemistry, surface science, molecular biology, … etc.