Unstable Nature is a popular science book offering a journey through the concept of instability in modern science with a focus on physics. Conceived for the curious reader wishing to go deeper in the fascinating and not yet popularised world of instabilities, it provides an immersion into paradoxical and unexpected phenomena - some of which hides in plain sight in our daily lives.

The book is written without technical jargon, and new concepts and terminology needed for the narrative are introduced gradually based on examples taken from accessible everyday life. The chapters are connected through a path that starts from exploring instabilities at the planetary scale and then passes through a description of unstable dynamics in macroscopic settings such as in human mechanical artifacts, fluid waves, animal skin, vegetation structures, and chemical reactions, finally reaching the sub atomic scale and the biological processes of human thought. Before concluding with some general philosophical remarks, a modern landscape about the possibility of seeing instabilities not only as a detrimental effect but as resources to be harnessed for technology is explored.

The book is enriched by a variety of professional anecdotes stemming from the direct research experience of the author. It features numerous connections of scientific concepts presented with other branches of the human experience and knowledge including philosophy, engineering, history of science, biology, chemistry, mathematics and computer science, poetry, and meditation.

Key Features:

Unstable Nature is a popular science book offering a journey through the concept of instability in modern science with a focus on physics. Conceived for the curious reader wishing to go deeper in the fascinating and not yet popularised world of instabilities, it provides an immersion into paradoxical and unexpected phenomena - some of which hides in plain sight in our daily lives.

The book is written without technical jargon, and new concepts and terminology needed for the narrative are introduced gradually based on examples taken from accessible everyday life. The chapters are connected through a path that starts from exploring instabilities at the planetary scale and then passes through a description of unstable dynamics in macroscopic settings such as in human mechanical artifacts, fluid waves, animal skin, vegetation structures, and chemical reactions, finally reaching the sub atomic scale and the biological processes of human thought. Before concluding with some general philosophical remarks, a modern landscape about the possibility of seeing instabilities not only as a detrimental effect but as resources to be harnessed for technology is explored.

The book is enriched by a variety of professional anecdotes stemming from the direct research experience of the author. It features numerous connections of scientific concepts presented with other branches of the human experience and knowledge including philosophy, engineering, history of science, biology, chemistry, mathematics and computer science, poetry, and meditation.

Key Features:

“Optical Frequency Combs: Trends in Sources and Applications” offers an overview of the recent advances on the physics, sources, and applications of optical frequency comb technology – one of the most exciting and fast developing research fields in photonics.

The book aims at showcasing recent advances through contributions by key players in a multifaceted research ecosystem, and at the same time at providing a valuable service to the community, by offering an as much comprehensive as possible review which, at the same time, highlights challenges to be solved and promising future directions.

The main topics covered include: (i) an overview of different platforms for optical frequency combs generation as fibre lasers, quantum cascade lasers, integrated microresonators and waveguides, fibre resonators, electro-optic modulators and nonlinear fibres, multicore fibres; (ii) a selection of applications in different technologies including sensing, spectroscopy, precision metrology and optical clocks, microscopy, radio-frequency generation, distance ranging, and optical communications; (iii) a diverse range of physical methods for frequency comb generation such as modulation, laser mode-locking techniques, dissipative solitons and parametric gain in nonlinear resonators, nonlinear spectral broadening and supercontinuum formation in waveguides.

This book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and postgraduate students working and interested in the field of optical frequency combs, and more broadly in photonic technologies too.

Key Features:

· Edited by authorities in the field, with chapter contributions from subject area leading experts in academia and industry.

· Up-to-date with the latest technological developments, applications, and fundamental research from the field.

· Describes comb properties depending on source and generation platform, and comb specifications matching to application needs.

Unstable Nature is a popular science book offering a journey through the concept of instability in modern science with a focus on physics. Conceived for the curious reader wishing to go deeper in the fascinating and not yet popularised world of instabilities, it provides an immersion into paradoxical and unexpected phenomena - some of which hides in plain sight in our daily lives.

The book is written without technical jargon, and new concepts and terminology needed for the narrative are introduced gradually based on examples taken from accessible everyday life. The chapters are connected through a path that starts from exploring instabilities at the planetary scale and then passes through a description of unstable dynamics in macroscopic settings such as in human mechanical artifacts, fluid waves, animal skin, vegetation structures, and chemical reactions, finally reaching the sub atomic scale and the biological processes of human thought. Before concluding with some general philosophical remarks, a modern landscape about the possibility of seeing instabilities not only as a detrimental effect but as resources to be harnessed for technology is explored.

The book is enriched by a variety of professional anecdotes stemming from the direct research experience of the author. It features numerous connections of scientific concepts presented with other branches of the human experience and knowledge including philosophy, engineering, history of science, biology, chemistry, mathematics and computer science, poetry, and meditation.

Key Features:

Unstable Nature is a popular science book offering a journey through the concept of instability in modern science with a focus on physics. Conceived for the curious reader wishing to go deeper in the fascinating and not yet popularised world of instabilities, it provides an immersion into paradoxical and unexpected phenomena - some of which hides in plain sight in our daily lives.

The book is written without technical jargon, and new concepts and terminology needed for the narrative are introduced gradually based on examples taken from accessible everyday life. The chapters are connected through a path that starts from exploring instabilities at the planetary scale and then passes through a description of unstable dynamics in macroscopic settings such as in human mechanical artifacts, fluid waves, animal skin, vegetation structures, and chemical reactions, finally reaching the sub atomic scale and the biological processes of human thought. Before concluding with some general philosophical remarks, a modern landscape about the possibility of seeing instabilities not only as a detrimental effect but as resources to be harnessed for technology is explored.

The book is enriched by a variety of professional anecdotes stemming from the direct research experience of the author. It features numerous connections of scientific concepts presented with other branches of the human experience and knowledge including philosophy, engineering, history of science, biology, chemistry, mathematics and computer science, poetry, and meditation.

Key Features:

“Optical Frequency Combs: Trends in Sources and Applications” offers an overview of the recent advances on the physics, sources, and applications of optical frequency comb technology – one of the most exciting and fast developing research fields in photonics.

The book aims at showcasing recent advances through contributions by key players in a multifaceted research ecosystem, and at the same time at providing a valuable service to the community, by offering an as much comprehensive as possible review which, at the same time, highlights challenges to be solved and promising future directions.

The main topics covered include: (i) an overview of different platforms for optical frequency combs generation as fibre lasers, quantum cascade lasers, integrated microresonators and waveguides, fibre resonators, electro-optic modulators and nonlinear fibres, multicore fibres; (ii) a selection of applications in different technologies including sensing, spectroscopy, precision metrology and optical clocks, microscopy, radio-frequency generation, distance ranging, and optical communications; (iii) a diverse range of physical methods for frequency comb generation such as modulation, laser mode-locking techniques, dissipative solitons and parametric gain in nonlinear resonators, nonlinear spectral broadening and supercontinuum formation in waveguides.

This book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and postgraduate students working and interested in the field of optical frequency combs, and more broadly in photonic technologies too.

Key Features:

· Edited by authorities in the field, with chapter contributions from subject area leading experts in academia and industry.

· Up-to-date with the latest technological developments, applications, and fundamental research from the field.

· Describes comb properties depending on source and generation platform, and comb specifications matching to application needs.