В свободном доступе спецвыпуск Nature Milestones: Photons, посвященный изучению природы света.
Nature Milestones: Photons intends to reach far beyond Maiman's breakthrough, beginning with early systematic descriptions of light since the 17th century. Still, much of the fundamental understanding of light that we have today is based on its description as an electromagnetic wave, and that it comes in basic 'units' — photons.
The study of photons has not only fostered fundamental scientific advances, but has also led to important applications. The laser is among them, but there are many more. With this collection we want to give a taste of this rich history. Obviously, it is impossible for a collection such as this to do justice to all of the influential developments in this field. Instead, with the help of our advisors, we have selected 23 topics that as a collective highlight where the study of light has taken us so far and that provide a taste of what developments we might expect in the future. We have sought, in particular, to bring out the breadth of areas touched: from the foundation of quantum physics to modern telecommunication. Inevitably, many more topics must remain unmentioned: the photoelectric effect, laser cooling, synchrotron radiation, various spectroscopy, sensing and imaging techniques — to name but a few. But a selection had to be made, and we hope that Nature Milestones: Photons will prove an enriching reflection on the history of the field, and one that inspires further reading.
Источник: http://www.nature.com/milestones/milephotons/timeline.html
