Norman Ramsey

" ... there have been remarkably few books on molecular beams ... it is my hope that this book will satisfy the need for a detailed, consistent, and up-to-date discussion of the subject of molecular beams."--Preface.

Physicist. Topics include: education, Columbia; Depression; Cambridge University, England; research with I.I. Rabi, Enrico Fermi; National Defense Research Committee radiation laboratory; Massuchusetts Institute of Technology; England, 1941; security problems; radar; Manhattan Project, 1943; Los Alamos; discussions on use of bomb and possible targets; Trinity test; Tinian; estimates of damage, Hiroshima; Brookhaven; Harvard; Congressional investigations; Harold Velde and Joseph McCarthy hearings; area rule; appearance on "Meet the Press," subsequent meeting with Senator McCarthy; contempt citations; Kamen trial; Robert Oppenheimer case; Gray Board; science adviser, North Atlantic Treaty Organization; impressions of General Leslie Groves, Admiral Lewis L. Strauss, Edward Teller.

This book contains contributions written by the world-leading scientists in high-resolution laser spectroscopy, quantum optics and laser physics. Emphasis is placed on precision related to results in a variety of fields, such as atomic clocks, frequency standards, and the measurement of physical constants in atomic physics. Furthermore, illustrations and engineering applications of the fundamentals of quantum mechanics are widely covered. It has contributions by Nobel prize winners Norman F. Ramsey, Steven Chu, and Carl E. Wieman and is dedicated to Theodor W. Hänsch on the occasion of his 60th birthday.