Optics and Photonics
Optics and Photonics

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2013-03-19

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0309263778

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Optics and photonics technologies are ubiquitous: they are responsible for the displays on smart phones and computing devices, optical fiber that carries the information in the internet, advanced precision manufacturing, enhanced defense capabilities, and a plethora of medical diagnostics tools. The opportunities arising from optics and photonics offer the potential for even greater societal impact in the next few decades, including solar power generation and new efficient lighting that could transform the nation's energy landscape and new optical capabilities that will be essential to support the continued exponential growth of the Internet. As described in the National Research Council report Optics and Photonics: Essential Technologies for our Nation, it is critical for the United States to take advantage of these emerging optical technologies for creating new industries and generating job growth. The report assesses the current state of optical science and engineering in the United States and abroad-including market trends, workforce needs, and the impact of photonics on the national economy. It identifies the technological opportunities that have arisen from recent advances in, and applications of, optical science and engineering. The report also calls for improved management of U.S. public and private research and development resources, emphasizing the need for public policy that encourages adoption of a portfolio approach to investing in the wide and diverse opportunities now available within photonics. Optics and Photonics: Essential Technologies for our Nation is a useful overview not only for policymakers, such as decision-makers at relevant Federal agencies on the current state of optics and photonics research and applications but also for individuals seeking a broad understanding of the fields of optics and photonics in many arenas.

Harnessing Light
Harnessing Light

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1998-09-25

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 0309059917

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Optical science and engineering affect almost every aspect of our lives. Millions of miles of optical fiber carry voice and data signals around the world. Lasers are used in surgery of the retina, kidneys, and heart. New high-efficiency light sources promise dramatic reductions in electricity consumption. Night-vision equipment and satellite surveillance are changing how wars are fought. Industry uses optical methods in everything from the production of computer chips to the construction of tunnels. Harnessing Light surveys this multitude of applications, as well as the status of the optics industry and of research and education in optics, and identifies actions that could enhance the field's contributions to society and facilitate its continued technical development.

Photonic Devices
Photonic Devices

Author: Jia-ming Liu

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-06-11

Total Pages: 1108

ISBN-13: 9781139441148

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Photonic devices lie at the heart of the communications revolution, and have become a large and important part of the electronic engineering field, so much so that many colleges now treat this as a subject in its own right. With this in mind, the author has put together a unique textbook covering every major photonic device, and striking a careful balance between theoretical and practical concepts. The book assumes a basic knowledge of optics, semiconductors and electromagnetic waves. Many of the key background concepts are reviewed in the first chapter. Devices covered include optical fibers, couplers, electro-optic devices, magneto-optic devices, lasers and photodetectors. Problems are included at the end of each chapter and a solutions set is available. The book is ideal for senior undergraduate and graduate courses, but being device driven it is also an excellent engineers' reference.

With Liberty and Justice for Some
With Liberty and Justice for Some

Author: Glenn Greenwald

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2011-11-11

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 1466805765

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From "the most important voice to have entered the political discourse in years" (Bill Moyers), a scathing critique of the two-tiered system of justice that has emerged in America From the nation's beginnings, the law was to be the great equalizer in American life, the guarantor of a common set of rules for all. But over the past four decades, the principle of equality before the law has been effectively abolished. Instead, a two-tiered system of justice ensures that the country's political and financial class is virtually immune from prosecution, licensed to act without restraint, while the politically powerless are imprisoned with greater ease and in greater numbers than in any other country in the world. Starting with Watergate, continuing on through the Iran-Contra scandal, and culminating with Obama's shielding of Bush-era officials from prosecution, Glenn Greenwald lays bare the mechanisms that have come to shield the elite from accountability. He shows how the media, both political parties, and the courts have abetted a process that has produced torture, war crimes, domestic spying, and financial fraud. Cogent, sharp, and urgent, this is a no-holds-barred indictment of a profoundly un-American system that sanctions immunity at the top and mercilessness for everyone else.