Ultracold Gases and Quantum Information: Lecture Notes of the Les Houches Summer School in Singapore,edited by C. Miniatura,L-C. Kwek,M. Ducloy,B. Grémaud,B-G. Englert,L.F. Cugliandolo,A. Ekert and K. K. Phua

Measurements of the Faraday magneto-optical effect and of optical absorption in magnetic garnet crystals and films are reviewed. Earlier work was restricted to measurements in the visible spectrum; these measurements showed that the transparency was sufficient to allow magnetic domains to be studied in relatively thick slabs. Within the last year or so interest has been renewed in extending magneto-optical measurements beyond the visible spectrum. In particular, extremely low absorptions are found in the wavelength range of approximately 1–5 microns. Thie work is, in no small way, spurred by the possibility of developing a light-beam modulator using the Faraday effect in this wavelength range. Recent measurements at very short wavelengths using garnet films are also reported. By extending the short wavelength measurements to 3000 Å, about two orders of magnitude increase in Fareday rotation and optical absorption are observed, compared with the visible spectrum measurements.

The Faraday effect has been used to measure magnetic hysteresis loops in single-crystal garnet slabs. Magneto-optical observation of the corresponding domain structures shows them to be particularly simple. Detailed correlation of domain structure and hysteresis loops is described; in addition, an estimate of the domain wall energy and its width is made from these measurements.

The garnets referred to in this review are yttrium iron garnet (YIG), gadolinium iron garnet (GdIG), and YIG doped with gallium (YGaIG).     

科学帅才K.T.康普顿

K．T．康普顿是美国著名物理学家，1908年从伍斯特学院毕业，次年在该校获得硕士学位，1912年在普林斯顿大学获得博士学位，他曾在1930—1948年间担任美国麻省理工学院校长，在该校大力推行改革，将基础科学研究引入工程教育，使该校的面貌为之一新，他也曾担任美国多项国家科学机构的要职，为美国的科学研究、军事科学研究和科学管理做出重大贡献。     

Dust in the Universe – Similarities and Differences,by K.S. Krishna Swamy

A simple microscopic deduction of Archimedes' principle as applied to gases is given in terms of the kinetic theory, and some conventional explanations of barometric effects are queried.