Quanta, Matter

This engaging alternative pathway through the physical chemistry course is for instructors who prefer to start with quantum mechanics, then introduce statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. The new edition helps students even further by reorganizing its coverage into a series of brief "Topics" divided into "Focus" sections. There is also greatly expanded support for students who struggle with the mathematics require for the course.

Beginning with quantum mechanics, introducing statistical mechanics, and progressing through to thermodynamics, this new text for the two-semester physical chemistry course features a wealth of new applications and insights, as well as new Mathematical Background inter-chapters to help students review key quantitative concepts.

The envelope generators and LFOs have been extensively improved. The FEGs pick up amplitude and time scale knobs, and the FLFOs get amplitude control, switchable bipolar output, and a sync switch which causes FLFO 2 to reset whenever FLFO 1 restarts. In addition, four Macro knobs have been added to the modulation panel, and these can receive a global MIDI CC assignment, thus allowing you to control the macros from the MIDI controller of your choice, no matter what the author of the preset chose.

The user interface has been cleaned up, modernized, and given panels for clarity and to accommodate new controls.

Quanta is a full-featured ten-voice true stereo granular synthesizer, with up to a hundred 1000ms grains per voice, and full control over the grain state, with direct randomization and modulation of most parameters. Drag-and-drop a sample (WAV, AIFF, Ogg, or FLAC) on to the window and go to work.

This book focuses on the gradual formation of the concept of ‘light quanta’ or ‘photons’, as they have usually been called in English since 1926. The great number of synonyms that have been used by physicists to denote this concept indicates that there are many different mental models of what ‘light quanta’ are: simply finite, ‘quantized packages of energy’ or ‘bullets of light’? ‘Atoms of light’ or ‘molecules of light’? ‘Light corpuscles’ or ‘quantized waves’? Singularities of the field or spatially extended structures able to interfere? ‘Photons’ in G.N. Lewis’s sense, or as defined by QED, i.e. virtual exchange particles transmitting the electromagnetic force?