This book surveys recent advances related to the application of single molecule techniques in various fields of science. The topics, each described by leading experts in the field, range from single molecule experiments in quantum optics and solid-state physics to analogous investigations in physical chemistry and biophysics. A unifying theme of all chapters is the power of single molecule techniques to unravel fluctuations and heterogeneities usually hidden in the ensemble average of complex systems. The concept for the book originated from a gathering of some of the world's leading scientists at the Nobel Conference in Sweden. TOC:From the contents: History of Optical Trapping and Manipulation of Small Neutral Particles, Atoms and Molecules.- Single Molecule Dynamics in Biosystems.- Triggered Emission of Single Photons by a Single Molecule.- The Electronic Structure of Single Photosynthetic Pigment-Protein Complexes.- Single-Molecule Microscopy Reveals Inhomogeneities on Cell-Membranes.- Single-Molecule Enzymology.- Single-Molecule Dynamics Associated with Protein Folding and Deformations of Light-Harvesting Complexes.- Coherent Intramolecular Dynamics.- Single-Molecule Fluorescence.- Single-Molecule Detection Using Near Infrared Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.- Optically Active Nanoparticles for Single-Molecule Spectroscopy.- 13 Years of Single-Molecule Spectroscopy in Physical Chemistry.- The Energy Landscape.- The Study of the Single-Biomolecules with Fluorescence Methods.- Confining and Probing Single Molecules in Synthetic Liposomes.weiterlesen