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...

One often hears that nanoscience or, in other words, the knowledge and control of matter at length scales of a few nanometers, will be the scientific frontier of the 21st century. Although it has become almost commonplace, this prediction deserves some justification. The technological and scientific stakes of nanoscience indeed encompass many fields of science: they include the ultimate miniaturization of electronic devices to acquire, store, and process information, and also such basic endeavors as understanding the microscopic processes and patterns responsible for the physical properties...