The thermodynamic behaviors of multicomponent, elastic, crystalline solids under stress and electro-magnetic fields are developed, including the extension of Euler’s equation, Gibbs equation, Gibbs-Duhem equation, the conditions to be expected at equilibrium, and an extension of the Gibbs phase rule. The predictions of this new phase rule are compared with experimental observations. The stress deformation behaviors of the single martensitic crystal with and without magnetic fields were studied with the stress deformation equation derived by Slattery and Si (2005). One coherent interfacial condition between two martensitic variants was developed and used as one boundary condition of the problem. The dynamic magnetic actuation process of the single crystal actuator was analyzed. The extension velocity and the actuation time of the single crystal actuator are predicted. The relationship between the external stress and the extension velocity and the actuation time with the presence of a large external magnetic field was studied. The extended Gibbs-Duhem equation and Slattery-Lagoudas stress-deformation expression for crystalline solids was used. Interfacial constraints on the elastic portion of stress for crystalline-crystalline interfaces and crystalline-fluids or crystallineamorphous solids interfaces were derived and tested by the oxidation on the exterior of a circular cylinder, one-sided and two-sided oxidation of a plate. An experiment for measuring solid-solid interface surface energies was designed and the silicon-silicon dioxide surface energy was estimated. A new generalized Clausius-Clapeyron equation has been derived for elastic crystalline solids as well as fluids and amorphous solids. Special cases are pertinent to coherent interfaces as well as the latent heat of transformation.

We give a brief introduction to atomic physics and the motivation behind our experiments in the first chapter. The electron’s electric dipole moment is an interesting quantity which is yet to be measured. In the 3rd Chapter, we use the technique of chopped non-linear magneto-optic rotation (NMOR) in a room temperature Cs vapor cell to measure the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) in the atom. The cell has paraffin coating on the walls to increase the relaxation time. The signature of the EDM is a shift in the Larmor precession frequency correlated with the application of an E field. We analyze errors in the technique, and show that the main source of systematic error is the appearance of a longitudinal magnetic field when an electric field is applied. This error can be eliminated by doing measurements on the two ground hyperfine levels. Using an E field of 2.6 kV/cm, we place an upper limit on the electron EDM of 2.9 × 10−22 e-cm with 95% confidence. This limit can be increased by 7 orders-of-magnitude—and brought below the current best experimental value. We give future directions for how this may be achieved. In chapter 4, we examine the Hanle effect for linear and circularly polarized light for different ground states and we find opposite behavior in the transmission signal. In one case, it shifts from enhanced transmission to enhanced absorption and vice-versa in the other case. In Chapter 5, we study the transmission spectrum at different temperatures and device a way to find the number density. We then verify the Clausius-Clapeyron equation and also find the latent heat of vaporization of Cs. Finally, we wrap up with conclusions and future directions.