This chapter focuses on experimental techniques in macroscale thermal radiation. The contents mainly involve the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, the UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer, and the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) instrument. We will review some outstanding experiments performed by different research groups for measuring the properties of macroscale thermal radiation. This chapter can be served as a guideline for researchers to design the experimental setups.

There are many types of active ion channel beyond the squid giant axon sodium and potassium voltage-gated ion channels studied in , including channels gated by ligands such as calcium. This chapter presents methods for modelling the kinetics of any voltage-gated or ligand-gated ion channel. The formulation used by Hodgkin and Huxley of independent gating particles can be extended to describe many types of ion channel. This formulation is the foundation for thermodynamic models, which provide functional forms for the rate coefficients derived from basic physical principles. To improve on the fits to data offered by models with independent gating particles, the more flexible Markov models are introduced. When and how to interpret kinetic schemes probabilistically to model the stochastic behaviour of single ion channels will be considered. Experimental techniques for characterising channels are outlined, and an overview of the biophysics of channels relevant to modelling channels is given.

Pressure-driven flow through porous media is a well-investigated subject of fluid and gas dynamics. Since aerogels possess a nanostructure and porosities above 90%, the flow through the pores needs special consideration. We only discussgas flow through aerogels. First, there is of course the conventional viscous flow determined mainly by the pressure gradient and the viscosity, as in Hagen–Poisseuille flow. In such a flow situation, the molecules interact with each other more frequently than with pore walls. Knudsen flow is determined by the interaction of molecules with pore walls, meaning collision events between themselves are negligible. The third possibility is a sliding of molecules along the surface of the pore walls determined by the friction coefficient between molecules and the pore surface. The essential characteristic property determining the flow through a porous body is the so-called permeability. The chapter derives not only the basic flow equations for porous mediabut also discusses experimental approaches to determine gas phase permeability and compare experimental results with theoretical models.