Zero - Dimensional Magnetite

Pick a flower on earth and you move the farthest star.-Paul Dirac Dedicado a mis abuelos, a mis padres, y a mi amor Ryan C. Price ! v The simple beauty of a quantum system lies in its potentiality. Reality is waiting to occur, waiting for the system to evolve. 1 I have been successful at Georgia Tech due to the generosity of many people. I would like to sincerely thank the members of my committee for their time and patience; I know it has been trying. Dr .Mostafa El-Sayed was my first chemistry professor at the college level, and even though there were over 400 students in that class he still found a way to interact with me, and I'll never forget this fact. Dr. David Sherrill was a brand new professor when I started in his group and provided a great foundation for my graduate career. Dr. Uzi Landman has been a very charismatic professor and a great teacher. I learned more than just condensed matter physics from all his classes and I sincerely appreciate all of our conversations about science and life in general we had over the years. Dr. Walt de Heer was a great neighbor for several years and I can still think in rhythm to the sound of vacuum pumps. He also shared a certain philosophy about how to work with undergrads that I utilized for the rest of my time as a teaching assistant. Dr. Larry Bottomley is responsible for the trip from California out into foreign territory, The South. His kind words and encouragement from day one have provided the backbone for my entire time here. And finally, the advisor to the doctoral candidate, Dr. Robert L. Whetten, your unique way of seeing things has changed the way I view the world and science in general. Please continue to save the world, one PhD at a time! I would also like to thank the other people from the Tech community that have been instrumental to my work, including Dr. Ty was my first friend at Tech; she seemed to immediately recognize my fish-out-of-water feelings and went about fixing this by showing me horses. By the way, the gardenia you gave me is thriving! I have made many friends here and they have all added immensely to my quality of life including Mr. you were my first real student friend at Tech. Thanks …