Theory and Measurement: Relaxation Versus Resonance

Could classical electromagnetic mechanisms be extended to molecules from the macrostructures they compose? Can the top-down approach be used? In this chapter, we will examine that premise to exhaustion and see what remains. We will end with the possible mechanisms that have been suggested and examined beyond thermal mechanisms and assess whether these are fundamental and how they may be dependent on some aspects of classical theory or whether they necessitate new theories.