New textbooks at all levels of chemistry appear with great regularity. Some fields like basic biochemistry, organic reaction mechanisms, and chemical thermody namics are well represented by many excellent texts, and new or revised editions are published sufficiently often to keep up with progress in research. However, some areas of chemistry, especially many of those taught at the graduate level, suffer from a real lack of up-to-date textbooks. The most serious needs occur in fields that are rapidly changing. Textbooks in these subjects usually have to be written by scientists actually involved in the research which is advancing the field. It is not often easy to persuade such individuals to set time aside to help spread the knowledge they have accumulated. Our goal, in this series, is to pinpoint areas of chemistry where recent progress has outpaced what is covered in any available textbooks, and then seek out and persuade experts in these fields to produce relatively concise but instructive introductions to their fields. These should serve the needs of one semester or one quarter graduate courses in chemistry and biochemistry. In some cases, the availability of texts in active research areas should help stimulate the creation of new courses. New York, New York CHARLES R. CANTOR Preface This book is not a traditional quantum chemistry textbook. Instead, it represents a concept that has evolved from teaching graduate courses in quantum chemistry over a number of years, and encountering students with diverse backgrounds."

The Eighth International Conference on Atomic Physics was held at Ch lmers University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden on August 2-6, 1982. Following the tradition established by earlier conferences in the series, it was attended by 280 participants from 24 countries. A total of 28 invited talks were delivered at the conference. These talks, which are presented in this volume, covered a wide range of topics in atomic physics in a broad sense. They extend from very basic problems (e.g., the interpretation of quantum mechanics in light of Bell's theorem and the feasibility of relativistic many-body calculations) to applied problems (e.g., laser detection of trace elements and spectroscopy of chemisorbed molecules). Professor M.Ya. Amusia was unable to attend the conference but his invited paper is included here. Professor V.S. Letokhov presented a talk entitled "Prospects of Laser Detection of Very Rare Isotopes, but was unable to provide a manuscript. At the conference, 175 post ers were presented. Abstracts have been published in a separate volume. It is very much appreciated that all the 1981 Nobel laureates, Nicolaas Bloembergen, Arthur Schawlow and Kai Siegbahn, were able to attend and deliver their invited talks. Professor Schawlow summed up the conference and this too is presented here. The con ference also benefited considerably from the presence of Professor 1.1. Rabi, who gave a much appreciated talk at the conference dinner. As this talk was given without a manuscript, it could unfortunately not be included here."

The best protection against environmental mutagens is to identify them before they ever come into general use. But it is always possible that some substance will escape detection and affect a large number of persons without this being realized until later generations. This article considers ways in which such a genetic emergency might be promptly detected. A mutation-detecting system should be relevant in that it tests for effects that are as closely related as possible to those that are feared. It should be sensitive enough to detect a moderate increase in mutation rate, able to discover the increase promptly before more damage is done, responsive to various kinds of mutational events, and designed in such a way as to maxi- mize the probability that the Gause of an increase can be found. Methods based on germinal mutation necessarily involve enormous numbers of persons and tests. On the other hand, with somatic mutations the individual cell becomes the unit of measurement rather than the in- dividual person. For this reason, I think that somatic tests are preferable to germinal tests, despite the fact that it is germinal mutations which are feared.

The impact which has been made on spectroscopy by lasers, and by this route on major segments of physics and chemistry, has received ample documen tation in the past several years. Two principal themes emerge from examina tion of the numerous books and monographs now available on this subject: first, an increase in spectral resolution to levels previously undreamed of; and, second, the generation of nonlinear phenomena as a result of the intense radiation fields available from laser devices. There is one additional property of laser radiation which, although used extensively in experiments, does not appear to have been as thoroughly reviewed as the foregoing aspects. This is the spatial and temporal coherence of the radiation field produced by the laser, which makes possible the coherent excitation of molecular energy states. This feature is the subject of the present volume. While the use of coherence methods in spectroscopy has been paced by lasers, it is by no me ans restricted to this technology. In the second and fourth chapters, microwave sources are discussed as generators of coherent radiation fields and are used to probe both rotational energy levels and spin states of electronically excited molecules. The phenomena discussed in this book, such as nutation, free induction decay, radiative echoes, rapid pas sage, and so forth, are really the same in different regions of the spectrum, and themselves echo from one chapter to the next."

This volume contains the proceedings of a workshop held at Drexel University from September 1 to September 3, 1980, under the joint auspices of Drexel University, The University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University. The workshop dealt with subjects of topical importance to the nuclear physics community: high spin phenomena, heavy ion reactions, transfer reactions, microscopic theories of nuclear structure and the interacting boson model, and miscellaneous topics. This pro ceedings contains all of the invited papers plus short manuscripts expanding on the materials of the invited papers. A total of about 85 participants came to the workshop. The format of the conference was kept informal on purpose, so as to facilitate the discussions. Unfortunately, these discussions, at times intense, could not be included in this volume due to the lack of secretarial help during the meeting. A great deal of current information was exchanged during the conference. However, the full impact of a conference can only be realized when the proceedings have been published and read by par ticipants as well as other colleagues in this field of physics who were not in attendance. We sincerely hope that these proceedings will be useful in this regard."

The first research on plasma was done in connection with the study of electrical discharges in gases. The focus of attention for physicists was the partially ionized plasma, the kinetics of which is governed by various collisional and radiative processes. The choice of this area of research was motivated largely by the practical problems of that time the creation of gas-discharge light sources, rectifiers, and inverters. Since the early 1950s interest in plasma physics has risen sharply, particularly in the study of the completely ionized plasma with its various collective phenomena, insta bilities, and the interesting and sometimes unexpected effects attending the propagation of electromagnetic waves in such a plasma and the action on it of external electric and magnetic fields. Interest in hot plasmas has been stimulated not only by the diverse and novel physical phenomena, but also by the problems arising in connection with controlled nuclear fusion. The advent, in the early 1960s, of new technical fields such as gas-discharge lasers, magnetohydrodynamic generators, thermoemission converters, plasma chemistry, plasma propul sion devices, various methods in plasma technology, etc., has led to increased interest in weakly ionized low-tempera ture plasmas. This is particularly true of nonequilibrium plasmas, which are characterized by an extraordinary diver sity of states and properties."

The Mossbauer effect is not only one of the simplest and most beautiful discoveries of nuclear phYSics, it is one of those discoveries which, to the highest degre'e, tend to produce and develop new ties between nu clear physics and the other branches of physics as well as the other natural sciences and engineering. Two of our earlier papers which form the basis of this monograph were devoted to "propaganda" for the Mossbauer effect among chemists and "propaganda" for the chemical applications of the effect among nuclear physicists. The first paper, presented in January 1962 at the Scientific Colloquium of the Learned Council of the Theory of Chemical Structure, Kinetics, and Reactivity of the Di vision of Chemical Sciences of the Academy of Sci ences of the USSR, gave a general description of the Mossbauer effect and the methods by which it is observed" and enumerated a number of problems in structural chemistry, chemical kinetics, and radiation chemlstry that might well be studied by observing the Mossbauer spectra, in particular those of organotin compounds."

This volume contains the lectures presented at the NATO Advanced study Institute "Fundamental Processes of Atomic Dynamics" held in Maratea. Italy from September 20th to October 2nd 1987. The institute and this volume were conceived as a natural complement to previous institutes held in Maratea (1982) and in Santa Flavia (1984. ) whose proceedings are to be found in NATO ASI Series B vol. 103 and 134 respectively. The subject matter of these institutes was the study of the funda mental processes occurring in the interactions of atoms with photons. electrons and heavy-ions. The aim has been to unify these processes in a coherent experimen tal and theoretical approach. The present volume brings this approach up to date and contains in addition. for contrast and variety. a description of similar dynamical processes in the study of clusters and surfaces. The institute was opened with a lecture by Joe Macek in which he summarised the current status of atomic collision research. propounded the philosophy of a unified approach to structure, fragmentation and collision and posed the outstanding questions in the field. This lecture forms the introduction to this volume. The subject matter was divided into experiment and theory with the lectures inter-linked so that the one could re-inforce the other. The whole of the theoretical part of the institute was organised by Ugo Fano as an on-going symposium."

The Advanced Study Institute (AS I) entitled "Phase Transitions in Surface Films" was held at the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice, Sicily from June 19 to June 29, 1990. It reviewed the present understanding (experimental and theoretical) of phase transitions of surfaces, interfaces, and thin ftlms as well as the related structural and dynamical properties of these systems. From its inception, this ASI was envisioned as a sequel to one of the same title organized eleven years earlier by J. G. Dash and J. Ruvalds which was also held at the Ettore Majorana Centre. The previous ASI reflected the progress which had been made in understanding quasi two-dimensional (2D) states of matter, particularly adsorbed monolayers, and the phase transitions which occur in them. At that time, the field was barely ten years old. The modern field to which we are referring here can be traced to the landmark experiments of A. Thorny and X. Duval. Beginning in 1967, they published a series of papers presenting evidence from vapor pressure measurements of 2D phases of krypton and other gases adsorbed on polycrystalline (exfoliated) graphite. Their work led to a large number of thermodynamic and scattering experiments on physisorbed ftlms. This in turn motivated a great deal of theoretical interest in 2D systems and their phase transitions.

The use of ion accelerators for purposes other than nuclear l physics research has expanded to the point where lother uses are now the most typical. The point has been reached where there are as many ion accelerators in industry, as in universities; and the bulk of new accelerator purchases appears to be for applied pur poses. We mention this as introduction to a tribute to an earlier book: IINew Uses of Low Energy Accelerators" (1968). The authors of tnis book were almost all nuclear physicists. This book ad dressed itself to new uses other than nuclear research. And in great part because of the widespread seminal influence of this book, many of the new uses discussed became mature fields of re search with their own conferences and publications. We have attempted in this book to both update with topics not included in the first book, and to present in a more tutorial and detailed manner the topics discussed. This book is in many ways a joint book. All chapters were the result of considerable collaboration between the authors. We hope that, above all, we have written with clarity. We welcome comments and questions from any reader. James F. Ziegler IBM-Research v CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. Ion-Excited X-Ray Analysis of Environmental Samples Thomas A. Cahill I. Introduction ....... ......"

These Proceedings report the scholarly work presented in Leningrad at the largest conference ever held on luminescence. In addition to the large number of delegates, the Conference was dis tinguished by strong and balanced representation on the program of papers from capitalist and socialist nations. The Conference was sponsored by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics and by the Academy of Science of the USSR. As noted in the Opening Ceremony, this Conference is in the series held approximately every three years since 1938. All branches of luminescence are included. It was recognized, during the early stages of organization of the Conference, that there would be difficulties associated with the preparation of an English version of the Proceedings. Until just before the Conference, it was not evident whether translations of the Russian papers would be available and whether facilities would exist at the Conference for a working publication committee to edit the manuscripts. It was not possible, therefore, to make contractual arrangements before the Conference for publication."

The sixth Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on Techniques and Concepts of High Energy Physics was held at the Club St. Croix, in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The ASI brought together a total of 70 participants, from 21 different countries. Despite logistical problems caused by hurricane Hugo, it was a very successful meeting. Hugo's destruction did little to dampen the dedication of the inspiring lecturers and the exceptional enthusiasm of the student body; nevertheless, the immense damage caused to the beautiful island was very saddening indeed. The primary support for the meeting was again provided by the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO. The ASI was cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, by Fermilab, by the National Science Foundation, and by the University of Rochester. A special contribution from the Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Trust provided an important degree of flexibility, as well as support for worthy students from developing countries. As in the case of the previous ASls, the scientific program was designed for advanced graduate students and recent PhD recipients in experimental particle physics. The present volume of lectures should complement the material published in the first five ASls, and prove to be of value to a wider audience of physicists.

These proceedings report the lectures and seminars of a course entitled "Luminescence of Inorganic Solids," held at Erice, Italy, June 15-30, 1977. This course \'7aS an activity of the International School of Atomic and No1ecu1ar Spectroscopy of the "Ettore Hajorana" Centre for Scientific Culture. The course opened with an overvievl of the present status of luminescence research and with an assessment of its future trends. The following lectures introduced the basic formalism behind the interaction of matter with the radiation field and the lattice phonons. The luminescence properties of various classes of in organic materials were treated next, for the specific cases of unfilled-shell activators (transition metal, lanthanide and actinide ions) and filled-s e11 activators (s2 and d10 ions). Different models suitable for the description of the luminescence properties of semiconductors vlere examined next. The dynamics of energy transfer and relaxation in the excited state of t;1e activators were treated in lectures devoted to the luminescence phenomena of sensitization, concentration quenching and thermal quenching. Finally, the relevance of luminescence studies to the field of phosphor technology and to the laser field Has examined. Each lecturer began the treatment of this topic(s) at a fundamental level and finally reached the current level of research. The sequence of the lectures was determined by the requirements of a didactical presentation. The emphasis of the course was primarily on basic principles. The formal lectures Here complemented by seminars and discussions."

The inter action between the magnetic field generated by the neutron and the magnetic moment of atoms containing unpaired electrons was experimentally demonstrated for the first time about twenty years ago. The basic theory describing such an in teraction had already been developed and the first nuclear reactors with large available thermal neutron fluxes had recently been con structed. The power of the magnetic neutron interaction for in vestigating the structure of magnetic materials was immediately recognized and put to use where possible. Neutron diffraction, however, was practicable only in countries with nuclear reactors. The earliest neutron determinations of magnetic ordering were hence primarily carried out at Oak Ridge and Brookhaven in the US, at Chalk River in Canada and at Harwell in England. Diffraction patterns from polycrystalline ferromagnets and antiferromagnets are interpretable if produced by simple spin arrays. More complex magnetic scattering patterns could often be unravelled, in terms of a three-dimensional array of atomic moments, if the specimen studied is a single crystal. The devel opment of sophisticated cryogenic equipment, with independently alignable magnetic fields, opened the way to greater complexity in the magnetic structures that could be successfully determined, as did also the introduction of polarized neutron beams. By the end of the 'sixties, many countries were contributing significantly to neutron diffraction studies of a wide variety of magnetic materials."

New applications of atomic spectroscopy in laser physics, laser spectrosco py, laser frequency and wavelength measurements, plasma physics, astrophysics, and some other related problems have been developed very intensively in the last years. As a result, the approximate methods of calculation of the transition probabilities and cross sections necessary for all these applications have become of vastly increased importance. At the same time, some new problems have arisen in the theory of spectral line broadening such as the shape of nonlinear resonances in the spectra of gas lasers, interference effects, and some other problems connected with various spectroscopic methods of plasma diagnostics. This book is devoted to the systematic treatment of the theory of the elementary processes responsible for the excitation of atomic spectra and the theory of spectral line broadening. The choice of problems is significantly different from that traditional for books on the theory of atomic collisions. The main goal of the book is to present the most efficient and useful of comparatively simple approximate methods for the calcula tion and estimation of cross sections. Numerous tables containing the results of approximate cross section calculations for the most important elementary processes are included in the book. Comprehensive presenta tion of the theory of atomic collisions is out of the scope of this book and can be found elsewhere. However, the fundamentals of the general theory of collisions which are necessary for formulation of approximate methods are given in Chapter 2."

The study of quantum fluids in three dimensions has been an important area for many years as it embraces Bose-Einstein condensation, superfluidity and macroscopic quantisation. These are fundamental aspects of physics which can be studied in liquid 4He. In contrast, quantum fluids in two dimension is more recent and less developed. Nevertheless it has shown many interesting phenomena including a rich variety of phases and the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. Intermediate between these dimensions are the restricted geometries of micro porous materials into which He may be introduced. The main quantum materials considered are 4He, 3He, D2, H2, H and electrons on the surface of 4He. The superfluid phases of 3He were excluded, e~cept for superfluid film flow, as 3He involves a separate set of problems. These proceedings arise from a lively Advanced Research Workshop on Excitations in Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Quantum Fluids held in Exeter 10-15 August 1990. Fifty scientists took part and each provided a written contribution. Perhaps it is a testimony to the discussions that several papers were revised by the authors after the meeting. The order of the chapters is the same as the presentations at the workshop. This arrangement starts with 4He in three dimensions which establishes a base from which the two dimensional properties can be viewed. At the end of each section there is a report on the discussion session. These are interesting and useful chapters as they clarify points made in the papers and define the boundary of current understanding.

A fundamental step towards gaining a deeper understanding of our world is to increase the resolution of the investigative instruments we use; i.e. to increase the energy, and hence to decrease the wavelength, of the particles which constitute our probes. Almost any substantial progress in our understanding of the fundamental laws of Nature has been obtained when a new generation of accelerators has allowed us to achieve a new energy range. The new results have generated new questions, thus encouraging us to construct new machines to reach even higher energy levels. The relative energy gain from one generation of accelerators to the next is progressively increasing. The energy ga in suggested by the theoretical predictions at the time has usually been much greater than the value allowed by our technical capabilities. But this smaller energy gain permitted by accelerator technology improvement has generally been sufficient up until now to bring about a substantial increase in our knowledge. Hence a large increase in accelerator energy is very important, and we know that this result can essentially be obtained by developing some new device or some new approach.

The understanding of electronic behaviour in solids when (some of) the valence electrons have both localized and band-like characteristics is one of the central problems of physics and chemistry in the second half of this century. Many advances have indeed been made using highly sophisticated techniques and concepts. Our objectives in bringing together specialists from different areas was cross-fertilization of ideas and redefinition of bottlenecks and problems. The testimony of the participants and the book which follows indicate a fair degree of success. This book is a record of discussions aimed at digestion and reassessment of some of the recent major advances in our understanding of narrow bands. Note that we expressly asked participants to give a short readable account of the major problems in their field and not to emphasize their latest results to be as "technical" as they might be in a normal scientific article. We did not ask for complete reviews of what was going on in the field and this book should not be read as such. Neither should it be approached as the sort of educational text which the NATO ASI proceedings are supposed to be. We have tried to produce a useable account of a workshop in which an attempt was made to define real problems and to distinguish them from illusory problems.

This second volume of the Charged Particle Traps deals with the rapidly expanding body of research exploiting the electromagnetic con?nement of ions, whose principles and techniques were the subject of volume I. These applications include revolutionary advances in diverse ?elds, ranging from such practical ?elds as mass spectrometry, to the establishment of an ult- stable standard of frequency and the emergent ?eld of quantum computing made possible by the observation of the quantum behavior of laser-cooled con?nedions. Bothexperimentalandtheoreticalactivity intheseapplications has proliferated widely, and the number of diverse articles in the literature on its many facets has reached the point where it is useful to distill and organize the published work in a uni?ed volume that de?nes the current status of the ?eld. As explained in volume I, the technique of con?ning charged particles in suitable electromagnetic ?elds was initially conceived by W. Paul as a thr- dimensional version of his rf quadrupole mass ?lter. Its ?rst application to rf spectroscopy on atomic ions was completed in H. G. Dehmelt's laboratory where notable work was later done on the free electron using the Penning trap. The further exploitation of these devices has followed more or less - dependently along the two initial broad areas: mass spectrometry and high resolution spectroscopy. In volume I a detailed account is given of the theory of operation and experimental techniques of the various forms of Paul and Penning ion traps.

Fuzzy systems and soft computing are new computing techniques that are tolerant to imprecision, uncertainty and partial truths. Applications of these techniques in nuclear engineering present a tremendous challenge due to its strict nuclear safety regulation. The fields of nuclear engineering, fuzzy systems and soft computing have nevertheless matured considerably during the last decade. This book presents new application potentials for Fuzzy Systems and Soft Computing in Nuclear Engineering. The root of this book can be traced back to the series of the first, second and third international workshops on Fuzzy Logic and Intelligent Technologies in Nuclear Science (FUNS), which were successfully held in Mol, September 14-16, 1994 (FLINS'94), in Mol, September 25-27, 1996 (FLINS'96), and in Antwerp, September 14-16, 1998 (FLINS'98). The conferences were organised by the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCKeCEN) and aimed at bringing together scientists, researchers, and engineers from academia and industry, at introducing the principles of fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms and other soft computing methodologies, to the field of nuclear engineering, and at applying these techniques to complex problem solving within nuclear industry and related research fields. This book, as its title suggests, consists of nuclear engineering applications of fuzzy systems (Chapters 1-10) and soft computing (Chapters 11-21). Nine pertinent chapters are based on the extended version of papers at FLINS'98 and the other 12 chapters are original contributions with up-to-date coverage of fuzzy and soft computing applications by leading researchers written exclusively for this book."

Advances in the Theory of Atomic and Molecular Systems, is a collection of contributions presenting recent theoretical and computational developments that provide new insights into the structure, properties, and behavior of a variety of atomic and molecular systems. This volume (subtitled Dynamics, Spectroscopy, Clusters, and Nanostructures ) deals with the topics of Quantum Dynamics and Spectroscopy, Complexes and Clusters, and Nanostructures and Complex Systems .

This volume is an invaluable resource for faculty, graduate students, and researchers interested in theoretical and computational chemistry and physics, physical chemistry and chemical physics, molecular spectroscopy, and related areas of science and engineering."

The teaching of solid state physics essentially concerns focusing on crystals and their properties. We study crystals and their properties because of the simple and elegant results obtained from the analysis of a spatially periodic system; this is why the analysis can be made considering a small set of atoms that represent the whole system of many particles. In contrast to the formal neat approach to crystals, the study of str- turally disordered condensed systems is somewhat complicated and often leads to relatively imprecise results, not to mention the experimental and computational e?ort involved. As such, almost all university textbooks, - cluding the advanced course books, only brie?y touch on the physics of am- phous systems. In any case, both the fundamental aspect and the ever wider industrial applications have given structurally disordered matter a role that should not be overlooked. The study of amorphous solids and their structure, stability and properties is a vibrant research branch; it is di?cult to imagine how any physicist, chemist or engineer who has to deal with materials could possibly ignore this class of systems. The author of Disordered Matter - an Introduction uses this course book atthePolitecnicoinMilan,Italy.Collectingthematerialforthecourseproved no mean task, leading him to have to prepare ad hoc didactic material. The continualexchangebetweenteacherandstudenthasledtothepresentversion of the book.

E. L. Zebroski During the 1970s, there was rapid growth of a philosophy that assumes that deindustrialization will result in an Elysian postindustrial society. This view is generally antitechnology; commonly in opposition to large-scale energy sources; and often supportive of high-cost, speculative, or at most, small-scale energy sources. The social and economic costs of policies which would lead to dein dustrialization are ignored or considered to be irrelevant. The development of civilian nuclear energy as a by-product of wartime developments also brings with it an association with the fear of nuclear weapons and with the repugnance for war in general. Many of these views and associations mingle to provide significant political constituencies. These have had consid erable impact on party platforms and elections. Also, another important aspect is the conservation viewpoint. This view--correctly--concerns the fact that in definite increase in per capita energy consumption, coupled with increasing U.S. and world populations, must at some point be restrained by limits on resources as well as by limits arising from environmental effects. All of these concerns have been subject to voluminous analysis, publications, and public discussion. They underlie one of the dominant social movements of the 1970s and 1980s. Indefinite exponential growth of energy production is neither possible nor de sirable."

ATOMIC PHYSICS 4 extends the series of books containing the invited papers presented at each "International Conference on Atomic Physics." FICAP, the fourth conference of this type since its foun dation in 1968, was held at the University of Heidelberg. The goal of these conferences, to cover the field of atomic physics with all its different branches, to review the present status of research, to revive the fundamental basis of atomic physics and to emphasize future developments of this field as well as its applications was met by more than thirty invited speakers, leaders in the field of atomic physics. Their talks were supplemented by more than two hundred contributed papers contained in the FICAP Book of Abstracts. This volume begins with papers given in honour and memory of E. U. Condon, to whom this conference was dedicated. It continues with articles on fundamental interactions in atoms and Quantum electrodynamics, on the fast progressing field of high energy heavy ion collisions and Quasi-molecules, on electronic and atomic collisions and the structure of electronic and -mesic atoms. The volume closes with contributions concerning the application of la sers in atomic physics, a new field of vastly increasing importance to fundamental experiments as well as applications. We feel that this book contains a very stimulating account of the present main streams of research in atomic physics and its possible future di rections."

This volume contains the proceedings of the first in a series of biennial NEC Symposia on Fundamental Approaches to New Material Phases sponsored by the NEC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. The symposium was held Octo ber 20-22, 1986, at Hakone Kanko Hotel in Hakone near Mt. Fuji, and on October 23 at NEC Laboratories in Kawasaki, Japan. About 40 partic ipants stayed together at the symposium sites during this period. They enjoyed intense and wide-ranging discussions in a conference room facing Mt. Fuji and the beautiful lake Ashinoko extending from the foot of the slope in the old crater. The title of the volume, Microclusters, means microscopic aggregates consisting of a few tens through a few hundreds of atoms. Microclusters, which are too big to be described as inorganic molecules but too small to have translational symmetry, are expected to show exotic properties which can be found in neither molecules nor solids. In the past few years the research field of microclusters has shown rapid and epoch-making de velopment. This is partly due to rapid development of the experimental techniques which have enabled the production of relatively dense, non interacting microclusters of various sizes in the form of cluster beams, thus allowing measurement of the properties of a free microcluster of a given size."