As an introductory account of the theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena, this book reflects lectures given by the authors to graduate students at their departments and is thus classroom-tested to help beginners enter the field. Most parts are written as self-contained units and every new concept or calculation is explained in detail without assuming prior knowledge of the subject. The book significantly enhances and revises a Japanese version which is a bestseller in the Japenese market and is considered a standard textbook in the field. It contains new pedagogical presentations of field theory methods, including a chapter on conformal field theory, and various modern developments hard to find in a single textbook on phase transitions. Exercises are presented as the topics develop, with solutions found at the end of the book, making the usefil for self-teaching, as well as for classroom learning.

Hydrogen in Metals III is the fifth book in the series Topics in Applied Physics that discusses properties of metal-hydrogen systems. It considers results of both basic and application-oriented research, focusing on fields where recent progress was significant or where previous comprehensive reviews do not exist. The topics of the new volume are: the theoretical and the experimental status of hydrogen diffusion; nuclear magnetic resonance; neutron scattering; material problems caused by the hydrogen; application of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage and purification, for chemical engines, for hydrogen sensors, and for batteries and fuel cells.

Hydrogen in Intermetallics I is the first of two volumes aiming to provide atutorial introduction to the general topic of hydrogen in intermetallic compounds and alloys. In the present volume, a series of chapters, each written by two experts in the field, gives a comprehensive review of thefollowing areas: -preparation of intermetallics and their hydrides on a laboratory and industrial scale; - thermodynamic properties; -crystal and magnetic structure; - electronic properties; - heat of formation models; - magnetism and superconductivity.

The book covers the broad field of solid-state physics from the dense phases of hydrogen, through low-dimensional solids, quantum dots and nanostructures to superconductors. It provides a professional overview of solid-state physics as a real bridge between quantum mechanics and the latest technological achievements.

Nanodust and nanometer-sized structures are important components of many objects in space. Nanodust is observed in evolved stars, young stellar objects, protoplanetary disks, and dust debris disks. Within the solar system, nanodust is observed with in-situ experiments from spacecraft. Nanometer-sized substructures are found in the collected cometary and interplanetary dust particles and in meteorites. Understanding the growth and destruction of dust, its internal evolution, as well as the optical properties and the detection of nanoparticles is of fundamental importance for astrophysical research. This book provides a focused description of the current state of research and experimental results concerning nanodust in the solar system. It addresses three major questions: What is nanodust? How was it discovered in the solar system? And how do we interpret the observations? The book serves as a self-contained reference work for space researchers and provides solid information on nanodust in cosmic environments for researchers working in astrophysics or in other fields of physics.

The purpose of 'Numerical Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Media' is to provide a collection of recent contributions in the field of computational heat and mass transfer in porous media. The main benefit of the book is that it discusses the majority of the topics related to numerical transport phenomenon in engineering (including state-of-the-art and applications) and presents some of the most important theoretical and computational developments in porous media and transport phenomenon domain, providing a self-contained major reference that is appealing to both the scientists, researchers and the engineers. At the same time, these topics encounter of a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines, such as chemical, civil, agricultural, mechanical engineering, etc. The book is divided in several chapters that intend to be a resume of the current state of knowledge for benefit of professional colleagues.

Disorder is everywhere, inherently present in nature, and is commonly believed to be a synonymous with disturbance. As a consequence, the methodical and customary study of the dynamics of the electromagnetic field, both in the linear and nonlinear optical regimes, leans to rule out it from the treatment. On the other hand, nonlinearity enriches the physical disciplines and brings them closer to reality with respect to the linear approximation. Nonlinearity allows to stimulate a wide and rich ensemble of optical responses that beautifies the role of matter in the active processes with electromagnetic fields. Independently of each other, both of these mechanisms foster localization of light. What happens when light enlightens their synergistic interaction? When pushed together, light, disorder and nonlinearity make new and intriguing phenomena emerge. This text provides a comprehensive investigation of the role of disorder in the nonlinear optical propagation both in transparent media and lasers. Eventually, disorder promotes and enhances complex nonlinear dynamics opening new perspectives in applied research driven by the processes of localization of the electromagnetic field. The first experimental study of laser emission in granular media unveils how randomness magnifies and largely affect laser-matter interactions. Viola Folli in her research work touches and deepens the leading milestones of the new science named Complex Photonics.

1 H.H. Kausch, G.H. Michler: The Effect of Time on Crazing and Fracture.- 2 L. Monnerie, F. Laupretre, J.-L. Halary: Investigation of Solid-State Transitions in Linear and Crosslinked Amorphous Polymers.- 3 L. Monnerie, J.-L. Halary, H.H. Kausch: Deformation, Yield and Fracture of Amorphous Polymers: Relation to the Secondary Transitions.-

Molecular Sieves - Science and Technology will cover, in a comprehensive manner, the science and technology of zeolites and all related microporous and mesoporous materials. Authored by renowned experts, the contributions will be grouped together topically in such a way that each volume of the book series will be dealing with a specific sub-field. Volume 1 will be entirely devoted to the science of synthesizing molecular sieve materials and include aluminosilicate zeolites, porosils, silica and silica-alumina with ordered mesopores, microporous materials with elements other than silicon and aluminum in the framework and pillared clays.

The International Symposium on the Science and Technology of Mesoscopic Structures was held at Shin-Kohkaido in Nara from November 6-8, 1991. The symposium was sponsored by the International Institute for Advanced Study and partly by Nara Prefecture, Nara City, Nara Convention Bureau, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan, as well as industrial organizations. We would like to acknowledge the support of the symposium by these or ganizations. The scope of the symposium was planned by the organizing committee to cover outstanding contributors in the fields of (1) ballistic transport, (2) electron wave guides and interference effects, (3) quantum confinement effects, (4) tunneling phenomena, (5) optical nonlinearity, and (6) fabrication technology of meso scopic structures. Twenty-six invited speakers were selected from the United States, Europe, and Japan. In addition twenty-four contributed papers were accepted for presentation at the poster session. These papers are included in the proceedings. We are grateful to the organizing committee, Ms. Y oshiko Kusaki of the Inter national Institute for Advanced Study for the secretarial service, and Dr. Nobuya Mori, Osaka University, for his scientific cooperation. Thanks are also due to the authors and the participants for their contributions to a successful symposium."

Almost fifteen years ago, because of the phenomenal growth in the power of computer simulations, The University of Georgia formed the first institu tional unit devoted to the use of simulations in research and teaching: The Center for Simulational Physics. As the international simulations community expanded further, we sensed a need for a meeting place for both experi enced simulators and neophytes to discuss new techniques and recent results in an environment which promoted extended discussion. As a consequence, the Center for Simulational Physics established an annual workshop on Re cent Developments in Computer Simulation Studies in Condensed Matter Physics. This year's workshop was the thirteenth in this series, and the con tinued interest shown by the scientific community demonstrates quite clearly the useful purpose that these meetings have served. The latest workshop was held at The University of Georgia, February 21-25, 2000, and these proceed ings provide a "status report" on a number of important topics. This volume is published with the goal of timely dissemination of the material to a wider audience. We wish to offer a special thanks to the IBM Corporation for its generous support of this year's workshop. We also acknowledge the Donors of the Petroleum Research Fund, administered by the American Chemical Society, and the National Science Foundation for partial support. This volume contains both invited papers and contributed presentations on problems in both classical and quantum condensed matter physics."

This book presents new concepts for a next generation of PV. Among these concepts are: Multijunction solar cells, multiple excitation solar cells (or how to take benefit of high energy photons for the creation of more than one electron hole-pair), intermediate band solar cells (or how to take advantage of below band-gap energy photons) and related technologies (for quantum dots, nitrides, thin films), advanced light management approaches (plasmonics). Written by world-class experts in next generation photovoltaics this book is an essential reference guide accessible to both beginners and experts working with solar cell technology. The book deeply analyzes the current state-of-the-art of the new photovoltaic approaches and outlines the implementation paths of these advanced devices. Topics addressed range from the fundamentals to the description of state-of-the-art of the new types of solar cells.

Local and global spatial coupling mechanisms form the basis of transport processes that are of fundamental importance for the occurrence and the dynamic evolution of patterns on a mesoscopic and macroscopic scale. The present volume deals with these concepts and investigates applications in the fields of biophysics and chemistry.

Some newly discovered effects lose their glamor after a short period of euphoria. Others, however, retain their fascination for a long time and, even as they mature, display unexpected features. The Mossbauer effect belongs to the second category. Rudolf Mossbauer's discovery of recoilless gamma-ray emission in 1957 immediately caused a flurry of attention, and confirming work appeared almost at once. Since then the flow of publications has steadily increased. Most studies follow predict abl e paths; the essential aspects of these "conventional" experiments have been described in the first volume of the present work (Mossbauer Spectroscopy, Topics in Applied Physics, Vol. 5). These straightforward investigations have not, however, exhausted the field, boredom has not set in, and unexpected applications continue to appear. In the present volume, Uli Gonser has collected contributions that display the "exotic" side of the Mossbauer effect. They range from a masterly de scription of the red-shift experiment to a clear exposition of a powerful solution to the old and painful phase problem in crystallography. Each of the contributions exhibits a different side of recoilless gamma-ray emission. Together they show that the field is very much alive and continues to delight us with elegant solutions to old problems, unanticipated glimpses at new phenomena, clever uses of new technical possibilities, and ingenious applications to fields far away from physics. I believe that novel features of the Mossbauer effect will continue to appear and that new applications will still be found."

Semiconductor power devices are the heart of power electronics. They determine the performance of power converters and allow topologies with high efficiency. Semiconductor properties, pn-junctions and the physical phenomena for understanding power devices are discussed in depth. Working principles of state-of-the-art power diodes, thyristors, MOSFETs and IGBTs are explained in detail, as well as key aspects of semiconductor device production technology. In practice, not only the semiconductor, but also the thermal and mechanical properties of packaging and interconnection technologies are essential to predict device behavior in circuits. Wear and aging mechanisms are identified and reliability analyses principles are developed. Unique information on destructive mechanisms, including typical failure pictures, allows assessment of the ruggedness of power devices. Also parasitic effects, such as device induced electromagnetic interference problems, are addressed. The book concludes with modern power electronic system integration techniques and trends.

For the first time this subject, including many systems of interest in Condensed Matter Physics, is treated in an unified way. Complexity emerges as one of the main ingredients dictating the collective behaviour of many systems. Glassy systems constitute one of the most interesting fields of Condensed Matter Physics for which also a considerable amount of experimental data and industial applications have been collected during the last twenty years. Systems exhibiting glassy behaviour are for example: real glasses, spin glasses, vortex flasses in superconductors, protein folding, etc. In this book the reader can see how the present theoretical understanding of these subjects is based on similar techniques and approaches hopefully allowing to develop a unifying structure that underlies the physical mechanism.

T. Wichtmann, T. Triantafyllidis: Behaviour of granular soils under environmentally induced cyclic loads. - D. Muir Wood: Constitutive modelling. - C. di Prisco: Creep versus transient loading effects in geotechnical problems. - M. Pastor et al.: Mathematical models for transient, dynamic and cyclic problems in geotechnical engineering. - M. Pastor: Discretization techniques for transient, dynamics and cyclic problems in geotechnical engineering: first order hyperbolic partial diffential equations. - M. Pastor et l.: Discretization techniques for transient, dynamic and cyclic problems in geotechnical engineering: second order equation. - C. di Prisco: Cyclic mechanical response of rigid bodies interacting with sand strata. - D. Muir Wood: Macroelement modelling. - M. F. Randolph: Offshore design approaches and model tests for sub-failure cyclic loading of foundations. - M.F. Randolph: Cyclic interface shearing in sand and cemented solis and application to axial response of piles. - M. F. Randolph: Evaluation of the remoulded shear strength of offshore clays and application to pipline-soil and riser-soil interaction.

The book gives a comprehensive description of the mechanical response of soils (granular and cohesive materials) under cyclic loading. It provides the geotechnical engineer with the theoretical and analytical tools necessary for the evaluation of settlements developng with time under cyclic, einvironmentally idncued loads (such as wave motion, wind actions, water table level variation) and their consequences for the serviceability and durability of structures such as the shallow or deep foundations used in offshore engineering, caisson beakwaters, ballast and airport pavements and also to interpret monitoring data, obtained from both natural and artificial slopes and earth embankments, for the purposes of risk assessment and mitigation.

1. B. Keszler, J.P. Kennedy, Akron, OH, USA Synthesis of High Molecular Weight Poly (Beta-Pinene) 2. Y. Chujo, T. Saegusa, Kyoto, Japan OrganicPolymer Hybrids with Silica Gel by Means of the Sol-Gel Method 3. A. Halperin, Mainz, FRG, M. Tirrell, T.P. Lodge, Minnea- polis, MN, USA Tethered Chains in Polymer Microstructures 4. T.Q. Nguyen, H.-H. Kausch, Lausanne, CH Mechanochemical Degradation in Transient Elongational Flow 5. P. Corradini, G. Guerra, Naples, Italy Polymorphism in Polymers 6. K.A. Armitstead, G. Goldbeck-Wood, A. Keller, Bristol, UK Review of Polymer Crystallization Theories 7. M. Fischer, Fribourg, CH Properties and Failure of Polymers with Tailored Distances between Crosslinks 8. M. Stamm, Mainz, FRG Polymer Interfaces on a Molecular Scale: Comparison of Techniques and Some Examples

During confined flow of bulk solids in silos some characteristic phenomena can be created, such as: sudden and significant increase of wall stresses, different flow patterns, formation and propagation of wall and interior shear zones, fluctuation of pressures and, strong autogenous dynamic effects. These phenomena have not been described or explained in detail yet. The main intention of the experimental and theoretical research presented in this book is to explain the above mentioned phenomena in granular bulk solids and to describe them with numerical FE models verified by experimental results.

In his thesis, Matthias Junk takes an innovative approach to assess the local structure and dynamics of biological and synthetic amphiphilic macromolecules capable of transporting small molecules. Replacing the latter with stable radicals, he uses state-of-the-art electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to describe the highly relevant transport function from the viewpoint of the guest molecules. Such, he demonstrates that the functional structure of human serum albumin in solution significantly differs from its crystal structure - a consequence of the protein's adaptability to host various endogenous compounds and drug molecules. Further, he shows that the thermal collapse of thermoresponsive hydrogels and dendronized polymers leads to static and dynamic heterogeneities on the nanoscale. These heterogeneities bear consequences for the material's hosting properties and enable unforeseen complex catalytic functionalities.

This book explores the interplay of bubble dynamics and shock waves, covering shock wave emission by laser generated bubbles, pulsating bubbles near boundaries, interaction of shock waves with bubble clouds, applications in shock wave lithotripsy, and more.

The science of mathematical modelling and numerical simulation is generally accepted as the third mode of scienti?c discovery (with the other two modes being experiment and analysis), making this ?eld an integral component of c- ting edge scienti?c and industrial research in most domains. This is especially so in advanced biomaterials such as polymeric hydrogels responsive to biostimuli for a wide range of potential BioMEMS applications, where multiphysics and mul- phase are common requirements. These environmental stimuli-responsive hydrogels are often known as smart hydrogels. In the published studies on the smart or stimu- responsive hydrogels, the literature search clearly indicates that the vast majority are experimental based. In particular, although there are a few published books on the smart hydrogels, none is involved in the modelling of smart hydrogels. For the few published journal papers that conducted mathematical modelling and numerical simulation, results were far from satisfactory, and showed signi?cant d- crepancies when compared with existing experimental data. This has resulted in ad hoc studies of these hydrogel materials mainly conducted by trial and error. This is a very time-consuming and inef?cient process, and certain aspects of fun- mental knowledge are often missed or overlooked, resulting in off-tangent research directions.

The characteristics of electrical contacts have long attracted the attention of researchers since these contacts are used in every electrical and electronic device. Earlier studies generally considered electrical contacts of large dimensions, having regions of current concentration with diameters substantially larger than the characteristic dimensions of the material: the interatomic distance, the mean free path for electrons, the coherence length in the superconducting state, etc. [110]. The development of microelectronics presented to scientists and engineers the task of studying the characteristics of electrical contacts with ultra-small dimensions. Characteristics of point contacts such as mechanical stability under continuous current loads, the magnitudes of electrical fluctuations, inherent sensitivity in radio devices and nonlinear characteristics in connection with electromagnetic radiation can not be understood and altered in the required way without knowledge of the physical processes occurring in contacts. Until recently it was thought that the electrical conductivity of contacts with direct conductance (without tunneling or semiconducting barriers) obeyed Ohm's law. Nonlinearities of the current-voltage characteristics were explained by joule heating of the metal in the region of the contact. However, studies of the current-voltage characteristics of metallic point contacts at low (liquid helium) temperatures [142] showed that heating effects were negligible in many cases and the nonlinear characteristics under these conditions were observed to take the form of the energy dependent probability of inelastic electron scattering, induced by various mechanisms.