The conditions of our overpopulated planet with ever-growing energy needs, fossil fuels in limited supplies, and inefficient energy use world-wide, are creating a global crisis. Science has a responsibility, as well as a grand opportunity, to solve these energy-based problems of society. Science's new nanotechnologies, and the creativity they bring, are particularly appropriate to solve these problems. For example, energy-saving lighting, coupled with improved harvesting and conversion of sunlight into electric energy, will have a great impact on society's energy needs. Also, development of energy efficient and low cost fuel cells, which could eventually replace car engines, has a potential to improve everyday life greatly. Nanomaterials offer an opportunity to develop new low-cost materials as environmentally friendly solutions and renewable energy sources, in order to meet society's energy needs. Fortunately, a wide spectrum of the scientific community has become interested in developing these nanomaterials in order to solve the above energy challenges. Nanomaterials offer unique mechanical, catalytic, electronic, and optical features, which are different from those of the analogous bulk material (1). This is because nanomaterials have scale-dependent properties, due to quantum size effects, which means the nanomaterial size (10 - 100 nm) is smaller than the mean free path of their electrons. Thus, nanomaterials have great promise for use in harvesting solar energy, hydrogen production and storage, fuel cells, catalysis, chemical, optical sensors, drug delivery systems (such as liposomes), and nanothermite reactions (2-4). Fluorine-containing nanomaterials generally have certain unique properties which are often improved relative to the analogous non-fluorinated nanomaterials, and which therefore could be engineered. Although fluorine has the highest electronegativity of all the elements, which means that bonds to fluorine are generally quite polar, it is also in the second period of the periodic table, so it also has a small atomic radius and forms strong bonds. This produces the following properties, which also are characteristic of and bring great advantages to fluorine nanomaterials: high thermal and chemical stability, resistance to degradation by solvents, low flammability, low moisture absorption, low surface tension or energy, low dielectric constant, and serving as a strong oxidant under high energy conditions (5). However, little attention has been given to fluorine-containing organic and inorganic nanomaterials, which are predicted to have these unusual characteristics. This book presents examples of four diverse classes of these nanomaterials.

In 1979, Texas-native Donna Nelson traveled to the Himalayas-a region that had only been open to Westerners for two years. She was truly a pilgrim exploring a new world. Ms. Nelson traveled East on several more journeys, returned to the States and embarked on a popular lecture series to discuss what she saw, learned about the culture, and most importantly what she felt. A Thoroughly Great Escape is a memoir from that time period, showcasing Nelson's fascinating photos and personal commentary. The luminous beauty of the Himalayas contrasted with teaming cities and colliding cultures is the subject of this book.

Sometimes the greatest gifts come in the most unexpected packages, as Hollywood's leading man is to discover...

To the public, wildly popular Quinn Donovan seems to have it all...wealth, a thriving career, the adoration of fans world-wide, and a marriage made in heaven. But even the blessed are not immune to life's tragedies. Haunted by a demon he cannot exorcize, he comes away from a personally ravaging movie shoot with his marriage but a memory and his sanity hanging in the balance, and knows that he has to make sense of his life before it destroys him.

By a strange quirk of fate, his quest leads him to northern Minnesota and the auburn-haired, green-eyed Katie Kelly. "Not the person I came to see," he is to tell her later, "not someone who I thought I had a ghost of a chance of helping me, but I was stuck with you..." And 'stuck' he continued to be.

The captivating "Encore" takes us from the scenic beauty of northern Minnesota to the Washington D.C. of September 11th to the glittering playground of Hollywood, and presents a heartwarming view of the unusual relationship between filmdom's golden boy and the small-town girl who is his salvation.