The Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred on March 11, 2011, reminded us that we were just one species within the great cycle of life on earth, that we were allowed to survive only because of nature, and that the idea that we were somehow able to conquer nature was simply an illusion. Now more than ever it is time that we confront head-on the change from the "underground resources" type of civilization to one with a new way of life and technology that embraces a sense of nature. To do so, we must learn from nature, the only sustainable society on earth, and create technology that embraces such a view of nature. We call such technology, which cleverly revives nature's greatness, Nature Technology. Taking a casual glance at nature, a nest of termites in the savanna region can be observed to maintain a steady temperature of 30 DegreesC despite the fact that the outside air temperature ranges from 50 DegreesC during the day to nearly 0 DegreesC at night. There are countless numbers of open pores just several billionths of a meter (nanometer) wide in the "earth" of the nest, which serve to regulate the temperature and humidity. In fact, all kinds of "earth" have these pores (clay mineral with aggregated structures) and air conditioners that require no electricity have been created by hardening this earth while preserving its structure; a cooling floor or wall becomes the alternative to a conventional air conditioner. This book provides many such examples of how Nature Technology can support a new lifestyle that is both environmentally sound and spiritually uplifting.

This book contains the proceedings of the Symposium on FT-IR Characterization of Polymers, which was held under the auspices of the Division of Polymer Chemistry, American Chemical Society (ACS) during the annual ACS meeting in Philadelphia, August, 1984. The content of each paper has been substantially extended from the papers presented during the conference. Due to the accidental, irrecoverable loss of the entire contents of the book by the computer system used for editorial purposes, the publication of this book has been delayed more than one year over the initial scheduled date. It has been a continuous, frustrating experience for the editor as well as for the authors. An extended Murphy's law, -anything can go wrong goes multiply wrong- has been demonstrated in editor's office. It necessitated, otherwise unnecessary, repeated proof reading during which time the editor had valuable experience ~n familiarizing himself with each paper much more than usual. The papers in this book are state-of-the-art even after such a delay. It is the authors pride and integrity toward the quality of each paper that makes the value of this book long lasting, while responsibility of the loss of any timeliness rests at the editor's hand. For the purpose of official records, submission and acceptance dates must be stated. All papers had been submitted by September, 1984, and had been accepted for publication by November, 1984, after the critical review processes.