As the various disciplines of science advance, they proliferate and tend to become more esoteric. Barriers of specialized terminologies form, which cause scientists to lose contact with their colleagues, and differences in points-of-view emerge which hinder the unification of knowledge among the various disciplines, and even within a given discipline. As a result, the scientist, and especially the student, is in many instances offered fragmented glimpses of subjects that are funda mentally synthetic and that should be treated in their own right. Such seems to be the case of the liquid state. Unlike the other states of matter -- gases, solids, and plasmas -- the liquid state has not yet received unified treatment, probably because it has been the least explored and remains the least understood state of matter. Occasionally, events occur which help remove some of the barriers that separate scientists and disciplines alike. Such an event was the ASI on The Liquid State held this past July at the lovely Hotel Tivoli Sintra, in the picturesque town of Sintra, Portugal, approximately 30 km northwest of Lisbon. Since this broad a subject could not be covered in one Institute, the focus of the ASI was on a theme that provided a common thread of understanding for all in attendance -- the Electrical Proper ties of the Liquid State."

Interactions of Slow Electrons as a Function of State: Linking the Gaseous and the Condensed Phases of Matter; L.G. Christophorou. Ionization in Dilute and in Condensed Matter: Ionization of Atoms or Molecules by Radiation as a Function of Phase; W.F. Schmidt. Elementary Processes Induced in Clusters by Electrons and Photons: Clusters; E. Illenberger. Electron Motion in Gases and Liquids: Boltzmann Equation for Slow Electron Transport in Gases and Liquids; Y. Sakai. Electron Attachment in the Gaseous and the Condensed Phases of Matter: Electron Attachment to Molecules; E. Illenberger. Electron-Ion Recombination in Gases and Liquids: ElectronIon Recombination in Dense Molecular Media; Y. Hatano. Electron Transfer at Interfaces: Low Energy Electrons for the Investigation of Liquid Surfaces; H. Morgner. Applications: Physics of Noble Gas Xray Detectors; T.H.V.T. Dias. Summary of Discussion Panel: Theory; R. Schiller. 31 additional articles. Index.

Collisional Electron Detachment in Dielectric Gases.- A Technique for the Measurement of Electron Attachment to Short-Lived Excited Species.- Total Cross Sections for Electron Scattering and Attachment for SF6 and Its Electrical-Discharge By-Products.- Electron Localization Effects and Resonant Attachment to O2 Impurities in Highly Compressed Neon Gas.- Temperature Dependence of the Dissociative Electron Attachment to CH3Cl and C2H5Cl.- Multibody Electron Capture Processes in the Gas Phase.- Leader Breakdown in Compressed SF6: Recent Concepts and Understanding.- Electrical Breakdown in the Space Environment.- Positive Synergism and Time-Resolved Swarm Experiments.- Discharge Development in Air at Very High Humidity Levels.- Negative $$\bar \eta$$ Synergism in CF2Cl2-N2 and CF2Cl2-CO2 Gas Mixtures.- Excitation and Ionisation in the Transient State Discharge in Pure Nitrogen.- Discussion of Some Space-Charge Effects in the Context of Low-Temperature and High-Field Steady-State Gas Discharges.- Non-equilibrium Effects in the Initiation of Pseudospark Discharges.- Dissociation Processes in Plasma Chemistry and Gaseous Dielectrics.- The Calculation of Leader Propagation in Point/Plane Gaps Under Very Fast Transient Stress.- Fractal Description of Electrical Discharges.- A Two-Dimensional Simulation of A Hollow-Cathode Discharge.- Similarities Between High Electric Field Electron Emission and Consequent Breakdown Processes in Compressed Gases and Vacuo.- Liquid Breakdown and Its Relation to Gas Breakdown.- Corona Discharges in Liquid and Gaseous Hydrocarbons: The Influence of Pressure.- Electron Drift Velocities in Fast Dielectric Liquids and Their Vapors.- Gas Breakdown and Its Relation to Vacuum and Liquid Breakdown Under The Influence of Electric and Magnetic Field.- Measurement of the Figure of Merit M for Several SF6-Based Binary Gas Mixtures.- Mode Transitions in Hollow-Cathode Discharges.- Formation of Cathode Spots by Unipolar Arcing.- Detachment of Electrons From Negative Ions in Electrical Discharges.- Time Lags and Optical Investigations of Pre-Discharge in SF6/N2 - Mixtures at Very Fast Transient Voltages.- Non-Uniform Field Flashover Characteristics in SF6 Gas Under Negative Steep-Front and Oscillating Impulse Voltages.- Breakdown Characteristics of Non-Uniform Gaps in SF6 Under Fast Oscillating Impulse Voltages.- The Effect of Leader Propagation on the V-t Curves Under LI and VFT in GIS.- Insulating Characteristics of Small SF6 Gas Gaps Under Lightning Impulse Voltages.- Low and High Voltage Distribution Along a Cap and Pin Insulator String Subjected to AC and Impulse Voltages.- Starting Processes and the Influence of the Radioactivity of Thorium on the Statistical Lag Time in Metal Halide Lamps.- Breakdown of Air Gaps Under Oscillatory Simulated Switching Surges.- Gas-Solid Interface Emissions Determined by the ESAW Charge Detection Method.- Contribution of a Solid Insulator to an Electron Avalanche in Nitrogen Gas.- Impulse Surface Charging and Flashover.- Particle-Initiated Prebreakdown Characteristics With An Insulator Stressed on 60 Hz Voltage in SF6.- High Power Gaseous Opening and Closing Switches.- Laser Triggering of Gas Filled Spark Gaps.- A New Approach for an Opening Switch for Repetitive Operations.- A Macroscopic Gas Breakdown Relationship.- Mitigation of Potential Health Hazards of Transmission Line Fields.- Electric and Magnetic Fields: An Engineer's Perspective.- Relative Potency as a Means of Evaluating ELF Health Risks.- Influence of Memory on the Statistics of Pulsating Corona.- Pulsed Corona Experiments.- Current Stability of Negative Corona Discharges in SF6 and Delayed Spark Breakdown.- Verification of Direct-Current Corona Models Employing the Deutsch Approximation.- Frequency Effects in Alternating Current Corona.- A Mass Spectrometer Study of Ionization in SF6 Corona: Influence of Water and Neutral By-Products.- High Voltage DC Gas Insulation - A World-Wide Review.- Gas-Insulated Substation...