Practicing engineers will find this text helpful in getting up to date. Readers with some familiarity with this field will be able to follow the presentations with ease. Engineering students and those taking physics courses will find this book to be a useful source of examples of applications of the theory to commercially available materials as well as for uncomplicated explanations of physical properties. In many cases alternate explanations have been provided for clarity.An effort has been made to keep mathematics as an unsophisticated as possible withoutwatering down or distorting the concepts. In practically all cases only a master of elementary calculus is required to follow the derivations. All of thealgebra is shown and no steps in the derivations are considered to be obvious to the reader. Explanations are provided in cases where more advanced mathematics is employed The problems have been designed to promote understanding rather than mathematical or computational skill.

Liquid crystals allow us to perform experiments that provide insight into fundamental problems of modern physics, such as phase transitions, frustration, elasticity, hydrodynamics, defects, growth phenomena, and optics. Smectic and Columnar Liquid Crystals: Concepts and Physical Properties Illustrated by Experiments is a result of personal research and of the graduate lectures given by the authors at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon and the University of Paris VII, respectively. The book examines lamellar (smectic) and columnar liquid crystals, which, in addition to orientational order, possess 1D, 2D or 3D positional order. This volume illustrates original physical concepts using methodically numerous experiments, theoretical developments, and diagrams. Topics include rheology and plasticity, ferroelectricity, analogies with superconductors, hexatic order and 2D-melting, equilibrium shapes, facetting, and the Mullins-Sekerka instability, as well as phase transitions in free films and membrane vibrations. Nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals are covered by the authors in a separate volume entitled Nematic and Cholesteric Liquid Crystals: Concepts and Physical Properties Illustrated by Experiments. Smectic and Columnar Liquid Crystals is an ideal introduction and a valuable source of reference for theoretical and experimental studies of advanced students and researchers in liquid crystals, condensed matter physics, and materials science.

These volumes are a result of the personal research and graduate lectures given by the authors at the ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon and the University of Paris VII, respectively. Featuring an easy-to-follow, accessible style, each volume describes important concepts and physical properties using classroom-friendly experiments, many of which the

Semiconductor Materials presents physico-chemical, electronic, electrical, elastic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, and other properties of a vast group of elemental, binary, and ternary inorganic semiconductors and their solid solutions. It also discusses the properties of organic semiconductors. Descriptions are given of the most commonly used semiconductor devices-charge-coupled devices, field-effect transistors, unijunction transistors, thyristors, Zener and avalanche diodes, and photodiodes and lasers. The current trend of transitioning from silicon technology to gallium arsenide technology in field-effect-based electronic devices is a special feature that is also covered. More than 300 figures and 100 tables highlight discussions in the text, and more than 2,000 references guide you to further sources on specific topics. Semiconductor Materials is a relatively compact book containing vast information on semiconductor material properties. Readers can compare results of the property measurements that have been reported by different authors and critically compare the data using the reference information contained in the book. Engineers who design and improve semiconductor devices, researchers in physics and chemistry, and students of materials science and electronics will find this a valuable guide.

These proceedings report the lectures and seminars presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Optical Properties of Ions in Solids," held at Erice, Italy, June 6-21, 1974. The Institute was the first activity of the International School of Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy of the "Ettore Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culture. The Institute consisted of a series of lectures on optical properties of ions in solids that, starting at a fundamental level, finally reached the current level of research. The sequence of lectures and the organization of the material taught were in keeping with a didactical presentation. In essence the Institute had the two-fold purpose of organizing what was known on the subject, and updating the knowledge in the field. Fif'teen series of lectures for a total of 44 hours were given. Five one-hour seminars and five twenty-minute seminars were presented. A total of 57 participants came from 40 laboratories in the following countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands; Polatid, Romania, Switzerland, the United Ki~gdom, and the United States. The secretaries of the Institute were: D. Pacheco for the scientific aspects and A. La Francesca for the administrative aspects of the meeting. These proceedings report the lectures, the one-hour seminars (abstracts only) and the twenty-minute- seminars (titles only). The proceedings report also the contributions sent by Prof. K. Rebane and Dr. L. A. Rebane who, unfortunately, were not able to come.

Three-Dimensional Electron Microscopy of Macromolecular Assemblies is the first systematic introduction to single-particle methods of reconstruction. It covers correlation alignment, classification, 3D reconstruction, restoration, and interpretation of the resulting 3D images in macromolecular assemblies. It will be an indispensable resource for newcomers to the field and for all using or adopting these methods.Key Features* Presents methods that offer an alternative to crystallographic techniques for molecules that cannot be crystallized* Describes methods that have been instrumental in exploring the three-dimensional structure of* the nuclear pore complex* the calcium release channel;* the ribosome* chaperonins

Macromolecular Physics, Volume 2: Crystal Nucleation, Growth, Annealing continues the discussion of crystals of linear macromolecules. The text also gives conclusion about the description and formation of crystals. The book covers topics such as the primary, secondary, and tertiary nucleation of crystals; the general growth of crystals; solution and melt crystallization of macromolecules; and the general annealing of crystals. For those who wish to do further reading, the table of contents of Volume 1 is included in the book. The text is recommended for macromolecular physicists, especially those whose focus is on the study of crystals and its different properties.