New tables in this edition cover lasers, radiation, cryogenics, ultra-sonics, semi-conductors, high-vacuum techniques, eutectic alloys, and organic and inorganic surface coating. Another major addition is expansion of the sections on engineering materials and compos-ites, with detailed indexing by name, class and usage. The special Index of Properties allows ready comparisons with respect to single property, whether physical, chemical, electrical, radiant, mechani-cal, or thermal. The user of this book is assisted by a comprehensive index, by cross references and by numerically keyed subject headings at the top of each page. Each table is self-explanatory, with units, abbreviations, and symbols clearly defined and tabular material subdivided for easy reading.

Temperature height profiles determined from falling sphere and Arcasonde measurements, made at White Sands, New Mexico from 23 to 25 January 1967, exhibit unusually large variability in the vicinity of the mesopause. Spatial and temporal analysis of the data exhibit a wave-like structure with vertical half wavelengths of the order of 3 and 30 km and a characteristic period of approximately 12 hours for the longer wavelength. Comparison with meteorological data below 60 km and application of appropriate theory leads to the tentative suggestion that the observed temperature variations were due to internal gravity waves. The analysis also infers that the source of these waves was a large scale, low altitude (approximately 200 mb) synoptic disturbance. This work has been performed in support of re-entry studies for Air Force space vehicles and investigations for improving DOD missile impact prediction capability. (Author).

In July 1967 ESRIN and ESLAB, the two ESRO laboratories primarily concerned with basic research, held a joint symposium on Satellite and Rocket Measurements of Corpuscular Radiation from Outer Space. This was followed in September 1968 by a second symposium: Low-Frequency Waves and Irregularities in the Ionosphere; and in September 1969 by a third: Intercorrelated Satellite Observations Related to Solar Events. A fourth symposium, on upper atmospheric models and related experiments, took place in Frascati, 6-10 July 1970. The main aim of the symposium was to ~ssess current experimental work - both field and laboratory - related to mesospheric struc ture and composition, in the light of theoretical work on atmospheric models and atomic and molecular processes. To foster an interdisciplinary approach, the meeting brought together approximately 50 scientists working with different techniques but having a common interest in the interpretation of meso spheric phenomena. Recent work such as that presented at the symposium has deepened our knowledge of upper atmospheric composition, and increased our understanding of upper atmo spheric temperature and dynamics. In particular, it has shown that the concentration of minor species in the atmosphere is somewhat different than expected. Theoretical models have not yet considered many of the minor constituents and have generally not included dynamical effects. It is now time to reconsider these models and elaborate them in the light of recent knowledge.