What is a supermaterial? A concise definition is by no means obvious, but a clue can be obtained from the topics discussed here.. In addition to superconductors, the reader will encounter magnetic effects of many kinds, including giant and even colossal ones, organic conductors, photoconductors, and even 400-year-old Japanese ceramics. Processing is a prominent pursuit in supermaterials research, especially but not exclusively of the superconductors. The papers on characterisation and theory break new ground, particularly in pursuit of new optoelectronic phenomena. The parade of new materials recently synthesised, often containing four or more elements, is surprising. But it is in it reporting of new applications that the book stands out: from circuits to sensors, supermaterials are making their impact on society.

The book provides an introduction to all aspects of the physics of quasicrystals. The chapters, each written by an expert in this field, cover quasiperiodic tilings and the modeling of the atomic structure of quasicrystals. The electronic density of states and the calculation of the electronic structure play a key role in this introduction, as does an extensive discussion of the atomic dynamics. The study of defects in quasicrystals by high resolution electron microscopy and the computer simulations of defects and fracture in decorated tilings are important subjects for the application of these aperiodic crystals.