Apart from the preliminary topics under Mathematical methods of physics, many new topics have been incorporated in the text. The book is amply illustrated to help the studens grasp the concepts clearly.

This book presents a vivid argument for the almost lost idea of a unity of all natural sciences. It starts with the "strange" physics of matter, including particle physics, atomic physics and quantum mechanics, cosmology, relativity and their consequences (Chapter I), and it continues by describing the properties of material systems that are best understood by statistical and phase-space concepts (Chapter II). These lead to entropy and to the classical picture of quantitative information, initially devoid of value and meaning (Chapter III). Finally, "information space" and dynamics within it are introduced as a basis for semantics (Chapter IV), leading to an exploration of life and thought as new problems in physics (Chapter V). Dynamic equations - again of a strange (but very general) nature - bring about the complex familiarity of the world we live in. Surprising new results in the life sciences open our eyes to the richness of physical thought, and they show us what can and what cannot be explained by a Darwinian approach. The abstract physical approach is applicable to the origins of life, of meaningful information and even of our universe.

The great physicist's elegant, concise survey of Newtonian dynamics proceeds gradually from simple particles of matter to physical systems beyond complete analysis. Includes "On the Equation of Motion of a Connected System," from Volume II of Electricity and Magnetism. Appendixes deal with relativity motion and principles of least action.

This book provides a fundamental understanding of physical properties of foods. It is the first textbook in this area and combines engineering concepts and physical chemistry. Basic definitions and principles of physical properties are discussed as well as the importance of physical properties in the food industry and measurement methods. In addition, recent studies in physical properties are summarized. The material presented is helpful for students to understand the relationship between physical and functional properties of raw, semi-finished, and processed food in order to obtain products with desired shelf-life and quality.

The study of "soft matter" materials with complex properties has raised a number of interesting problems in basic physics, biology, and materials science, all of which promise new and important technological applications. After a review of chemical bonds and phase transitions, the authors treat topics such as surface phenomena, stability of colloidal systems, structural properties of polymers, and topological defects. The monograph's emphasis on underlying physical principles offers a coherent treatment of the great variety of research in the field.

Addressing graduate students and researchers, this book gives a very detailed theoretical and computational description of multiple scattering in solid matter. Particular emphasis is placed on solids with reduced dimensions, on full potential approaches and on relativistic treatments. For the first time approaches such as the screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method are reviewed, considering all formal steps such as single-site scattering, structure constants and screening transformations, and also the numerical point of view. Furthermore, a very general approach is presented for solving the Poisson equation, needed within density functional theory in order to achieve self-consistency. Special chapters are devoted to the Coherent Potential Approximation and to the Embedded Cluster Method, used, for example, for describing nanostructured matter in real space. In a final chapter, physical properties related to the (single-particle) Green's function, such as magnetic anisotropies, interlayer exchange coupling, electric and magneto-optical transport and spin-waves, serve to illustrate the usefulness of the methods described.