These three volumes entitled Advances in Hypersonics contain the Proceedings of the Second and Third Joint US/Europe Short Course in Hypersonics which took place in Colorado Springs and Aachen. The Second Course was organized at the US Air Force Academy, USA in January 1989 and the Third Course at Aachen, Germany in October 1990. The main idea of these Courses was to present to chemists, com puter scientists, engineers, experimentalists, mathematicians, and physicists state of the art lectures in scientific and technical dis ciplines including mathematical modeling, computational methods, and experimental measurements necessary to define the aerothermo dynamic environments for space vehicles such as the US Orbiter or the European Hermes flying at hypersonic speeds. The subjects can be grouped into the following areas: Phys ical environments, configuration requirements, propulsion systems (including airbreathing systems), experimental methods for external and internal flow, theoretical and numerical methods. Since hyper sonic flight requires highly integrated systems, the Short Courses not only aimed to give in-depth analysis of hypersonic research and technology but also tried to broaden the view of attendees to give them the ability to understand the complex problem of hypersonic flight. Most of the participants in the Short Courses prepared a docu ment based on their presentation for reproduction in the three vol umes. Some authors spent considerable time and energy going well beyond their oral presentation to provide a quality assessment of the state of the art in their area of expertise as of 1989 and 1991.

Chemical Kinetics relates to the rates of chemical reactions and factors such as concentration and temperature, which affects the rates of chemical reactions. Such studies are important in providing essential evidence as to the mechanisms of chemical processes. The book is designed to help the reader, particularly students and researchers of physical science, understand the chemical kinetics mechanics and chemical reactions. The selection of topics addressed and the examples, tables and graphs used to illustrate them are governed, to a large extent, by the fact that this book is aimed primarily at physical science (mainly chemistry) technologists. Undoubtedly, this book contains "must read" materials for students, engineers, and researchers working in the chemistry and chemical kinetics area. This book provides valuable insight into the mechanisms and chemical reactions. It is written in concise, self-explanatory and informative manner by a world class scientists in the field.