This monograph, which is the outcome of the ASI on High Pressure Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Materials Science, illustrates new developments in the field of high pressure science. In fact, for chemists, biochemists, and materials scientists, pressure as an experimental variable represents a tool which provides unique information about systems of materials studied. It is interesting to note how the growth of the high pressure field is also reflected in the content of the recent ASI's dealing with this field. The ASI High Pressure Chemistry held in 1977 was followed by the ASI High Pressure Chemistry and Biochemistry held in 1986, and the coverage of the present ASI also includes applications to materials science. In view of the teaching character of the ASI, it is natural that main contributions to this volume present overviews of the different subfields or applications of high pressure research. In contrast, contributed papers offer more specialized aspects of various high pressure studies. The various contributions to this volume make clear the impressive range of fundamental and applied problems that can be studied by high pressure techniques, and also point towards a major growth of high pressure science and technology in the near future. This ASI focused mainly on advances achieved in the six years since the previous ASI devoted to the high pressure field. The organization of this volume is as follows.

This monograph, which is the outcome of the ASI on High Pressure Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Materials Science, illustrates new developments in the field of high pressure science. In fact, for chemists, biochemists, and materials scientists, pressure as an experimental variable represents a tool which provides unique information about systems of materials studied. It is interesting to note how the growth of the high pressure field is also reflected in the content of the recent ASI's dealing with this field. The ASI High Pressure Chemistry held in 1977 was followed by the ASI High Pressure Chemistry and Biochemistry held in 1986, and the coverage of the present ASI also includes applications to materials science. In view of the teaching character of the ASI, it is natural that main contributions to this volume present overviews of the different subfields or applications of high pressure research. In contrast, contributed papers offer more specialized aspects of various high pressure studies. The various contributions to this volume make clear the impressive range of fundamental and applied problems that can be studied by high pressure techniques, and also point towards a major growth of high pressure science and technology in the near future. This ASI focused mainly on advances achieved in the six years since the previous ASI devoted to the high pressure field. The organization of this volume is as follows.

This is the first book covering all aspects of high pressure biochemistry and biophysics of proteins. Hydrostatic pressure is a powerful tool for study of biological systems. As a thermodynamic parameter, hydrostatic pressure has been known for a century to act on biological materials in a similar, but not identical, way to temperature. However, pressure was disregarded for a long time by biochemists mainly because the basic concepts (and the thermodynamics) focused on the chemical reactions involved and because general ideas on what pressure can add to the understanding of the behaviour of proteins were lacking. In recent decades, technological progress in the field of physics has shown, along with parameters such as temperature and solvent conditions, that pressure can be used for more refined thermodynamic and kinetic descriptions of biological processes and regulation of biological systems. The effects of pressure on proteins, nucleoproteins and membranes have recently been reviewed and several proceedings books have been published.

For chemists, biochemists, physicists and materials scientists, pressure as an experimental variable represents a tool that provides unique information about the microscopic properties of the materials being studied. In addition to its use as a research tool for investigating the energetics, structure, dynamics and kinetics of molecular transformations of materials, pressure is also being used to modify the properties of materials to preserve or improve their properties. The contributions collected here cover the main areas of high pressure research, including applications in materials science, condensed matter physics, chemistry and biochemistry. In addition, some papers offer more specialised aspects of high pressure studies. The book makes clear the impressive range of fundamental and applied problems that can be studied by high pressure techniques and also points towards a major growth of high pressure science and technology in the near future.

The Encyclopedia of Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics introduces possibly unfamiliar areas, explains important experimental and computational techniques, and describes modern endeavors. The encyclopedia quickly provides the basics, defines the scope of each subdiscipline, and indicates where to go for a more complete and detailed explanation. Particular attention has been paid to symbols and abbreviations to make this a user-friendly encyclopedia. Care has been taken to ensure that the reading level is suitable for the trained chemist or physicist. The encyclopedia is divided in three major sections: FUNDAMENTALS: the mechanics of atoms and molecules and their interactions, the macroscopic and statistical description of systems at equilibrium, and the basic ways of treating reacting systems. The contributions in this section assume a somewhat less sophisticated audience than the two subsequent sections. At least a portion of each article inevitably covers material that might also be found in a modern, undergraduate physical chemistry text. METHODS: the instrumentation and fundamental theory employed in the major spectroscopic techniques, the experimental means for characterizing materials, the instrumentation and basic theory employed in the study of chemical kinetics, and the computational techniques used to predict the static and dynamic properties of materials. APPLICATIONS: specific topics of current interest and intensive research. For the practicing physicist or chemist, this encyclopedia is the place to start when confronted with a new problem or when the techniques of an unfamiliar area might be exploited. For a graduate student in chemistry or physics, the encyclopedia gives a synopsis of the basics and an overview of the range of activities in which physical principles are applied to chemical problems. It will lead any of these groups to the salient points of a new field as rapidly as possible and gives pointers as to where to read about the topic in more detail.

It is a basic law of chemistry that pressure influences reactions. Thus, high-pressure reactions are no longer a rarity in chemistry today, but rather are indispensable tools - whether for innovative syntheses, new products or for explaining reaction mechanisms. The expert editors, Rudi van Eldik and Frank-Gerrit Klärner, provide a comprehensive overview of this fascinating field, ranging from the influence of high pressure on organic and inorganic reactions, via concrete applications in synthesis for metal catalytic and stereoselective processes right up to the use of supercritical liquids. Written by renowned experts, this volume contains a wealth of vital and practical information, for both newcomers to the field as well as experienced high-pressure chemists. Whether in academia or industry, this book belongs on the shelf of every chemist concerned with high-pressure chemistry either now or in the future.

High-pressure materials research has been revolutionized in the past few years due to technological breakthroughs in the diamond anvil cell (DAC), shock wave compression and molecular dynamic simulation (MD) methods. The application of high pressure, especially together with high temperature, has revealed exciting modifications of physical and chemical properties even in the simplest molecular materials.Besides the fundamental importance of these studies to understand the composition and the dynamics of heart and planets' interior, new materials possessing peculiar characteristics of hardness and composition have been synthesized at very high pressure, while unexpected chemical reactions of simple molecules to polymers and amorphous compounds have been found at milder conditions.The variety of the phenomena observed in these extreme conditions and of the materials involved provides a common ground bridging scientific communities with different cultural and experimental backgrounds. This monograph will provide a timely opportunity to report on recent progress in the field.