Modern industry imposes ever increasing requirements upon tools and tool materials as to the provision for performance under the conditions of high cutting speeds and dynamic loads as well as under intensive thermal and chemical interactions with workpiece materials. The industry demands a higher productivity in combination with the accuracy of geometry and dimensions of workpieces and quality of working surfaces of the machined pieces. These requirements are best met by the tool superhard materials (diamond and diamond-like cubic boron nitride). Ceramics based on silicon carbide, aluminum and boron oxides as well as on titanium, silicon and aluminum nitrides offer promise as tool materials. Tungsten-containing cemented carbides are still considered as suitable tool materials. Hi- hardness and high strength composites based on the above materials fit all the requirements imposed by machining jobs when manufacturing elements of machinery, in particular those operating under the extreme conditions of high temperatures and loads. These elements are produced of difficult-- machine high-alloy steels, nickel refractory alloys, high-tech ceramics, materials with metallic and non-metallic coatings having improved wear resistance, as well as of special polymeric and glass-ceramic materials. Materials science at high pressure deals with the use of high-pressure techniques for the development and production of unique materials whose preparation at ambient pressure is impossible (e. g. , diamond, cubic boron nitride, etc. ) or of materials with properties exceeding those of materials produced at ambient pressure (e. g. , high-temperature superconductors).

Modern industry imposes ever increasing requirements upon tools and tool materials as to the provision for performance under the conditions of high cutting speeds and dynamic loads as well as under intensive thermal and chemical interactions with workpiece materials. The industry demands a higher productivity in combination with the accuracy of geometry and dimensions of workpieces and quality of working surfaces of the machined pieces. These requirements are best met by the tool superhard materials (diamond and diamond-like cubic boron nitride). Ceramics based on silicon carbide, aluminum and boron oxides as well as on titanium, silicon and aluminum nitrides offer promise as tool materials. Tungsten-containing cemented carbides are still considered as suitable tool materials. Hi- hardness and high strength composites based on the above materials fit all the requirements imposed by machining jobs when manufacturing elements of machinery, in particular those operating under the extreme conditions of high temperatures and loads. These elements are produced of difficult-- machine high-alloy steels, nickel refractory alloys, high-tech ceramics, materials with metallic and non-metallic coatings having improved wear resistance, as well as of special polymeric and glass-ceramic materials. Materials science at high pressure deals with the use of high-pressure techniques for the development and production of unique materials whose preparation at ambient pressure is impossible (e. g. , diamond, cubic boron nitride, etc. ) or of materials with properties exceeding those of materials produced at ambient pressure (e. g. , high-temperature superconductors).

The phenomenon of superconductivity in materials offers great opportunities for fundamental and applied sciences. Application of superconducting material in measuring devices, medical diagnostics, in space and energy industries and transport, is only a short list of possible use of the phenomenon of superconductivity in everyday human activity. The special collection “Superconductors and Superconductivity” consists of papers published by Trans Tech Publications Inc. from 2010 up to 2015 and covers a wide range of advanced achievements in the field of applied research and applied application of superconductors in different branches of engineering. Compiled scientific papers are presented in two chapters: Chapter 1: Superconductors: Properties and Production Technologies Chapter 2: Practice of Using Superconductors and Superconductivity

Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS). This volume contains the Proceedings (64 selected refereed papers) of the 6th Japanese-Mediterranean Workshop on Applied Electromagnetic Engineering for Magnetic Superconducting and Nanomaterials (JAPMED’6), organized in Bucharest, Romania, during July 27-29th 2009. This Workshop represented a landmark in the development of materials, manufacturing and electrical engineering; providing a forum for specialists from the universities, research centers and industries of many countries to establish links, share knowledge and experience and encourage cross-fertilization of new ideas and developments in design, analysis, novel-material utilization and optimisation techniques in the areas of applied electromagnetics. Also covered was the manufacturing of advanced materials from the macro-, to the nano-scale and their industrial application in modern technologies involving nanotechnology, electricity/electronics, superconductivity, electromagnetic engineering, transportation, bioengineering, energy and the environment.