Recrystallization is a phenomenon moderately well documented in the geological and metallurgical literature. This book provides a timely overview of the latest research and methods in a variety of fields where recrystallization is studied and is an important factor. The main advantage of a new look at these fields is the rapid increase in modern techniques, such as TEM, spectrometers and modeling capabilities, all of which are providing us with far better images and analysis than ever previously possible. This book will be invaluable to a wide range of research scientists; metallurgists looking to improve properties of alloys, those interested in how the latest equipment may be used to image grains and to all those who work with frozen aqueous solutions where recrystallization may be a problem.

There exists a wide variety of patterns in nature, from inert matter such as crystalline dendrites and flames, to filamentous fungi and neurones in the living world. Their structural evolution during growth can be theoretically modeled in order to predict the shape of their forms, their dimensions and their growth rate. 'New Visions on Growth and Form' aims at answering such questions by employing different theoretical approaches and providing a critical appraisal. The book belongs to the wide field of non-equilibrium statistical physics, and explores different mechanisms such as transport, interfacial tension, and chemical reactions, which govern the growth of a material. It explains the fundamental equations relating different morphological quantities, as well as the relevant experimental control parameters. From the unifying concepts arising in the theoretical approach the author proposes a tentative description of cell morphogenesis as a further application of the theory.

This book highlights some recent advances in interfacial research in the fields of fluid mechanics and materials science at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It is an extension of the presentations made during the conference “Interfaces for the 21st Century,” held on August 16-18, 1999, in Monterey, California. It includes papers by sixteen renowned experts in the field of interfacial mechanics, abstracts contributed by research scientists, and a summary of a panel discussion on future research directions. The book covers experimental and theoretical approaches, with the unifying philosophy being the investigation of new techniques for modeling the dynamics of interfaces. A number of new and exciting solution methods and experimental studies, as well as the physical problems that initiated them, are presented.

Continuous crystallization is an area of intense research, with particular respect to the pharmaceutical industry and fine chemicals. Improvements in continuous crystallization technologies offer chemical industries significant financial gains, through reduced expenditure and operational costs, and consistent product quality. Written by well-known leaders in the field, The Handbook of Continuous Crystallization presents fundamental and applied knowledge, with attention paid to application and scaling up, and the burgeoning area of process intensification. Beginning with concepts around crystallization techniques and control strategies, the reader will learn about experimental methods and computational tools. Case studies spanning fine and bulk chemicals, the pharmaceutical industry, and employing new mathematical tools, put theory into context.

The impact of Materials Science in our environment has probably never been as massive and decisive as it is today. In every aspect of our lives, progress has never been so dependent on the techniques involved in producing ever more sophisticated materials in ever larger quantities, nor so demanding for technologists to imagine novel processes and circumvent difficulties, or take up new challenges. Every technique is based on a physical process which is put into practice and optimized. The better we know that process, the better the optimization, and more powerful the technique. Laser processing of materials is inscribed in that context. As soon as powerful coherent light sources were made available, it was realized that such intense sources of energy could be used to "heat, melt and crystallize" materials, i.e., to promote phase transitions in atomic systems. As early as 1964, attempts in that direction were made but received very little (if any) attention. Reasons for this lack of interest were several. For one thing, laser technology was not fully developed, so that the process offered poor reliability and no versatility. Also, improving the existing techniques was believed to be sufficient to meet the needs of the time, and there was no real motivation to explore new ways. Finally, and more important, the fundamentals of the physics behind the scenes were, and continue to be, way out of the runni~g stream.

The review discusses the state of thinking of each of the main national groups investigating sea ice and gives an overall appraisal of the field as a whole. Emphasis is placed on (1) the physical basis for interpreting sea ice strength (phase relations, air volume, and structural considerations), (2) theoretical considerations (strength models, air bubbles and salt reinforcement, and interrelations between growth conditions and strength), (3) experimental results (tensile, flexural, shear, and compressive strength, elastic modulus, shear modulus and Poisson's ratio, time dependent effects, and creep), and (4) plate characteristics. The paper includes a review of problems in sea ice investigations, relates the chemical, crystallographic, mechanical, and physical aspects involved, and concludes by showing how to utilize this knowledge to solve practical problems. (Author).

This volume contains most of the papers presented at the "Workshop on Quasielastic Light Scattering Studies of Fluids and Macromolecular Solutions" held at CISE, Segrate (Milano), Italy, from 11 to 13 May, 1979. Quasielastic light scattering (also called self-beating spectroscopy or intensity correlation spectroscopy) is the technique, introduced by Benedek and coworkers and by Cummins and coworkers about 15 years ago, by which dynamical information about a scattering medium is obtained through the measurement of the power spectrum (or the intensity correlation function) of the laser light scattered from the medium. The technique received in the early seventies a considerable impulse from the development of real-time fast digital correlators. The aim of the Workshop was to bring together a selected number of researchers in order to discuss recent developments in quasielastic light scattering and related optical methods and to report about new applications of the technique in physics, chemistry and biology. The first two days of the meeting were devoted to the oral presentations of papers. In the third day an informal session was held which included a very lively and thorough discussion of the highlights of the Workshop. Most part of the technical problems were debated during the informal session and during the subsequent visits to the light scattering laboratory in CISE.