This volume collects several in-depth articles giving lucid discussions on new developments in statistical and condensed matter physics. Many, though not all, contributors had been in touch with the late S-K Ma. Written by some of the world's experts and originators of new ideas in the field, this book is a must for all researchers in theoretical physics. Most of the articles should be accessible to diligent graduate students and experienced readers will gain from the wealth of materials contained herein.

Filling a gap in the literature, this crucial publication on the renowned Lifshitz-Slezov-Wagner Theory of first-order phase transitions is authored by one of the scientists who gave it its name. Prof Slezov spent decades analyzing this topic and obtained a number of results that form the cornerstone of this rapidly developing branch of science. Following an analysis of unresolved problems together with proposed solutions, the book develops a theoretical description of the overall course of first-order phase transformations, starting from the nucleation state right up to the late stages of coarsening. In so doing, the author illustrates the results by way of numerical computations and experimental applications. The outline of the general results is performed for segregation processes in solutions and the results used in the analysis of a variety of different topics, such as phase formation in multi-component solutions, boiling in one- and multi-component liquids, vacancy cluster evolution in solids with and without influence of radiation, as well as phase separation in helium at low temperatures. The result is a detailed overview of the theoretical description of the whole course of nucleation-growth processes and applications for a wide audience of scientists and students.

Providing a comprehensive introduction with the necessary background material to make it accessible for a wide scientific audience, Kinetics of Phase Transitions discusses developments in domain-growth kinetics. This book combines pedagogical chapters from leading experts in this area and focuses on incorporating various experimentally releva

An overview of recent developments in the field of first-order phase transitions, which may be considered a continuation of the previous work 'Aggregation Phenomena in Complex Systems', covering work done and discussed since then. Each chapter features a different aspect of the field written by international specialists, and covers such topics as nucleation and crystallization kinetic of silicate glasses, nucleation in concentration gradients, the determination of coefficients of emission of nucleation theory, diamonds from vitreous carbon.

The International Symposium on Dynamics of Ordering Processes in Condensed Matter was held at the Kansai Seminar House, Kyoto, for four days, from 27 to 30 August 1987, under the auspices of the Physical Soci ety of Japan. The symposium was financially supported by the four orga nizations and 45 companies listed on other pages in this volume. We are very grateful to all of them and particularly to the greatest sponsor, the Commemorative Association for the Japan World Exposition 1970. A total Df 22 invited lectures and 48 poster presentations were given and 110 participants attended from seven nations. An objective of the Symposium was to review and extend our present understanding of the dynamics of ordering processes in condensed matters, (for example, alloys, polymers and fluids), that are brought to an un stable state by sudden change of such external parameters as temperature and pressure. A second objective, no less important, was to identify new fields of science that might be investigated by similar, but sometimes more sophisticated, concepts and tactics. An emphasis was laid on those universal aspects of the laws governing the ordering processes which transcended the detailed differences among the substances used. The 71 lectures reproduced in this volume bear witness to the success of the Symposium in meeting amply the first objective and, to a lesser extent, the second.

This volume will summarize the most recent development in experimentation, computation, and theory on chemistry of glass forming melt, including melt structure modeling and melt structure and characterizations. This volume provides a timely update on the advances in glass basic science research and development.