This monograph reviews the recent progress in vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization and photodissociation processes. Photoionization, photoelectron, and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques have played an important role in revealing the photoionization and photodissociation dynamics of molecules in the vacuum ultraviolet region and in providing accurate energetic and spectroscopic information of ions as well as neutral molecules. The book represents the first detailed review of major experimental developments in the studies of single vacuum ultraviolet photon ionization and dissociation processes of gaseous molecules and clusters.

Owing to the advances of vacuum ultraviolet and ultrafast lasers and third generation synchrotron sources, the research on photoionization, photoelectrons, and photodetachment has gained much vitality in recent years. These new light sources, together with ingenious experimental techniques, such as the coincidence imaging, molecular beam, pulsed field ionization photoelectron, mass-analyzed threshold ion, and pulsed field ion pair schemes, have allowed spectroscopic, dynamic, and energetic studies of gaseous species to a new level of detail and accuracy. Profitable applications of these methods to liquids are emerging.This invaluable two-volume review consists of twenty-two chapters, focusing on recent developments in photoionization and photodetachment studies of atoms; molecules, transient species, clusters, and liquids.

Leading investigators offer the first comprehensive study of gas phase photoionization research in the VUV and soft X-ray regime since the massive employment of synchrotron radiation as a spectroscopic tool. Chapters cover all aspects of photoionization phenomena from total cross sections to highly differentiated measurements such as coincidence experiments and spin-resolved electron spectroscopy. This work is abundant with illustrations.

Thanks to the progress made in instruments and techniques, the methods in physical chemistry have developed rapidly over the past few decades, making them increasingly valuable for scientists of many disciplines. These two must-have volumes meet the needs of the scientific community for a thorough overview of all the important methods currently used. As such, this work bridges the gap between standard textbooks and review articles, covering a large number of methods, as well as the motivation behind their use. A uniform approach is adopted throughout both volumes, while the critical comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each method makes this a valuable reference for physical chemists and other scientists working with these techniques.

The resurgence of time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) has had its origin in the simplicity of construction and application of such instruments together with the high transmission and the great increase in resolution that has been achieved. The instrument lends itself naturally to a coupling with pulsed laser sources, though this is not a prerequisite. It also affords a time resolution far beyond that traditionally achieved with mass spectrometric rapid scan techniques - a recent example being the real-time analysis of a multi-component mixture from an automobile exhaust. Furthermore, the mass range appears to be extremely large: mass up to 500 kDa and beyond what is being readily measured in the laboratory today. The present set of contributions attempts to give a survey of current applications from many of the active groups in the field. A variety of new applications are considered which are no doubt just the beginning of large new areas of application. By presenting this work in book form it is hoped that it will be of help to the many groups intending to initiate work in this rapidly expanding new area of mass spectrometry.

When after three decades of research Singapore could produce its own water, the little city-state was said to have lost its vulnerability. No longer would every policy have to bend at the knees for water survival. It was finally time to celebrate liberty!When did the same moment come in Bala's life? Was it when in mid-Atlantic he heard of his promotion as Controller of Posts? Or was it when he was appointed by the President as member of the Parliamentary Elections Minority Committee? Or was it at a moment of tragic loss when he realised he had nothing more to lose?Singapore, My Country tells M Bala Subramanion's story, a second generation Indian who lost his father to the Death Railway, witnessed Subhas Chandra Bose at the Padang and later emerged as not only a senior civil servant but the man behind multiple social interventions, living in a fast evolving Singapore.The histories of the man and his nation remain seamlessly intertwined, each peppered with equal doses of endeavour, ingenuity and a sheer will to survive!