The 4th revised edition expands on the basic chemistry of high energy materials of the precious editions and examines new research developments, including hydrodynamics and ionic liquids. Applications in military and civil fields are discussed. This work is of interest to advanced students in chemistry, materials science and engineering, as well as to all those working in defense technology.

Authored by an insider with over 40 years of high energy materials (HEMs) experience in academia, industry and defense organizations, this handbook and ready reference covers all important HEMs from the 1950s to the present with their respective properties and intended purposes. Written at an attainable level for professionals, engineers and technicians alike, the book provides a comprehensive view of the current status and suggests further directions for research and development. An introductory chapter on the chemical and thermodynamic basics allows the reader to become acquainted with the fundamental features of explosives, before moving on to the important safety aspects in processing, handling, transportation and storage of high energy materials. With its collation of results and formulation strategies hitherto scattered in the literature, this should be on the shelf of every HEM researcher and developer.

A report on the technological possibilities of high-energy chemistry using methods of energy supply rather than heat for the initiation of chemical processes. These methods include electronic, ionic, atomic, molecular and photon supply, the application of electric fields and mechanical action.

This book focuses on chemical reactions and processing under extreme conditions—how materials react with highly concentrated active species and/or in a very confined high-temperature and high-pressure volume. Those ultimate reaction environments created by a focused laser beam, discharges, ion bombardments, or microwaves provide characteristic nano- and submicron-sized products and functional nanostructures. The book explores the chemistry and processing of metals and non-metals as well as molecules that are strongly dependent on the energy deposition processes and character of the materials. Descriptions of a wide range of topics are given from the perspective of a variety of research methodologies, material preparations, and applications. The reader is led to consider and review how a high-energy source interacts with materials, and what the key factors are that determine the quality and quantity of nanoproducts and nano-processing.

This book is an in-depth treatment of the theoretical background relevant to an understanding of materials that can be obtained by using high-energy electron diffraction and microscopy.