A “brisk and entertaining” novel of a barren, mysterious planet that may save humanity—or destroy it—by the author of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (Publishers Weekly). Chasing a new frontier, humankind sends a manned starship into the universe and away from the overpopulated Earth in hopes of finding a new planet to colonize. But every Earthlike world they discover is already inhabited. As it turns out, the universe is a very crowded place. An alien council offers to lease the one remaining uninhabited world: Astra, a bleak and barren but serviceable planet. The new settlement, though, quickly experiences serious problems, from dying crops to the mysterious disappearance of anything and everything that is made of metal. And then Astra reveals a secret neither the aliens nor the human governments could ever have imagined.

Volume 2 presents the fundamental principles related to polymer processign operations including the processing of thermoplastic polymers and thermosets. The objective of this volume is not to provide recipies that necessarily guarantee better product quality. Rather, emphasis is placed on presenting a fundamental approach to effectively analyze processing operations. The specific polymer processing operations for thermoplastics include plasticating single-screw extrusion, morphology evolution during compounding of polymer blends, compatibilization of immiscible polymer blends, wire coating extrusion, fiber spinning, tubular film blowing, coextrusion, and thermoplastic foam extrusion. The specific polymer processing operations for thermosets include reaction injection molding, pultrusion of fiber-reinforced thermosets, and compression molding of thermoset composites.

This book begins with four fundamental tenants: The properties of a material are determined by its structure. Processing can alter that structure in specific and predictable ways;The behavior of materials is grounded in science and is understandable; The properties of all materials change over time with use and exposure to environmental conditions;When selecting a material, sufficient and appropriate testing must be performed to insure that the material will remain suitable throughout the reasonable life of the product. This text assumes that the students are at least sophomores, so that they are familiar with basic chemical bonding and the periodic table. But it is an introductory materials course, so there will be no differential equations, percolation theory, quantum mechanics, statistical thermodynamics, or other advanced topics. The book is designed as an introduction to the field, not a comprehensive guide to all materials science knowledge. Instead of going into great detail in many areas, the book provides key concepts and fundamentals students need to understand materials science and make informed decisions. An example of the philosophy is found in the materials testing section. Although countless variations exist in testing techniques, the chapter focuses on operating principles and the property to be measured, rather than confusing the student with exposition on variations and exceptions. That material is beyond the scope of most introductory courses.

In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in the production of nanoscale fibres for drug delivery and tissue engineering. Nanofibres in Drug Delivery aims to outline to new researchers in the field the utility of nanofibres in drug delivery, and to explain to them how to prepare fibres in the laboratory. The book begins with a brief discussion of the main concepts in pharmaceutical science. The authors then introduce the key techniques that can be used for fibre production and explain briefly the theory behind them. They discuss the experimental implementation of fibre production, starting with the simplest possible set-up and then moving on to consider more complex arrangements. As they do so, they offer advice from their own experience of fibre production, and use examples from current literature to show how each particular type of fibre can be applied to drug delivery. They also consider how fibre production could be moved beyond the research laboratory into industry, discussing regulatory and scale-up aspects.

Nanoengineering in the Beverages Industry, Volume 20 in the Science of Beverages series, presents the impact of novel technologies in nanoengineering on the design of improved and future beverages. This reference explains how novel approaches of nanoengineering can advance beverage science through proven research results and industrial applications. This multidisciplinary resource will help augment research ideas in the development or improvement of beverage production for a wide audience of beverage science research professionals, professors and students. Includes up-to-date information on nanotechnology applications within the beverages industry, along with the latest technologies employed Presents various approaches for innovation based on scientific advancements in the field of nanotechnology Provides methods and techniques for research analysis using novel technologies across the globe