Solid matter edited by Skender Avakian

Matter is the "stuff" of the universe, the atoms, molecules and ions that make up all physical substances. Solid is one of the three fundamental states of matter. It is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to changes of shape or volume. In a solid, these particles are packed closely together and are not free to move about within the substance. Molecular motion for the particles in a solid is confined to very small vibrations of the atoms around their fixed positions; therefore, solids have a fixed shape that is difficult to change. Solids also have a definite volume; that is, they keep their size no matter how you try to change them. Unlike a liquid, a solid object does not flow to take on the shape of its container, nor does it expand to fill the entire volume available to it like a gas does. Even in solids there is a small space between the atoms. Depending on how tight the atoms are packed determines the density of matter. This means that a one inch block of wood is not as dense as a one inch block of gold. There is more space between the atoms of the wood than the atoms of the gold. The atoms in a solid are tightly bound to each other, either in a regular geometric lattice or irregularly (an amorphous solid such as common window glass). This Book Solid Matter covers the research in condensed matter and materials science. Emphasis is placed on key aspects of solid state synthesis, structure-property relationships, theory and functionalities, in relation with experiments. It encompasses all aspects of the field from the more classical problems of structural analysis to mechanics of solids continually interacting with other media and including fracture, flow, wave propagation, heat transfer, thermal effects in solids, optimum design methods, model analysis, structural topology and numerical techniques. This book will be interest to research workers, students and engineers in the field.