The remaining years of our ending millennium are characterized by a tempestuous devel- opment of Surface Science, whose ultimate consequences are presently hard to foresee. While some of these consequenees are apparent to everybody (e. g. modern information eleetronies would hardly be possible without the progress in device fabrication whieh, in turn, has required profound knowledge of surface teehnology ) there are several other dis- ciplines where the impact of surface physical chemistry may not be so obvious, but, nevertheless, has contributed much to the technological progress made in the...

In 1959, about 1400 compounds forming liquid crystalline phases were known; by 1992, this number had increased to about 50 000. In portable devices like wristwatches, pocket caculators, measuring instruments, and laptop computers the liquid crystal display technology has gained total acceptance and is on the way to encompass the market of colour TV screens. This development makes a volume devoted to liquid crystals in the series Topics in Physical Chemistry desirable. Following the concept of this series, an easy introduction to liquid crystals is given, enabling the reader to...

Application of compressed gases as solvents has found widespread interest within the scientific community. Its processes have industrial applications.
Gas Extraction deals with the possibilities of supercritical gases as solvents for separation processes. The volume combines physico-chemical aspects with chemical engineering methods. The text generalizes as far as possible, and treats examples in detail.
Gas Extraction covers, for the first time, the subject in textbook form. Most of the examples provide new results that will be helpful for practicing scientists,...

Most of the matter in our solar system, and, probably, within the whole universe, exists in the form of ionized particles. On the other hand, in our natural environ ment, gaseous matter generally consists of neutral atoms and molecules. Only under certain conditions, such as within the path oflightning or in several technical devices (e. g. gas discharges, rocket engines, etc. ) will some of the atoms and molecules be ionized. It is also believed that the chemistry of the earth's troposphere predomi nantly proceeds via reactions between neutral particles. (The complex system of atmospheric...