The eighteenth-century Bengali poet and religious adept Ramprasad was an important figure in the revival of the worship of the Goddess in Bengal at a time when the previously dominant Vaisnavism was beginning to sustain a decline in popularity. In this book, Malcolm McLean examines the evidence for the life of Ramprasad, and finding little in the historical record, deconstructs the important early biographics, which contain material that is largely legendary in nature. A founder figure emerges whose "life," modeled on that of the earlier saint, Caitanya, became a rallying point for his...

Conventional materials, such as nickel based alloys, will not be able to match the required performance specifications for the future generation of high temperature materials. This book reviews the characteristics and potential of a wide range of candidate superalloy replacements, such as ceramics, intermetallics, and their composites. Particular attention is devoted to the problems of processing and design with these materials.