The origins of multiple scattering theory (MST) can be traced back to Lord Rayleigh's publication of a paper treating the electrical resistivity of an ar ray of spheres, which appeared more than a century ago. At its most basic, MST provides a technique for solving a linear partial differential equa tion defined over a region of space by dividing space into nonoverlapping subregions, solving the differential equation for each of these subregions separately and then assembling these partial solutions into a global phys ical solution that is smooth and continuous over the entire region. This...

It is common practice today to use the term "alloy" in connection with specific classes of materials, with prominence given to metals and semiconductors. However, there is good justification for considering alloys in a unified manner based on properties rather than types of materials because, after all, to alloy means to mix. The scientific aspects of mixing together different materials has a very long history going back to early attempts to understand and control materials behavior for the service of mankind. The case for using the scientific term "alloy" to mean any material consisting of...

It is almost self-evident that surface and interface science, coupled with the electronic structure of bulk materials, playa fundamental role in the understanding of materials properties. If one is to have any hope of understanding such properties as catalysis, microelectronic devices and contacts, wear, lubrication, resistance to corrosion, ductility, creep, intragranular fracture, toughness and strength of steels, adhesion of protective oxide scales, and the mechanical properties of ceramics, one must address a rather complex problem involving a number of fundamental parameters: the atomic...

One of the ultimate goals of materials research is to develop a fun damental and predictive understanding of the physical and metallurgical properties of metals and alloys. Such an understanding can then be used in the design of materials having novel properties or combinations of proper ties designed to meet specific engineering applications. The development of new and useful alloy systems and the elucidation of their properties are the domain of metallurgy. Traditionally, the search for new alloy systems has been conducted largely on a trial and error basis, guided by the skill and...

The study of phase transformations in substitutional alloys, including order- disorder phenomena and structural transformations, plays a crucial role in understanding the physical and mechanical properties of materials, and in designing alloys with desired technologically important characteristics. Indeed, most of the physical properties, including equilibrium properties, transport, magnetic, vibrational as well as mechanical properties of alloys are often controlled by and are highly sensitive to the existence of ordered compounds and to the occurrence of structural transformations....

Engineering materials with desirable physical and technological properties requires understanding and predictive capability of materials behavior under varying external conditions, such as temperature and pressure. This immediately brings one face to face with the fundamental difficulty of establishing a connection between materials behavior at a microscopic level, where understanding is to be sought, and macroscopic behavior which needs to be predicted. Bridging the corresponding gap in length scales that separates the ends of this spectrum has been a goal intensely pursued by theoretical...

The proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute on Surfaces and Interfaces, held August 1991, in Porto Carra, Greece, provide a tutorial and review of surface and interface aspects of metallic systems, including semiconducting materials. The presentations give a cohesive exposition of: 1) experim

The proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on title], held in Rhodes, Greece, June-July 1992, comprise invited and contributed papers that focus on recent experimental, theoretical, and computational developments in the study of phase alloy transformations. The coverage is in three parts:

Proceedings of the June 1996 conference, which sought to break down barriers to communication across disciplines and to promote a unified approach to the study of materials properties, placing emphasis on specific properties and demonstrating that materials scientists, mineralogists, and others who

The primary goal of a materials scientist is a predictive understanding of materials properties and that requires a clear picture of the role played by electrons in determining the materials' behavior. Only then can one hope to design and build new materials with desired physical, chemical and engineering characteristics. Research is carried out on the basis of quantum mechanics, through solution of the so-called single-particle Schrodinger equation that describes the behavior of electrons in a solid. This book describes one formal approach to solving the Schrodinger equation developed within...