All economists are familiar with the division of the subject into microeconomics and macroeconomics. However, few economists are able to give an accurate account of what distinguishes micro and macro and what the relationship between them is. The increasing interest in the microfoundations of macroeconomics has typically attracted those who feel that economics is about the rational behaviour of individuals and who regard macro propositions as a consequence of the intentions of individuals. As a result, microfoundations have come to be synonymous with theories of individual behaviour.

In this second edition, which is the result of numerous revisions, updates and additions, the authors cover the basic concepts of fracture mechanics for both the linear elastic and elastic-plastic regimes. The fracture mechanics parameters K, G, J and CTOD are treated in a basic manner along with the text methods to determine critical values. The development of failure assessment based on elastic-plastic fracture mechanics is reflected in a comprehensive treatment. Three chapters are devoted to the fracture mechanics characterisation of crack growth. Fatigue crack growth is extensively...

The quantum phenomena of tunneling and interference show up not only in the microscopic world of atoms and molecules, but also in cold materials of the real world, such as metals and semiconductors. Though not fully macroscopic, such mesoscopic systems contain a huge number of particles, and the holistic nature of quantum mechanics becomes evident already in simple electronic measurements. The measured quantity fluctuates as a function of applied fields in an unpredictable, yet reproducible way. Despite this fingerprint character of fluctuations, their statistical properties are universal,...