When presented with a new compound or material, the inorganic chemist will usually have several questions in mind about its composition and structure. Although a simple elemental analysis may answer many questions about its composition, the chemist will still have questions about its structure, and, ifthe material contains a metal atom, he will often want to know its oxidation state, coordination number and geometry. Further, at an increasingly frequent rate, the chemist may need details of the spin- state, magnetic and perhaps dynamic properties of the material. If the investigator is...

During the past 30 years materials science has developed into a full-fledged field for basic and applied scientific enquiry. Indeed, materials scientists have devoted their efforts to creating new materials with improved electronic, magnetic, thermal, mechanical, and optical properties. Often unnoticed, these new materials are rapidly invading our homes and automobiles, and may be found in our utensils, electronic equipment, textiles, home appliances, and electric motors. Even though they may go unnoticed, these new materials have either improved the efficiency and lifetime of these items or...

This book represents Volume 2 in a series on the use of Mossbauer spectroscopy in the study of magnetism and materials. However, the perceptive reader will notice some differences from Volume 1. Specifically, in order to market the book at a more affordable price for most universities and research laboratories, the book has been prepared in camera- ready format The editors and the authors agreed to do this because there is a demand for such a book in the Mossbauer community. This format has placed an extra burden on the editors and the authors and we hope we have overcome all the difficulties...

The book you are now holding represents the final step in a long process for the editors and organizers of the Advanced Study Institute on hard magnetic materials. The editors interest in hard magnetic materials began in 1985 with an attempt to better understand the moments associated with the different iron sites in Nd Fe B. These 14 moments can be obtained from neutron diffraction studies, but we qUickly realized that iron-57 Mossbauer spectroscopy should lead to a better determination of these moments. However, it was also realized that the complex Mossbauer spectra obtained for these hard...