Diffusion in solids and at interfaces is a very active area of research, as the contributions to this volume attest.

"Adhesion and Friction: Microscopic Concepts" was the theme of the third workshop on interface phenomena organized jointly by the surface science groups at Dalhousie University and the University of Maine. The first two workshops were dedicated to the discussion of elementary processes governing the reaction rates at surfaces and in bulk materials, i. e. adsorption, desorption and diffusion. In this third year a step towards the understanding of complicated (but practical) issues such as adhesion and friction between different materials was undertaken. The presentations and discussions...

This monograph deals with the kinetics of adsorption and desorption of molecules physisorbed on solid surfaces. Although frequent and detailed reference is made to experiment, it is mainly concerned with the theory of the subject. In this, we have attempted to present a unified picture based on the master equation approach. Physisorption kinetics is by no means a closed and mature subject; rather, in writing this monograph we intended to survey a field very much in flux, to assess its achievements so far, and to give a reasonable basis from which further developments can take off. For this...