Since the 1950s shock compression research contributed greatly to scientific knowledge and industrial technology. As a result, for example, our understanding of meteorite impacts has substantially improved, and shock processes have become standard industrial methods in materials synthesis and processing. Investigations of shock-compressed matter involve physics, electrical engineering, solid mechanics, metallurgy, geophysics and materials science. The description of shock-compressed matter presented here, which is derived from physical and chemical observations, differs significantly from the...