This book is based on the contributions to the 17th International School of Materials Sci ence and Technology, entitled Nonlinear Waves in Solid State Physics. This was held as a NATO Advanced Study Institute at the Ettore Majorana Centre in Erice, Sicily between the st th 1 and 15 July 1989, and attracted almost 100 participants from over 20 different countries. The book covers the fundamental properties of nonlinear waves in solid state materials, dealing with both theory and experiment. The aim is to emphasise the methods underpinning the important new developments in this area. The...