Foundations of Physics, Vol. 20, No. 12, 1990
Book Review An Introduction to the Properties of Condensed Matter. By D. J. Barber and R. Loudon. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1989, 304 pp., $49.50 (hard cover), $19.95 (soft cover).
A broad knowledge of the general physical properties of solids and liquids, of interfaces between the phases, and of diffusion processes is essential background for many areas of experimental graduate research and of industrial research and development. Physicists and chemists in industry, after graduation, seldom take time to learn fundamental ideas and concepts which were not presented in their courses, and in some cases few introductory textbooks, suitable for self-study, are available. The academic courses tend to emphasize solid state physics, particularly the electronic properties of metals and semiconductors, and to neglect the elastic and plastic properties of solids and the physical properties of the liquid state. The authors have written an excellent introductory textbook covering these neglected areas of classical general physics. They have provided lucid discussions of fundamental concepts with illustrations from modern basic and applied science. The presentation of their selected topics should arouse and stimulate both students and industrial scientists. There are six chapters, each with suggestions for further reading and problems. The structures and the cohesive interactions between the structural elements are outlined for crystalline and amorphous solids, polymers, liquid crystals, and liquids. This is followed by a general treatment at an introductory level of the elastic and plastic deformation of solids and of viscoelastic behavior and creep. Plastic deformation and fracture are discussed for single crystals and polycrystalline materials and related to microscopic dislocation mechanisms, slow creep processes in stressed metals, orogenic processes, and earthquakes. Icosahedral symmetry in particular crystalline systems, the yon Mises condition, and the Deborah number are briefly introduced. Students who have difficulties with the theory of elasticity and the concepts of stress and strain will appreciate the clear treatment of these topics and of the distributions of stress and strain 1523 0015-9018/90/1200-1523506.00/0 © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation
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which are encountered in important structural elements. This chapter should give adequate background for the understanding of the macroscopic mechanical properties of most solid systems. The presentation of the bulk and surface elastic properties of liquids, of dynamical problems in fluid mechanics, including the theory of solitons, and of surface tension and interfacial energy provides a basis for the recognition and resolution of problems in systems with a liquid phase. Diffusion processes are the subject of the final chapter. This book will allow academic students and industrial scientists to acquire a sound and coherent understanding of the continuum approach to the macroscopic properties of solids, plastics, and liquids. Difficulties may arise, however, over the allocation of time for a second-year, one-semester course based on this textbook, within the widely accepted academic programs of the American universities. The need for such courses is recognized. J. W. Mitchell
Department of Physics University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia 22901
