Because of the vicissitudes of history, the general theory of relativity has never been consistently explored to ascertain whether, in its realm of exact validity, it predicts phenomena which have no counterparts in the Newtonian limit, that is in the limit in which the velocity of light may be considered infinite. Thus, while recent interest in physics has concentrated on such 'frontier areas' as quantum gravity and cosmology, there has also been a quiet but steady progress in the classical domain. The five papers collected in this volume, and presented under the editorship of the famed Nobel Laureate S. Chandrasekhar, illustrate the nature of these advances. Each of them represents developments in areas both of physics and mathematics which disclose unanticipated findings that illustrate the special character of work in these areas. Astrophysicists and mathematical relativists will welcome this unique look at ongoing research.
