This collection of 20 papers from the September 1999 NATO workshop reports new developments in supermaterials used for superconductors, medical technology, and energy applications. Topics include structure-properties relationships for manganese perovskites, lithium intercalation into the Bi-2212 phase through an electrochemical method, magnetization in high magnetic field and critical magnetic behavior in nanostructured magnetic oxides, high temperature solution growth of oxide single crystals for optoelectronics, and field dependent exponents of superconducting fluctuations. No subject index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
What is a supermaterial? A concise definition is by no means obvious, but a clue can be obtained from the topics discussed here.. In addition to superconductors, the reader will encounter magnetic effects of many kinds, including giant and even colossal ones, organic conductors, photoconductors, and even 400-year-old Japanese ceramics. Processing is a prominent pursuit in supermaterials research, especially but not exclusively of the superconductors. The papers on characterisation and theory break new ground, particularly in pursuit of new optoelectronic phenomena. The parade of new materials recently synthesised, often containing four or more elements, is surprising. But it is in it reporting of new applications that the book stands out: from circuits to sensors, supermaterials are making their impact on society.
