07/25/2007 -
Kinetics, Transport, and Structure in Hard and Soft Materials (2005)
by Peter F. Green
ISBN 15 74 44 7688. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 2005. Hardcover. 353 pages. $169.95.
In his book Kinetics, Transport, and Structure in Hard and Soft Materials (CRC Press, 2005), Peter F. Green presents a unified treatment of mass transport in the full spectrum of materials available to a modern materials scientist. Such a unified treatment is facilitated by the focus of the book on the fundamental processes that occur at the atomic or molecular level during diffusion. To emphasize this perspective, the book begins with a brief discussion of statistical thermodynamics and kinetic theory before introducing Fick’s laws. It also includes a chapter on the microscopic picture of diffusion provided by the complementary concepts of mean square displacement of molecules and velocity autocorrelation functions. These microscopic concepts are discussed in parallel with the conventional continuum description of diffusion. Green also introduces the more fundamental concept of chemical potential gradient-driven diffusion to explain ionic conduction and multicomponent diffusion. The book does not include the same depth of coverage of transport phenomena as other textbooks (such as the infallible book of Bird, Stewart, and Lightfoot) but it does include solutions of the most important cases for mass transport: steady state diffusion with constant concentrations at the boundaries, dispersion from a point source, and diffusion into a semi-infinite medium. These cases provide the background that would be needed to a more in-depth continuum-level analysis of diffusion such as in Crank’s The Mathematics of Diffusion.
After introducing the essential concepts required to understand both microscopic and continuum descriptions of diffusion, Green spends the majority of the book discussing the mechanisms of transport in the full array of technologically important materials. His derivations always focus on the atomic or molecular level, which helps to unify the book. The discussion of crystalline materials revolves around the thermodynamics of forming defects or activated states for transport, and clearly conveys the message that if the Gibbs free energy of the relevant states can be defined, we have a basis for understanding diffusion. For soft materials, the book includes a molecular description based on Brownian motion of free and confined polymer chains. The treatment of transport in disordered materials includes a considerable amount of discussion of mechanical and rheological properties. However, this discussion flows naturally based on the important roles these tools play in understanding relaxation processes in polymers and glasses.
The final part of the book focuses on pattern formation and interfacial stability in materials. Phase separation, growth, and solidification are areas where transport phenomena reveal their importance to the engineering of materials microstructure and properties, so this provides a relevant conclusion to the book. As in the rest of the book, the minimal amount of material required to convey the essential elements of the topic is presented. Green discussed spinodal decomposition in the context of Cahn’s linearized stability theory and uses binary polymer mixtures as easily understood applications of the theory. Classical nucleation theory is introduced, and while particle growth is discussed only to a limited extent, an entire chapter is devoted to the stability and shape of interfaces during growth of new phases. A chapter on interdiffusion provides a practical context to discuss the implications of multicomponent diffusion.
With the breadth of topics it covers, Green’s book can easily be used to provide senior-level undergraduate or graduate students with a unified perspective about mass transport in materials. It does not provide the depth of coverage that may be needed for a specialist in a particular area. For instance, Sperling’s Introduction to Physical Polymer Science gives a more thorough overview of transport and mechanical properties of polymers. However, the material is carefully chosen to provide the details required to understanding the basic physical principles involved, and each chapter has a well-selected bibliography for further reading. The writing is clear, with helpful illustrations of the major concepts and only a few typographical errors. Most chapters also include problems to illustrate important points or for homework assignments. The book was designed for a multi-disciplinary audience, and will provide a useful survey of transport in materials for a cross-cutting audience of scientists and engineers. For instance, Green introduces crystalline lattices to readers who are not materials scientists, and polymer structure to those who are not chemists or chemical engineers. Thus, this book provides a successful and much-needed synthesis of the molecular-level understanding of mass transport in metallic, ionic, semiconductor, polymeric, and glassy materials.
For more on Kinetics, Transport, and Structure in Hard and Soft Materials, visit the CRC Press web site.
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