Phase Transitions in Materials (2^nd Ed.)

The new edition of this popular textbook provides a fundamental approach to phase transformations and thermodynamics of materials. Explanations are emphasised at the level of atoms and electrons, and it comprehensively covers the classical topics from classical metallurgy to nanoscience and magnetic phase transitions. The book has three parts, covering the fundamentals of phase transformations, the origins of the Gibbs free energy, and the major phase transformations in materials science. A fourth part on advanced topics is available online. Much of the content from the first edition has been expanded, notably precipitation transformations in solids, heterogeneous nucleation, and energy, entropy and pressure. Three new chapters have been added to cover interactions within microstructures, surfaces, and solidification. Containing over 170 end-of-chapter problems, it is a valuable companion for graduate students and researchers in materials science, engineering, and applied physics.

Preface; Notation; Part I. Basic Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Phase Transformations: 2. Temperature-composition phase diagrams; 3. Diffusion; 4. Nucleation; 5. Effects of diffusion and nucleation on phase transformations; Part II. The Atomic Origins of Thermodynamics and Kinetics: 6. Energy; 7. Entropy; 8. Pressure; 9. Interactions in microstructures and constrained equilibrium; 10. Atom movements with the vacancy mechanism; Part III. Types of Phase Transformations: 11. Thermodynamics and phase transitions at surfaces; 12. Melting; 13. Solidification; 14. Phase transformations with interfaces, 1: microstructure; 15. Phase transformations with interfaces, 2: energetics and kinetics; 16. Spinodal decomposition; 17. Phase field theory; 18. Method of concentration waves and chemical ordering; 19. Diffusionless transformations; 20. Thermodynamics of nanomaterials; 21. Magnetic and electronic phase transitions; Further reading; References; Index. Online Chapters – Advanced Topics: 22. Low-temperature analysis of phase boundaries; 23. Statistical kinetics of ordering transformations; 24. Elastic energy of solid precipitates; 25. Diffusion, dissipation, and inelastic scattering; 26. Vibrational thermodynamics of materials at high temperatures; 27. Cooperative behavior near a critical temperature; 28. Phase transitions in quantum materials.

Brent Fultz is the Rawn Professor of Materials Science and Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology. His awards include the 2016 William Hume-Rothery Award of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), the Materials Research Society (MRS) and the Neutron Scattering Society of America (NSSA).