Creep of crystals

226 in metals and alloys, with considerably briefer accounts given of applications to deposition processes, radiopolarography and mechanism studies o f electrochemical processes. The tone of the article is cautionary to the point of dissuasion for the uninitiated who would a t t e m p t to employ these techniques on the basis of their presumed simplicity, which the authors demonstrate is "largely illusory". BARRY D. LICHTER

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Vanderbilt University Nashville TN 3 7235 U.S.A.

brief examination of deformation maps. Each chapter commences with a synopsis which gives the essential overview of each particular section; an extensive bibliography is presented at the end of the text and it is amply illustrated with a good selection of line drawings and micrographs. R. PILKINGTON

Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science University of Manchester Manchester M1 7HX Gt. Britain

Plastic Deformation of Amorphous and Semi. crystalline Materials Creep of Crystals edited by B. Escaig and C. G'Sell; published by Les

by Jean-Paul Poirier; published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Cambs., 1985; 260 pp. ; price, £27.50, U.So $49.50 (hardback); £10.95, U.S. $22.95 (paperback) This book is designed as part of a series of standard texts for geologists and geophysicists, but at the outset it should be made clear that this text will provide an excellent work of reference for metallurgists and materials scientists and it should be brought to their attention. It provides a comprehensive review of the principles of creep deformation in metals, ceramics and minerals and will be of value to all spcialists in the field of creep from postgraduate student level upwards and to those final year students dealing with this topic. The book contains nine chapters commencing with an examination of the mechanical behaviour of materials leading to a study of defects and their associated thermodynamics, thus providing a foundation for a detailed examination of dislocation creep models. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on deformation is examined, followed by a study of some of the microstructural changes which occur during creep. One criticism in this context is that, although the author quite properly does not wish to become involved in the problems of creep fracture, no mention is made of the problem of cavitation, which is well known to occur t h r o u g h o u t the life o f a material. Diffusion creep, grain b o u n d a r y sliding, superplasticity and transformation plasticity are all briefly covered, the text concluding with a

Editions de Physique, 1982; 405 pp. ; price, This book is devoted to the lectures presented at the International Conference on Plastic Deformation of Amorphous and Semicrystalline Materials held at Houches, France, on April 19-29, 1982. The objective of the conference was to present the experimental and theoretical facts about the different modes of viscoelastic and plastic deformation of amorphous and semicrystalline polymers as well as of metallic glasses. The book is divided in seven parts. The numerals in parentheses indicate the number of contributions in each part. These are as follows: mechanical aspects (2); dislocation t h e o r y ( 1 ); linear viscoelasticity (3); glass transition and molecular mobility (3); plastic deformation (6); plastic deformation of semicrystalline polymers (3); molecular orientation and deformation localization (5). Some of the contributions are quite elementary and introductory, probably on purpose. Other more specialized contributions are more in depth. In general, the book will be helpful to the reader in giving him an overview of the state of the fields covered at the time that this conference was held. ARIS PHILLIPS

Department of Mechanical Engineering Yale University New Haven CT 06520 U.S.A.