BOOKS & MEDIA UPDATE

December 2004 63

Carbon Fiber:Manufacture andApplications

V. Kelly

Elsevier Advanced Technology (2004)

512 pp., ISBN: 1-85617-430-1

$225 / £150 / �225

The science, manufacture, and

applications of carbon fibers are

outlined in this new book. It covers

the processes used to produce

polyacrylonitrile-based, pitch, and

rayon-based carbon fibers. Testing and

characterization methods are

described and applications of carbon

fiber composites are discussed.

Phase Diagrams andHeterogeneous Equilibria

Bruno Predel et al.

Springer (2004), 349 pp.

ISBN: 3-540-14011-5

$89.95 / £54 / �69.95

This graduate textbook introduces the

practical application of phase

diagrams for students and researchers

in materials science, chemistry, and

mineralogy, as well as engineering and

physics. Heterogeneous equilibria are

illustrated by practical examples in

different application fields, while

theory is kept to a minimum. An

emphasis is placed on providing tools

for predicting energetic, structural,

and physical quantities.

Functional TissueEngineering

F. Guilak et al. (eds.)

Springer (2004), 426 pp.

ISBN: 0-387-22013-5

$69.95 / £54 / �69.95

The aim of tissue engineering is to

allow the body to repair itself by

delivering the necessary cells,

scaffolds, and biological signals to

damaged or diseased tissues and

organs. This new book covers the

current technology and addresses key

issues in the field. These include

understanding the mechanical

properties of tissues and how to

develop implants in culture to gain a

good repair outcome.

Expert

Graduate

Undergraduate

Gaining a solid understandingPeter Goodhew reviews Understanding Solids, a new addition to the ranks ofundergraduate textbooks on materials science.

There are many books, aimed at undergraduates, that

attempt to cover the whole of materials science. A

quick scan of my own shelves reveals seven, and here

comes another, by Richard Tilley. He adopts a

scientific, rather than an engineering, slant and this is

evident from the chapter headings: metals, ceramics,

polymers, and composites are collectively allotted a

single chapter of the sixteen, while diffusion, oxidation

and reduction, and optical aspects each enjoy their

own chapter. The material is well treated, with plenty

of diagrams and clear explanations, and there is a

slight bias toward chemistry rather than physics.

This is well-trodden ground, so what are the special

features that might make Tilley a better buy than, say,

the long-running Callister? There

are some innovative features: each

chapter starts by posing three

questions and ends with three

fairly concise answers. This is a nice

idea, but I was concerned that the

questions are not necessarily those

in the forefront of students’ minds.

For instance, would a student start

a chapter entitled ‘Metals,

ceramics, polymers and

composites’ with the question, “Are

hydrides alloys or ceramics?”

Equally, would he or she start

reading about ‘insulating solids’

with the question, “How can a

ferroelectric solid be made from a

polycrystalline aggregate?” Finally, on this topic, it is

particularly unfortunate that, in the early chapters,

two of the (relatively few) typographical errors appear

in the question box at the head of the page.

An area that has burgeoned since many of the

competing texts were written is nanoscience. Tilley’s

declared intent is to integrate ‘nano’ material

throughout the book. This seems like a good idea, but

the differences in behavior at nano-dimensions are not

clearly brought out in the text. To make matters

worse, two of the major sections on nanostructures do

not appear in the index, and when we find them they

relate almost entirely to quantum confinement effects.

Teachers will appreciate the sets of problems and

questions in each chapter. These take a great deal of

time to assemble and I for one will be appreciative of a

resource which offers up to 35 quick questions and 50

longer problems, with answers, on each topic. You

might want to buy the book for this alone!

We have grown to expect a high standard of

presentation in a modern textbook, and on the whole

this is delivered. However, I do have a distressing

number of niggles. Why are there two indexes,

‘chemical’ and ‘subject’? This feature is slightly

unfortunate in that it gives away the essentially

chemical approach of the author and is also confusing

because when you look up a topic it is quite possible

to start looking in the wrong index.

Why, too, are there so few images? I could find only

three pictures, all of rather poor quality, to illustrate a

field that has at its core

microstructure and its visualization.

There is, I believe, a huge difference

between a sketched micrograph (of

which there are plenty in this book)

and a real one.

Lastly, but most seriously, where is

the supporting software? Paper-

based textbooks just cannot

present some material as well as

can be done using a computer. Two

examples are crystallography and

solid-state diffusion. Both are

difficult topics for students and

learning can be greatly assisted by

well-designed software. Other texts

approach this in two ways: they refer to some of the

excellent software (much of it free) that has been

developed and/or they offer software of their own.

Tilley offers neither – there does not appear to be a

reference to software either in the book or on Wiley’s

web-site. This is a great pity.

Overall, therefore, it is hard to give a definitive

judgment on the book. Parts of it are excellent and

your attitude will depend on how important these

parts are to you and your teaching.

Peter J. Goodhew is a professor in the Department of

Engineering at the University of Liverpool and director

of the UK Centre for Materials Education.

Richard J. D. TilleyUnderstanding Solids: The Science of Materials

John Wiley & Sons (2004), 616 pp., ISBN: 0-470-85276-3

$49.95 / £34.95 / �52.50