Metastable Systems under Pressure (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series A: Chemistry and Biology)

The fundamental insight and the technological & environmental relevance of metastable systems have given a strong impetus from the last decade development of extreme pressures experimental techniques, from the GPa region to the challenging negative pressures domain. The ultimate verification of theoretical models and reliable equations for portraying basic properties for such systems seems to be possible only when including temperature and pressure paths. This volume presents a set of papers related to novel findings on the glass transition phenomenon, phase transitions in liquid crystals, critical mixtures, bioliquids, geophysical system which can reveal surprising "secret" features only when using extreme pressures. This can be illustrated by the link between colloidal and molecular glassformers, the universal onset of the non-trivial dynamics in glasses, demistification of the secondary relaxation or novel findings associated with liquid - liquid near critical transitions in critical mixture, liquid crystals and in one component liquid, including water Particularly noteworthy is the emerging possibility of applications in geophysical and environment- relevant system as well as in technological application from material engineering, pharmacy industry, to biotechnology.