The present theoretical and experimental knowledge of the time evolution of a system during solidification, not only in equilibrium, but also in nonequilibrium conditions, is summarized in this book. Such knowledge is of fundamental importance for the determination of the constitution of materials or of the technological conditions necessary to prepare materials with a desired structure. Emphasizing the importance of kinetic phase diagrams, the authors focus the attention of the reader on the problems connected with nonequilibrium conditions, that are encountered during real phase transformations. A critical review of phenomenological and statistical theories of phase transformations and of mass and heat transport enables the reader to determine the range of applicability of concrete models for the description of the evolution of a given system. The book is supplemented with several less-known methods and results of phase characterization, including a detailed account of the Soviet school of T.A. Cherepanova which is not well known in the West. The text also covers the modern research area of glasses and their preparation. The book should prove invaluable to research workers in the fields of materials research, solid state thermodynamics and the kinetics of phase transformations. It will prove useful for a postgraduate study in the field of advanced thermodynamics, and will be valuable to physical chemists, chemists and physicists who are interested in the theory of phase transformation kinetics. They will appreciate the introduction to the foundations of material processes and the description of the processes which take place during the preparation of new materials.

Table of Contents:
Evolution of the knowledge on phase equilibria (I. Proks). Nonequilibrium processes and modern technologies (Z. Chvoj, A. Tříska, J. Šesták). Thermodynamics and dynamics of multicomponent systems (P. Demo). Types of equilibrium phase diagrams and the influence of force fields (P. Demo, J. Šesták). Metastable phase diagrams (Z. Chvoj, Z. Kožíšek). Glasses: Phenomenology of nonisothermal glass-formation and crystallization (J. Šesták). Nonstationary processes of nucleation (Z. Kožíšek, Z. Chvoj). General analysis of the dynamics of solidification at the phase interface (Z. Chvoj). Thermodynamic description of the kinetics of solidification at the phase interface (Z. Chvoj, P. Demo, Z. Kožíšek). Statistical methods for describing solidification kinetics at the phase interface (Z. Chvoj). Complex theories of the solidification at the phase interface (Z. Chvoj). Methods for the characterization of phases (A. Tříska, F. Fendrych, Č. Barta). Conclusions.(Z. Chvoj, A. Tříska, J. Šesták). Index.