Customer Reviews

Properties of Materials: Anisotropy, Symmetry, Structure

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It is a great pleasure to be the first person to write a review for the book by Professor Newnham.

As a background for those who do not know Prof. Newnham, let me tell you that he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and the Ben Frankling Medal Laureate in Electrical Engineering, to name a few of his credentials. What is today known as "piezoelectric composites" is his brainchild, which had an immense impact on modern medical ultrasound and sonar technology.

With all that said, off we go to the review.

Entropy4Life

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The title of the book is truly a propos to what is covered therein. One cannot help but notice the perfect balance bewteen crystal physics and solid state chemistry throughtout the text. Prof. Newnham's prose is simple and clear, which makes the book very agreeable to read. All scientific explanations that are presented are "right on the money," to coin a phrase.

Older classical texts on crystal physics such as Nye, Banvanghataman, Juretschke, Mason, Voigt, Wooster etc., which are good books to read, do not go beyond providing a phenomenological description of crystal anisotropy using tensors and matrices. On the other hand, classical and widely popular books on crystal chemistry or Solid State Chemistry, such as Jaffe and West, are excessively descriptive and with barely any mathematical treatment of the phenomena of interest.

Prof. Newnham, on the other hand, establishes the necessary mathematical and crystallographic foundation in the first 6 chapters of his book with sufficient clarity and depth. He then proceeds to discuss a wide range of topics in the ensuing 26 chapters in a very systematic fashion.

In addition to the conventional topics in crystal physics, the book also includes chapters on Nonlinear Phenomena (nonlinear dielectric and elastic response, electrostriction, magnetostriction and electromagnetostriction), Ferroic Crystals, Acoustics, and Nonlinear Optics, which are usually not encountered in classical crystal physics or chemistry texts. Most importantly, every physical phenomena described in the book is masterfully linked to its chemical or structural origin, and structure-property relations are effectively conveyed to the reader. The discussion of principles and facts are supported with plenty of experimental data to compare and contrast the effects of structure on properties, which helps the reader to develop a "feel" for what is being discussed. Also, the illustrations are carefully chosen, an fully integrated into the discussion. Furthermore, Prof. Newnham also describes the basics of an array of experimental techniques used to determine various properties of crystals, which complements the discussion very well.

I believe the book is very accessible to even those who have a modest background in physics and chemistry as the subject is treated with a "from the ground up" approach. One merit of the book that should not go unmentioned here is its pedagogical value. And that, indeed, should not be a surprise to the reader since Prof. Newnham is well-known in the scientific community for his zeal to teaching. Hence, the title of this review: "A Classical Textbook from the Master..."

In closing, I am believe that Prof. Newnham's book will most likely become the "Lehrbuch" for the new generation of scientists and enginneers who fancy (or need) to learn applied crystal physics and chemistry. Well...Voldemar Voigt's "Lehrbuch der Kristalphysik" was long overdue for retirement anyway (with all due respect, of course)... :-) I highly recommend it.

PS: Did I mention that the price it right as well?
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For anybody who is interested in doing serious materials modeling this book belongs on your book shelf. As Materials Scientists, we don't have the luxury to assume materials behavior is isotropic. This book explains how crystal symmetry (or lack thereof) brings about anisotropic material responses to applied stresses, electric fields, composition gradients, etc... I found this book easy to read and helpful when I was studying piezoelectric behavior for an exam.

I found this book easy to read even my background in physics is not so solid. However, it would be best if the author can use one chapter to describe experimentally how the materials are classified into different crystal classes and how the physical properties are characterized.

Book was in good condition when I received it and was way cheaper than buying it at a book store