A comprehensive two volume set covering the synthesis, characterization and applications of natural rubber based blends, interpenetrating polymer networks, composites and nanocomposites.

Mineral-filled polymer composites exhibit several advantages that make this material class attractive for a variety of applications, including their low cost, light weight, excellent rigidity, and high mechanical strength. Mineral-Filled Polymer Composites Handbook serves as a comprehensive overview of the latest research, trends, applications, and future directions of advanced mineral fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Comprised of 2 volumes: Mineral-Filled Polymer Composites: Perspective, Properties, and New Materials Mineral-Filled Polymer Composites: Selection, Processing, and Applications Presents details on processing, applications, and ageing of macro- to nanosized mineral reinforced polymer composites Examines fabrication techniques, novel synthesis methods, and mechanical behavior, thermal, flammability, and functional properties of a wide array of mineral filled polymer composite materials Covers a broad range of different research fields, including organic and inorganic filler used in the development of composites for various types of engineering applications Offers the latest developments in nano/micromineral-based polymer composites This book serves as an excellent reference guide for researchers, advanced students, academics, and industry professionals interested in the synthesis of mineral-filled polymer and biopolymer composites, as well as those pursuing research in the broad fields of composite materials, polymers, organic/inorganic hybrid materials, and nano-assembly.

In the last 20 years the disciplines of particle physics, astrophysics, nuclear physics and cosmology have grown together in an unprecedented way. A brilliant example is nuclear double beta decay, an extremely rare radioactive decay mode, which is one of the most exciting and important fields of research in particle physics at present and the flagship of non-accelerator particle physics.While already discussed in the 1930s, only in the 1980s was it understood that neutrinoless double beta decay can yield information on the Majorana mass of the neutrino, which has an impact on the structure of space-time. Today, double beta decay is indispensable for solving the problem of the neutrino mass spectrum and the structure of the neutrino mass matrix. The potential of double beta decay has also been extended such that it is now one of the most promising tools for probing beyond-the-standard-model particle physics, and gives access to energy scales beyond the potential of future accelerators.This book presents the breathtaking manner in which achievements in particle physics have been made from a nuclear physics process. Consisting of a 150-page highly factual overview of the field of double beta decay and a 1200-page collection of the most important original articles, the book outlines the development of double beta decay research — theoretical and experimental — from its humble beginnings until its most recent achievements, with its revolutionary consequences for the theory of particle physics. It further presents an outlook on the exciting future of the field.