Physical Chemistry, A Series of Monographs: Active Nitrogen presents the methods by which active nitrogen may be produced. This book is composed of five chapters that evaluate the energy content, molecular spectrum, and the emission of active nitrogen. Some of the topics covered in the book are the summary of light-emitting systems of active nitrogen; analysis of Long-Lived Lewis-Rayleigh Afterglow theory and Ionic theory of Mitra; reactions followed by induced light emission; and characteristics of homogeneous recombination. Other chapters deal with the analysis of metastable molecule theories and the mechanisms for reactions of active nitrogen involving direct N(4S) attack. The discussion then shifts to the rate constants for reactions induced by direct N(4S) attack. The evaluation of the Short-Lived Energetic Afterglow theory is presented. The final chapter is devoted to the examination of emission from molecular species with electronic energy levels below 9.76 eV. The book can provide useful information to physicists, students, and researchers.

After World War II, Professor S.K. Mitra wrote a comprehensive book called The Upper Atmosphere, which dealt with information available from ground-based and balloon-borne experiments. As a result, topics such as day airglow were investigated and further ground-based experiments using incoherent back-scattering were carried out. These activities resulted in new information on the ozonosphere. The dramatic discovery of ozone holes forms a new and exciting chapter in the discovery of atmospheric processes. While dealing with the limits of the atmosphere, reference may be made to interstellar molecules whose discovery has raised considerable scientific curiosity. Knowledge of the solar-terrestrial relationship advanced a great deal when more information on solar radiation became available by measuring higher energy photons in the UV, EUV, and even X-ray regimes. All this information is incorporated in this volume and presented under the title The Neutral Upper Atmosphere.

This book contains the lecmres presented at the Summer Advanced Study Institute, 'Physics and Chemistry of Upper Atmospheres' which was held at the University of Orleans, Orleans, France, during the period July 31 through August 11,1972. One hundred thirty nine persons from 14 different countries attended the Institute. The authors and the publisher have made a special effort for rapid publication of an up-to-date status of the particles, fields, and processes in the earth's magnetosphere, which is an ever changing area. Special thanks are due to the lecturers for their diligent preparation and excellent presentations. The individual lectures and the published papers were deliberately limited; the authors' cooperation in conforming to these specifications is greatly appreciated. The contents of the book are organized by sub ject area rather than in the order in which papers were presented during the Institute. Many thanks are due to Warren Berning, Donald M. Hunten, Edward Llewellyn, J. Ortner, Henry Rishbeth, Harold I Schiff, Lance Thomas, Alister Vallance Jones, and Gilbert Weill, who served as session chairmen during the Institute and contributed greatly to its success by skillfully directing the discussion period in a stimulating manner after each lecture.