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Industrial Group of the BCA
Book reviewIndustrial Applications of X-Ray Diffraction.
This book fills a significant gap in the literature on diffraction covering specific applications of the technique in industry. It is divided into three parts covering an Introduction to principles and practice of x-ray diffraction, Industrial Applications and Speciality Techniques. The introduction written by the editors spanning 50 pages in three chapters gives concise well-written coverage of the history, theory, practice, progress and potential of X-ray diffraction. It sets the scene for the rest of the content and the standard for the large number of useful references (161 in total for the introduction). The second and largest part of the book covers industrial applications in 5 sections, 25 chapters and spans 649 pages. Each chapter is written by acknowledged experts in a style that is easy to read and well illustrated with over 850 photographs, drawings, equations and tables in the book. The division of this part into sect ions on: High-Tech; Metals; Minerals and Ceramics; Polymers and Composites; and Chemicals seems arbitrary and unnecessary. The 25 chapters cover: Semiconductors; Aerospace; Automotive; Petroleum; Hydrometallurgy; Fractography; Mining; Cement; Silica; Glass-Ceramics; Polymers; Paint & Pigment; Pharmaceutical; Energy; Lighting; Photography; Detergents; Museums; Forensic; and Customs; with more than one chapter on some topics. The final chapter offers some guidance for outsourcing diffraction work t o a commercial service laboratory. The third part of the book covers Speciality Techniques with sections on Radiation; Microstructure and Instrumentation; and Diffraction Patterns in 12 chapters and spans 188 pages. It opens with using synchrotron radiation and electron microscopy and goes on to cover: Line Profiles; Thin films and Multilayers; Residual Stress; Warren-Averbach; Microbeam; Non-ambient; NIST reference materials; Grain orientation and Texture; and Structure Analysis from powd er data. Each of these chapters gives a good overview of these specific applications with plenty of well-chosen examples and lots of references for further reading. The use of well-chosen experts to write the individual chapters makes for a book in which state of the art coverage is achieved in so many diverse applications and techniques. It is a tribute to the editors and authors that the individual contributions gel into a whole that is consistent and of high quality with very little dupl ication. The high cost of the book makes individual purchase difficult to justify and its size and weight will restrict it to the bookshelf. This book covers new ground, is a good read and is a must for the bookshelves of all laboratories doing work in materials characterisation and the libraries of teaching establishments. Each chapter being self-contained makes it very easy to dip into relevant topics and the useful index is a helpful starting point for specific queries. It will open many eyes to the diverse applications of X-ray Diffraction in industry and be of benefit to both beginners and experienced practitioners of the technique. Dave Taylor |
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