Provides an overview of the developments in the field of first-order phase transitions. This work features chapters which cover such topics as nucleation and crystallization kinetic of silicate glasses, nucleation in concentration gradients, the determination of coefficients of emission of nucleation theory, and diamonds from vitreous carbon.

Preface.List of Contributors.1 Introductory Remarks (Jurn W.P. Schmelzer).References.2 Solid-Liquid and Liquid-Vapor Phase Transitions: Similarities and Differences (Vladimir P. Skripov and Mars Z. Faizullin).2.1 Introduction.2.2 Behavior of the Internal Pressure.2.3 The Boundaries of Stability of a Liquid.2.4 The Surface Energy of the Interfacial Boundary.2.5 Viscosity of a Liquid along the Curves of Equilibrium with Crystalline and Vapor Phases.2.6 Conclusions.References.3 A New Method of Determination of the Coefficients of Emission in Nucleation Theory (Vitali V. Slezov, Jurn W. P. Schmelzer, and Alexander S. Abyzov).3.1 Introduction.3.2 Basic Kinetic Equations.3.3 Ratio of the Coefficients of Absorption and Emission of Particles.3.4 Generalization to Multicomponent Systems.3.5 Generalization to Arbitrary Boundary Conditions.3.6 Initial Conditions for the Cluster Size Distribution Function.3.7 Description of Cluster Ensemble Evolution Along a Given Trajectory.3.8 Conclusions.References.4 Nucleation and Crystallization Kinetics in Silicate Glasses: Theory and Experiment (Vladimir M. Fokin, Nikolay S. Yuritsyn, and Edgar D. Zanotto).4.1 Introduction.4.2 Basic Assumptions and Equations of Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT).4.3 Experimental Methods to Estimate Nucleation Rates.4.4 Interpretation of Experimental Results by Classical Nucleation Theory.4.5 Nucleation Rate Data and CNT: Some Serious Problems.4.6 Crystal Nucleation on Glass Surfaces.4.7 Concluding Remarks.References.5 Boiling-Up Kinetics of Solutions of Cryogenic Liquids (Vladimir G. Baidakov).5.1 Introduction.5.2 Nucleation Kinetics.5.3 Nucleation Thermodynamics.5.4 Experiment.5.5 Comparison between Theory and Experiment.5.6 Conclusions.References.6 Correlated Nucleation and Self-Organized Kinetics of Ferroelectric Domains (Vladimir Ya. Shur).6.1 Introduction.6.2 Domain Structure Evolution during Polarization Reversal.6.3 General Considerations.6.4 Materials and Experimental Conditions.6.5 Slow Classical Domain Growth.6.6 Growth of Isolated Domains.6.7 Loss of Domain Wall Shape Stability.6.8 Fast Domain Growth.6.9 Super fast Domain Growth.6.10 Domain Engineering.6.11 Conclusions.References.7 Nucleation and Growth Kinetics of Nanofilms (Sergey A. Kukushkin and Andrey V. Osipov).7.1 Introduction.7.2 Thermodynamics of Adsorbed Layers.7.3 Growth Modes of Nanofilms.7.4 Nucleation of Relaxed Nanoislands on a Substrate.7.5 Formation and Growth of Space-Separated Nanoislands.7.6 Kinetics of Nanofilm Condensation.7.7 Coarsening of Nanofilms.7.8 Nucleation and Growth of GaN Nanofilms.7.9 Nucleation of Coherent Nanoislands.7.10 Conclusions.References.8 Diamonds by Transport Reactions with Vitreous Carbon and from the Plasma Torch: New and Old Methods of Metastable Diamond Synthesis and Growth (Ivan Gutzow, Snejana Todorova, Lyubomir Kostadinov, Emil Stoyanov, Victoria Guencheva, Gunther Volksch, Helga Dunken, and Christian Russel).8.1 Introduction.8.2 Some History.8.3 Basic Theoretical and Empirical Considerations.8.4 Experimental Part.8.5 Conclusions.References.9 Nucleation in Micellization Processes (Alexander K. Shchekin, Fedor M. Kuni, Alexander P. Grinin, and Anatoly I. Rusanov).9.1 Introduction.9.2 General Aspects of Micellization: the Law of Mass Action and the Work of Aggregation.9.3 General Kinetic Equation of Molecular Aggregation: Irreversible Behavior in Micellar Solutions.9.4 Thermodynamic Characteristics of Micellization Kinetics in the Near-Critical and Micellar Regions of Aggregate Sizes.9.5 Kinetic Equation of Aggregation in the Near-Critical and Micellar Regions of Aggregate Sizes.9.6 Direct and Reverse Fluxes of Molecular Aggregates over the Activation Barrier of Micellization.9.7 Times of Establishment of Quasiequilibrium Concentrations.9.8 Time of Fast Relaxation in Surfactant Solutions.9.9 Time of Slow Relaxationin Surfactant Solutions.9.10 Time of Approach of the Final Micellization Stage.9.11 The Hierarchy of Micellization Times.9.12 Chemical Potential of a Surfactant Monomer in a Micelle and the Aggregation Work in the Droplet Model of Spherical Micelles.9.13 Critical Micelle Concentration and Thermodynamic Characteristics of Micellization.References.10 Nucleation in a Concentration Gradient (Andriy M. Gusak).10.1 Introduction.10.2 Phase Competition under Unlimited Nucleation.10.3 Thermodynamics of Nucleation in Concentration Gradients: Case of Full Metastable Solubility.10.4 Thermodynamics of Nucleation at the Interface: The Case of Limited Metastable Solubility.10.5 Kinetics of Nucleation in a Concentration Gradient.References.11 Is Gibbs' Thermodynamic Theory of Heterogeneous Systems Really Perfect? (Jurn W. P. Schmelzer, Grey Sh. Boltachev, and Vladimir G. Baidakov).11.1 Introduction.11.2 Gibbs' Classical Approach.11.3 A Generalization of Gibbs' Thermodynamic Theory.11.4 Applications: Condensation and Boiling in One-Component Fluids.11.5 Discussion.11.6 Appendix.References.12 Summary and Outlook (Jurn W.P. Schmelzer).References.Index.