Abstract
This book concerns itself with the physics of systems having high-energydensity. By high-energy-density systems, we refer to those having a pressure above one million atmospheres. The units of this pressure can be designated by 1 Mbar, 1011 Pascals, 1011 J/m3, 1012 dynes/cm2, or 1012 ergs/cm3. We will tend to express the pressure in Mbars, as this is the most common of these units found in the relevant literature. This characterization was developed in a report of the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S., entitled Frontiers in High-Energy-Density Physics: the X-games of Contemporary Science. It reflects several observations. For example, one learned in school that solids and liquids are “incompressible”, but this is not strictly true. If one applies a pressure exceedin ~1 Mbar to ordinary solid matter, it compresses. Another way to make this point is to say that the internal energy of a hydrogen molecule is ~1 Mbar.
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© 2006 Springer
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Drake, R.P. (2006). Introduction to High-Energy-Density Physics. In: Davison, L., Horie, Y. (eds) High-Energy-Density Physics. Shock Wave and High Pressure Phenomena. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-29315-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-29315-9_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-29314-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29315-6
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