Acoustic Waves

The concept of acoustic wave is a pervasive one, which emerges in any type of medium, from solids to plasmas, at length and time scales ranging from sub-micrometric layers in microdevices to seismic waves in the Sun's interior. This book presents several aspects of the active research ongoing in this field. Theoretical efforts are leading to a deeper understanding of phenomena, also in complicated environments like the solar surface boundary. Acoustic waves are a flexible probe to investigate the properties of very different systems, from thin inorganic layers to ripening cheese to biological systems. Acoustic waves are also a tool to manipulate matter, from the delicate evaporation of biomolecules to be analysed, to the phase transitions induced by intense shock waves. And a whole class of widespread microdevices, including filters and sensors, is based on the behaviour of acoustic waves propagating in thin layers. The search for better performances is driving to new materials for these devices, and to more refined tools for their analysis

Hydrodynamics

The phenomena related to the flow of fluids are generally complex, and difficult to quantify. New approaches - considering points of view still not explored - may introduce useful tools in the study of Hydrodynamics and the related transport phenomena. The details of the flows and the properties of the fluids must be considered on a very small scale perspective. Consequently, new concepts and tools are generated to better describe the fluids and their properties. This volume presents conclusions about advanced topics of calculated and observed flows. It contains eighteen chapters, organized in five sections: 1) Mathematical Models in Fluid Mechanics, 2) Biological Applications and Biohydrodynamics, 3) Detailed Experimental Analyses of Fluids and Flows, 4) Radiation-, Electro-, Magnetohydrodynamics, and Magnetorheology, 5) Special Topics on Simulations and Experimental Data. These chapters present new points of view about methods and tools used in Hydrodynamics