OPTICAL MATERIALS

Part of the “Optical Science and Engineering” series, the 576-page volume Physical Properties and Data of Optical Materials compiles information on more than 100 commonly used optical materials. For each substance, it covers the crystal system; natural and artificial growth and production methods, along with corrosives and processing; thermal, electrical and mechanical properties; optical properties, such as transmittance and reflectance spectra, ranging from the UV to the IR; and other information, such as applications, handling concerns and chemical properties. Numerous tables illustrate data, such as the numerical values of optical constants for key wavelength regions. The resource is organized alphabetically, and a common format is used for each entry. References are provided. Moriaki Wakaki, Keiei Kudo and Takehisa Shibuya, eds.; CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Books Inc., Boca Raton, Fla., 2007; $139.95.