Liquid-crystalline phases are now known to be formed by an ever growing range of quite diverse materials, these include those of low molecular weight as well as the novel liquid-crystalline polymers, such phases can also be induced by the addition of a solvent to amphiphilic systems leading to lyotropic liquid crystals. Irrespective of the structure of the constituent molecules these numerous liquid-cl)'Stailine phases are characterised by their long range orientational order. In addition certain phases exhibit elements of long range positional order. Our understanding, both experimental and theoretical, at the molecular level of the static behaviour of these fascinating and important materials is now well advanced. In contrast the influence of the long range order; both orientational and positional, on the molecular dynamics in liquid Cl)'Stais is less well understood. In an attempt to address this situation a NATO Advanced Study Institute devoted to liquid ctystal dynamics was held at n Ciocco, Barga, Italy in September 1989. This brought together experimentalists and theoreticians concerned with the various dynamical processes occurring in all liquid crystals. The skills of the participants was impressively wide ranging; they spanned the experimental techniques used in the study of molecular dynamics, the nature of the systems investigated and the theoretical models employed to understand the results. While much was learnt it was also recognised that much more needed to be done in order to advance our understanding of molecular dynamics in liquid Cl)'Stais.

Molecular Crystals and Molecules deals with some of the problems of molecular crystallography and certain aspects of molecular structure. This book is composed of eight chapters that specifically cover the significant progress of conformational research. The opening chapter describes the structure of crystals considering the close-packing principle, disorder elements, and binary systems. The next two chapters examine the calculation of crystal lattice energy and dynamics. These topics are followed by discussions on the molecular movement, structural, and thermodynamic aspects of crystals. The final chapters look into the parameters for conformational calculations of molecules, macromolecules, and biopolymers. This book will be of great value to physical chemists and researchers who are interested in crystal and molecular structure.

The lattice dynamics of molecular crystals has undergone an enor mous progress in these last twenty years or so. The experimental and theoretical advances have been realized by two different approaches. From one side molecular spectroscopists have been primarily interested in the vibrational properties of the molecules themselves subjected to the perturbing influence of the crystal environment. From the other side the lattice dynamical theory familiar in solid state physics for atomic lattices has been extended to molecular arrays. Although the overlap between the two approaches has been considerable the reference material is rather scattered in specialized papers. The purpose of this book is to partly fill this gap and to discuss the lattice dynamical theory of molecular crystals in a compact and specialized form. As such, the book is not intended exclusively for researchers and specialists in the field but also for graduate students entering an activity in solid state mo lecular spectroscopy.

High-pressure materials research has been revolutionized in the past few years due to technological breakthroughs in the diamond anvil cell (DAC), shock wave compression and molecular dynamic simulation (MD) methods. The application of high pressure, especially together with high temperature, has revealed exciting modifications of physical and chemical properties even in the simplest molecular materials.Besides the fundamental importance of these studies to understand the composition and the dynamics of heart and planets' interior, new materials possessing peculiar characteristics of hardness and composition have been synthesized at very high pressure, while unexpected chemical reactions of simple molecules to polymers and amorphous compounds have been found at milder conditions.The variety of the phenomena observed in these extreme conditions and of the materials involved provides a common ground bridging scientific communities with different cultural and experimental backgrounds. This monograph will provide a timely opportunity to report on recent progress in the field.

The current volume is a single topic volume on the optical spectra and lattice dynamics of molecular crystals. The book is divided into two parts. Part I covers both the theoretical and experimental investigations of organic crystals. Part II deals with the investigation of the structure, phase transitions and reorientational motion of molecules in organic crystals. In addition appendices are given which provide the parameters for the calculation of the lattice dynamics of molecular crystals, procedures for the calculation of frequency eigenvectors of utilizing computers, and the frequencies and eigenvectors of lattice modes for several organic crystals. Quite a large amount of Russian literature is cited, some of which has previously not been available to scientists in the West.

This book is divided in two parts. Part I provides a brief but accurate summary of all the basic ideas, theories, methods, and conspicuous results of structure analysis and molecular modelling of the condensed phases of organic compounds: quantum chemistry, the intermolecular potential, force field and molecular dynamics methods, structural correlation, and thermodynamics. This Part is written in simple and intuitive form, so that the reader may easily find there the essential background for the discussions in the second part. Part II exposes the present status of studies in the analysis, categorization, prediction and control, at a molecular level, of intermolecular interactions in liquids, solutions, mesophases, and crystals. The main focus is here on the links between energies, structures, and chemical or physical properties.