Metal-Hydrogen System

I think it is expedient here to clearly specify the readership for whom this book is intended. Some readers might infer from the title that this is a data book convenient for occasional reference purposes. Most of the data on the bulk properties and a comprehensive list of publications are indeed compiled here, will be found useful as they are. The primary purpose of the book is, however, and rather to provide a coherent and consistent description of the basic bulk properties of the metal-hydrogen system, ranging from macroscopic properties such as solubilities and phase diagrams to microscopic properties such as atomistic states and diffusion. The emphasis has been placed on the physics of how these properties actually come about. This structure of the book is considered to be useful, and even necessary, not only for physicists but also for researchers interested in the materials-science aspects of the system. Who could have anticipated that the solubility of hydrogen in iron reaches a level as high as [H]/[Fe] ~ 1 under a hydrogen pressure of 10 GPa; who could have anticip- ated that the diffusivity of hydrogen in metals increases at low temperatures; who could unravel the mechanism of 'cold' fusion (if this indeed exists), without a basic understanding of the metal-hydrogen system? Obviously, these prob- lems are not only of academic interest but also have profound technical implications.