Vladimir Fortov is one of Russia's leading physicists, a senior member of the Academy of Sciences, and a world expert on the topic of matter under extreme conditions. He has carried out many pioneering experiments, among others experimentally confirming the "plasma phase transitions" long predicted by eminent scientists such as Eugene Wigner, Lev Landau and Klaus von Klitzing. He was also in charge of experiments carried out aboard the MIR and ISS space stations.

1. Introduction.- 2. Matter under Extreme Conditions: Classification of States.- 3. High Energy Densities in Laboratories.- 4. High-Power Lasers in High-Energy Density Physics.- 5. Relativistic Charged Particle Beams.- 6. Technical Applications of the Physics of High Energy Densities.- 7. Astrophysical Aspects of High Energy Densities.- 8. Conclusion.

With its many beautiful colour pictures, this book gives fascinating insights into the unusual forms and behaviour of matter under extremely high pressures and temperatures. These extreme states are generated, among other things, by strong shock, detonation and electric explosion waves, dense laser beams, electron and ion beams, hypersonic entry of spacecraft into dense atmospheres of planets, and in many other situations characterized by extremely high pressures and temperatures.

Written by one of the world's foremost experts on the topic, this book will inform and fascinate all scientists dealing with materials properties and physics, and also serve as an excellent introduction to plasma-, shock-wave and high-energy-density physics for students and newcomers seeking an overview.