Concluding Remarks

Abstract

In closing, we would like to re-emphasize our original goal of creating a tutorial, as well as a textbook, for the beginning student of high-pressure shock-compression science. We feel that we have been able to achieve this through the coverage of materials presented in Chapters 1 through 9. Throughout the book, we have tried to provide a perspective of the technological advances that have occurred in the understanding of the dynamic response of materials over the past half-century. As Bob Graham discussed in the first chapter, the field of shock compression grew but of a need to describe the high-pressure response of materials in regimes previously inaccessible by conventional methods. This requirement has led to the development of a rich variety of experimental and theoretical tools that have been indispensable in probing the transitory nature of the shock-compression event. From systematic experimental and theoretical studies, a deep understanding has been obtained of the thermophysical and mechanical properties of condensed materials in extreme pressure and temperature environments.