An English translation now joins the Russian and Spanish versions. It is based on the newly revised fifth edition of the German version of the book. The original edition has become very popular as a learning and reference source with easy to follow recipes and cross references for scientists in fields such as engineering, chemistry and the life sciences. Little mathematical background is required of the reader and some important topics, like the logarithm, are dealt with in the preliminaries preceding chapter one. The usefulness of the book as a reference is enhanced by a number of convenient tables and by references to other tables and methods, both in the text and in the bibliography. The English edition contains more material than the German original. I am most grateful to all who have in conversations, letters or reviews suggested improvements in or criticized earlier editions. Comments and suggestions will continue to be welcome. We are especially grateful to Mrs. Dorothy Aeppli of St. Paul, Minnesota, for providing numerous valuable comments during the preparation of the English manuscript. The author and the translator are responsible for any remaining faults and imperfections. I welcome any suggestions for improvement. My greatest personal gratitude goes to the translator, Mr. Zenon Reynaro wych, whose skills have done much to clarify the text, and to Springer-Verlag.
