This book is a completely revised and rewritten edition of "Electric Contacts Handbook" published in 1958. A large number of new in vestigations are considered, and many of the basic theories are revised in detail and even in general. The body of information had to be limited as it was not advisable to increase the volume of the book. In particular, no attempt was made to cover all of the practical applications. They appear as examples following concentrated explanations of basic phenomena. As in several branches of technology, the solutions of problems ari sing in the field of electric contacts involve insight into various disci plines of physics. It is feit that reviews of some of those topics, especi ally adapted to electric contact phenomena, are welcome to many readers. For example, chapters have been devoted to the structure of carbon, the band theory of electric conduction in solids, certain pro blems in statistics, and the theory of the electric arc. As regards arc problems, new ideas have been introduced. In order to make the main text less cumbersome, such reviews are presented as appendices. Throughout this edition, the mksa-unit system is used in accord with the latest recommendation for standardization of units in scientific and technical writings. The chapter "History of Early Investigations on Contacts" forming Part IV in the preceding edition of 1958 has not been repeated in this book.
