A comprehensive description of the science and applications of the undercooling phenomenon is given. It is composed of several main parts: experimental techniques for undercooling; characterization of the undercooled melt as the first step in rapid solidification; introducing the concepts of modern theories of rapid dendrite and eutectic growth and their comparison with experimental results, and a survey of metastable materials formed from the non-equilibrium state of an undercooled melt.* Showing clear links to possible application of results obtained from basic research * The subject matter is multidisciplinary and will be of interest to material scientists, physicists, physical chemists, mechanical and electrical engineers

A comprehensive description of the science and applications of the undercooling phenomenon is given. It is composed of several main parts: experimental techniques for undercooling; characterization of the undercooled melt as the first step in rapid solidification; introducing the concepts of modern theories of rapid dendrite and eutectic growth and their comparison with experimental results, and a survey of metastable materials formed from the non-equilibrium state of an undercooled melt.* Showing clear links to possible application of results obtained from basic research * The subject matter is multidisciplinary and will be of interest to material scientists, physicists, physical chemists, mechanical and electrical engineers