The first two editions of this book found considerable use either as a supplementary text or as sole textbook in introductory polymer courses, or simply as a book for self-study. It was therefore decided to bring out an expanded third edition. As before, all of the chapters contain general introductory material and comprehensive literature citations designed to give newcomers to the field an appreciation of the subject and how it fits into the general context of polymer science. All chapters have been extensively updated and expanded. The authors are the same as those for the second edition, except for the authorship of the chapter “The glass transition and the glassy state” by Kia L. Ngai. For pedagogical purposes, the contents have been subdivided into two parts, “Physical states of polymers” and “Some characterization techniques.”

This expanded edition should provide ample core material for a one-term survey course at the graduate or advanced-undergraduate level. Although the chapters have been arranged in a sequence that may readily be adapted to the classroom, each chapter is self-contained and may be used as an introductory source of material on the topics covered.