This unique and encyclopedic reference work charts the evolution of the physics of shock waves and detonations from the earliest investigations into percussion and impact phenomena right up to the most recent groundbreaking research in the field. The history of this long and complex process is first reviewed in a general survey that encompasses everything from the earliest observations and interpretations of puzzling high-rate dynamic phenomena associated with natural and man-made explosions to a discussion of the merits of modern numerical computer simulations. The subject is then treated in
