Soft machines – nanotechnology and life

materials is much more complex, as outlined in a separate chapter, since very little is known about the correlation of function with the composition and structure of solids.In his book, Cawse has collected a number of unusual contributions to a complex and demanding issue.This book is a must for everybody interested in highthroughput experimentation.Xiao-Dong Xiang and Ichiro Takeuchi's edited volume covers experimental and some theoretical details of combinatorial materials synthesis.Although its title is quite general, the book concentrates on the combinatorial synthesis and high-throughput characterization of thin film materials and does not cover bulk synthesis or sol-gel approaches.The pioneer of combinatorial materials research, J. J. Hanak, describes high-throughput experimentation conducted at the Radio Corporation of America in the late 1960s and early 1970s in a fascinating chapter.This chapter documents the state-of-the-art published 30 years ago, which may be of importance to those involved with intellectual property and patenting issues.