Book excerpt: Lately, there has been a renewed push to minimize the waste of materials and energy that accompany the production and processing of various materials. This third edition of this reference emphasizes the fundamental principles of the conservation of mass and energy, and their consequences as they relate to materials and energy. New to this edition are numerous worked examples, illustrating conventional and novel problem-solving techniques in applications such as semiconductor processing, environmental engineering, the production and processing of advanced and exotic materials for aerospace, electronic, and structural applications.