Dynamic elasticity of materials

Abstract: Almost any structural changes that occur in crystals and other materials couple at least to some components of the strain tensor. Thus dynamic elastic measurements provide a very sensitive tool to study the properties of a wide range of materials, including ferroic crystals, shape memory alloys, high Tc superconductos, molecular glasses, metallic glasses, polymers, crystalline and amorphous ice, etc. We will present some specific examples including the study of dynamical nanoclusters and domain wall motion in improper and proper ferroelastic materials. Finally we demonstrate how these concepts can be extended to study elasticity of materials up to ultrahigh pressure.