An English translation of the 1994 second edition, this book is an outstanding source of etchants of all types, and electrolytic polishing solutions used by metallographers to reveal the structure of nearly any material ever prepared and examined. The introductory text on specimen preparation and theory of etching has been expanded and updated to cover all common procedures as well as some infrequently used methods. Safety procedures and precautions is a valuable addition as well.The new edition has been considerably expanded, with more than twice the content of the previous English edition of this atlas of etching techniques for metals, ceramics, and polymers. The chapter on Metallography covers new developments in the metallic groups and the novel material combinations that are used in many fields of high technology. The chapter on Ceramography deals with the rapid progress of ceramics during the past few years. A new addition to the work is the chapter on Plastography which gives many simple recipes that can easily be reproduced in laboratories with less sophisticated equipment.The two editions of this book have already been found to be a valuable basis for many materiolographical workshops in Germany, England, Brazil and Japan, as well as the United States.