With this volume, Methods of Experimental Physics becomes Experimental Methods in the Physical Sciences, a name change which reflects the evolution of todays science. This volume is the first of three which will provide a comprehensive treatment of the key experimental methods of atomic, molecular, and optical physics; the three volumes as a set will form an excellent experimental handbook for the field. The wide availability of tunable lasers in the pastseveral years has revolutionized the field and lead to the introduction of many new experimental methods that are covered in these volumes. Traditional methods are also included to ensure that the volumes will be a complete reference source for the field.D.T. Pierce, Spin-Polarized Electron Sources. A.P. Mills, Jr., Positron and Positronium Sources. G.D. Alton, Sources of Low-Charge-State Positive-Ion Beams. R.A. Phaneuf, Advanced Sources of Highly Charged Ions. G.C. King, Electron and Ion Optics. J.L. Erskine, Electron Energy Analyzers. T.J. Gay, Electron Polarimetry. K. Smith, Position Sensitive Particle Detection with Microchannel-Plate Electron Multipliers. D. Smith and P.Spanel[breve over s and e], Swarm Techniques. C.R. Vane and S. Datz, Accelerator-Based Atomic Physics. P.W. Harland, Ion Mass Analyzers. H.A. Klein, Ion Traps. R.S. Van Dyck, Jr., Ultra-High-Resolution Mass Spectroscopy in Penning Traps. R.E. Marrs, Electron Beam Ion Traps. T.J. Mego, DC Current Measurements. J.R. Willison, Signal Enhancement. Chapter References. Subject Index.