There has been a failure to recognize acid-base cements as a single, well-defined class of material. This book attempts to remedy this situation by unifying the subject and treating this range of materials as a single class. Following a brief historical overview, an introductory chapter defines these cements as materials that are formed by reacting a basic powder with an acidic liquid to yield a salt-like matrix. The nature of the cementation process and the cement-forming acids and bases are discussed. Other chapters are devoted to the methods of study, the structure of water and simple polyelectrolyte theory.