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Following a brief general review of developments in dynamic fracture, four problem areas in this discipline are examined: Crack initiation under stress wave loading, crack propagation, branching, and arrest. These topics are discussed from the viewpoint of understanding the physical fracture process at the tip of dynamically loaded cracks. Time scales, other than those governed by the elastic wave speeds, are important in connection with dynamic fracture. These time scale differences are connected with the establishing of the process zone which consists of an ensemble of micro cracks. Direct evidence of these micro cracks is reviewed as well as the importance of strain rate history effects in dynamic fracture.