Binary stars form the cornerstone of the understanding of stellar evolution. They are the one tool with which we can determine masses and luminosities for stars independent of their distances. They present theaters in which many fascinating hydrodynamic processes can be directly observed, and they serve as laboratories for the study of the effects of mass transfer on the evolution of single stars. By the study of their orbital dynamics, we can probe the deep internal density structures of the constituent stars. Finally, binary stars provide examples of some of the most striking available departures from quiescent stellar evolution. The development of space observation, using X-ray (EXOSAT, EINSTEIN, GINGA. ASCF, ROSAT, and Chandra) and ultraviolet (IUE) satellites, has in the past decades, provided much information about the energetics and dynamics of these systems. The coming decade, especially due to observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope, NGSI, and SIRTF, promises to be a fruitful one for binary star research.
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