  Because the interaction is well-known, Coulomb excitation is one of the best
tools for the investigation of nuclear properties. In the last 3 decades new
reaction theories for Coulomb excitation have been developed such as: (a)
relativistic Coulomb excitation, (b) Coulomb excitation at intermediate
energies, and (c) multistep coupling in the continuum. These developments are
timely with the advent of rare isotope facilities. Of special interest is the
Coulomb excitation and dissociation of weakly-bound systems. I review the
Coulomb excitation theory, from low to relativistic collision energies. Several
applications of the theory to situations of interest in nuclear physics and
nuclear astrophysics are discussed.

Nuclear Theory;Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;Nuclear Experiment;History and Philosophy of Physics