Introduction to Robotics

Paras Prasad’s text provides a basic knowledge of a broad range of topics so that individuals in all disciplines can rapidly acquire the minimal necessary background for research and development in biophotonics. Introduction to Biophotonics serves as both a textbook for education and training as well as a reference book that aids research and development of those areas integrating light, photonics, and biological systems. Each chapter contains a topic introduction, a review of key data, and description of future directions for technical innovation. Introduction to Biophotonics covers the basic principles of Optics Optical spectroscopy Microscopy Each section also includes illustrated examples and review questions to test and advance the reader’s knowledge. Sections on biosensors and chemosensors, important tools for combating biological and chemical terrorism, will be of particular interest to professionals in toxicology and other environmental disciplines. Introduction to Biophotonics proves a valuable reference for graduate students and researchers in engineering, chemistry, and the life sciences.

INTRODUCTION TO DESALINATION

Explore the principles, methods, and applications of modern desalination processes

Introduction to Desalination: Principles, Processes, and Calculations delivers a comprehensive and robust exploration of desalination highlighted with numerous illustrative examples and calculations.

The book is divided into three sections, the first of which offers an introduction to the topic that includes chapters covering global water scarcity and the need for “new water.” The second section discusses the desalination process, including evaporation, reverse osmosis, crystallization, hybrid systems, and other potable water processes. The final part covers topics that include water conservation, environmental considerations of desalination, economic impacts of desalination, optimization, ethics, and the future of desalination.

The book also includes:

• A comprehensive introduction to desalination, including discussions of engineering principles, the physical, chemical, and biological properties of water, and water chemistry
• An extensive engineering analysis of the various desalination processes
• Practical discussions of miscellaneous desalination topics, including the environmental and economic effects of the technology

Perfect for process, chemical, mechanical, environmental, and civil engineers, Introduction to Desalination: Principles, Processes, and Calculations is also a valuable resource for materials scientists, operators, and technicians working in the field.

Introduction to Pragmatics guides students through traditional and new approaches in the field, focusing particularly on phenomena at the elusive semantics/pragmatics boundary to explore the role of context in linguistic communication. Offers students an accessible introduction and an up-to-date survey of the field, encompassing both established and new approaches to pragmatics Addresses the traditional range of topics – such as implicature, reference, presupposition, and speech acts – as well as newer areas of research, including neo-Gricean theories, Relevance Theory, information structure, inference, and dynamic approaches to meaning Explores the relationship and boundaries between semantics and pragmatics Ideal for students coming to pragmatics for the first time

A fully updated version of the popular Introduction to Tribology, the second edition of this leading tribology text introduces the major developments in the understanding and interpretation of friction, wear and lubrication. Considerations of friction and wear have been fully revised to include recent analysis and data work, and friction mechanisms have been reappraised in light of current developments. In this edition, the breakthroughs in tribology at the nano- and micro- level as well as recent developments in nanotechnology and magnetic storage technologies are introduced. A new chapter on the emerging field of green tribology and biomimetics is included. Introduces the topic of tribology from a mechanical engineering, mechanics and materials science points of view Newly updated chapter covers both the underlying theory and the current applications of tribology to industry Updated write-up on nanotribology and nanotechnology and introduction of a new chapter on green tribology and biomimetics

One book dealing with the fundamentals of thermal and membrane desalination systems and discussing their economical as well as environmental aspects.

With a growing population, climate change and greater water demand, desalination has increasingly become a part of the solution to regional water scarcity – seawater desalination capacity has roughly doubled in the past ten years. Desalination has also begun to receive more attention in academia, with research focusing on improving energy efficiency and system robustness and lowering capital costs.

With this book, an introduction is given to the basics and fundamentals of desalination systems. Both, thermal and membrane desalination systems, are covered and discussed in view of energy, exergy, economic and environmental aspects. In the beginning, Introduction to Desalination: Systems, Processes and Environmental Impacts describes multi effect evaporation, vapor compression and multi-stage flashing. Further chapters deal with common membrane-based separations like reverse osmosis and membrane filtration, forward osmosis, diffusion dialysis and pervaporation as well as thermo-osmosis, electrodialysis and electrodeionization. Subsequently, hybrid systems are discussed, and the economic analysis of such systems and their environmental impact are highlighted. Each chapter contains theoretical and practical examples and concludes with questions and problems for self-study.

* Needed: Desalination has become a part of the solution to regional water scarcity and an introductory book in this field is urgently needed.

* Balanced Approach: Presents the fundamentals of thermal and membrane desalination systems.

* Learning Material: Each chapter includes exercises for self-study and Instructors can find teaching material online.

Introduction to Desalination: Systems, Processes and Environmental Impacts is an important resource for master's students in engineering sciences, lecturers in chemical and mechanical engineering, engineers, environmental chemists, as well as process engineers, engineering scientists in industry, and environmental consultants.

Introduction to Securitization outlines the basics of securitization, addressing applications for this technology to mortgages, collateralized debt obligations, future flows, credit cards, and auto loans. The authors present a comprehensive overview of the topic based on the experience they have gathered through years of interaction with practitioners and graduate students around the world. The authors offer coverage of such key topics as: structuring agency MBS deals and nonagency deals, credit enhancements and sizing, using interest rate derivatives in securitization transactions, asset classes securitized, operational risk factors, implications for financial markets, and applying securitization technology to CDOs. Finally, in the appendices, the authors provide an essential introduction to credit derivatives, an explanation of the methodology for the valuation of MBS/ABS, and the estimation of interest rate risk. Securitization is a financial technique that pools assets together and, in effect, turns them into a tradable security. The end result of a securitization transaction is that a corporation can obtain proceeds by selling assets and not borrowing funds. In real life, many securitization structures are quite complex and enigmatic for practitioners, investors, and finance students. Typically, books detailing this topic are either too lengthy, too technical, or too superficial in their presentation. Introduction to Securitization is the first to offer essential information on this topic at a fundamental, yet comprehensive level-providing readers with a working understanding of what has become one of today's most important areas of finance. Authors Frank Fabozzi and Vinod Kothari, internationally recognized experts in the field, clearly define securitization, contrast it with corporate finance, and explain its advantages. They carefully illustrate the structuring of asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions, including agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) deals and nonagency deals, and show the use of credit enhancements and interest rate derivatives in such transactions. They review the collateral classes in ABS, such as retail loans, credit cards, and future flows, and discuss ongoing funding vehicles such as asset-backed commercial paper conduits and other structured vehicles. And they explain the different types of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and structured credit, detailing their structuring and analysis. To complement the discussion, an introduction to credit derivatives is also provided. The authors conclude with a close look at securitization's impact on the financial markets and the economy, with a review of the now well-documented problems of the securitization of one asset class: subprime mortgages. While questions about the contribution of securitization have been tainted by the subprime mortgage crisis, it remains an important process for corporations, municipalities, and government entities seeking funding. The significance of this financial innovation is that it has been an important form of raising capital for corporations and government entities throughout the world, as well as a vehicle for risk management. Introduction to Securitization offers practitioners and students a simple and comprehensive entry into the interesting world of securitization and structured credit.

Introduction to Sustainability is the first major textbook to review major themes in the cutting-edge field of sustainability. The book is suitable for introductory interdisciplinary courses on sustainability, as well as those in the fields of geography, geology, sociology, planning, political science, and anthropology. Brinkmann’s book allows students to see the world in new ways while also encouraging them to become part of the change needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the planet. The text includes material on the development of the field of sustainability; environmental sustainability issues like water, food, and energy; social sustainability themes like environmental justice and transportation; and economic sustainability topics like green businesses and economic development. The book concludes with a chapter on sustainability issues in college and universities. Brinkmann intersperses many fascinating case studies and text boxes that encourage students to deeply explore the material. This is a book that not only organizes the complex field of sustainability, but also encourages students to take action to make the world a better place.

Microdisplays are tiny, high-resolution electronic displays, designed for use in magnifying optical systems such as HDTV projectors and near-eye personal viewers. As a result of research and development into this field, Microdisplays are incorporated in a variety of visual electronics, notably new 3G portable communications devices, digital camera technologies, wireless internet applications, portable DVD viewers and wearable PCs. Introduction to Microdisplays encapsulates this market through describing in detail the theory, structure, fabrication and applications of Microdisplays. In particular this book: Provides excellent reference material for the Microdisplay industry through including an overview of current applications alongside a guide to future developments in the field Covers all current technologies and devices such as Silicon Wafer Backplane Technology, Liquid Crystal Devices, Micromechanical Devices, and the emerging area of Organic Light Emitting Diodes Presents guidance on the design of applications of Microdisplays, including Microdisplays for defence and telecoms, from basic principles through to their performance limitations Introduction to Microdisplays is a thorough and comprehensive reference on this emerging topic. It is essential reading for display technology manufacturers, developers, and system integrators, as well as practising electrical engineers, physicists, chemists and specialists in the display field. Graduate students, researchers, and developers working in optics, material science, and telecommunications will also find this a valuable resource. The Society for Information Display (SID) is an international society, which has the aim of encouraging the development of all aspects of the field of information display. Complementary to the aims of the society, the Wiley-SID series is intended to explain the latest developments in information display technology at a professional level. The broad scope of the series addresses all facets of information displays from technical aspects through systems and prototypes to standards and ergonomics

Introduction to Geomicrobiology is a timely and comprehensive overview of how microbial life has affected Earth’s environment through time. It shows how the ubiquity of microorganisms, their high chemical reactivity, and their metabolic diversity make them a significant factor controlling the chemical composition of our planet. The following topics are covered: how microorganisms are classified, the physical constraints governing their growth, molecular approaches to studying microbial diversity, and life in extreme environments bioenergetics, microbial metabolic capabilities, and major biogeochemical pathways chemical reactivity of the cell surface, metal sorption, and the microbial role in contaminant mobility and bioremediation/biorecovery microbiological mineral formation and fossilization the function of microorganisms in mineral dissolution and oxidation, and the industrial and environmental ramifications of these processes elemental cycling in biofilms, formation of microbialites, and sediment diagenesis the events that led to the emergence of life, evolution of metabolic processes, and the diversification of the biosphere. Artwork from the book is available to instructors at www.blackwellpublishing.com/konhauser.

Wireless Local Loop (WLL) is now widely recognized as an economically viable technology for provision of telecommunication services to subscribers in sparsely populated as well as highly congested areas. However, the preparation of the business case, choice of a suitable technology, deployment planning, and radio and network system design for a WLL system depend on a range of technical and strategic planning variables. The scope of the book includes a systems-level coverage of the following topics: Introduction to WLL systems Fundamentals of Radio Systems Key cellular and cordless technologies WLL systems design – system components and interfaces WLL systems design – radio aspects Planning and deployment of WLL systems Examples of commercially available WLL systems Broadband applications and services