Printed Physics

Printed Physics

The humanities, natural and technical sciences seemingly have little to say to each other despite all the trans-disciplinary efforts. The Applied Virtuality series will comprise four volumes that create and examine a discourse on the correlations between the larger contexts of ther present. Printed Physics, the first volume, begins with the discussion of developments in information technology that make the physical behavior of matter technologically programmable, allow for its factual construction, industrial production and its determination with symbols. Is it possible that a revitalization of the field of physics looms in the future similar to that which took place with geometry in the 19th century?

Printed Physics

Incest and the Medieval Imagination

Incest and the Medieval Imagination

Incest is a remarkably frequent theme in medieval literature; it occurs in a wide range of genres, including romances, saints’s lives, and exempla. Historically, the Church in the later Middle Ages was very concerned about breaches of the complex laws against incest, which was defined very broadly at the time to cover family relationships outside the nuclear family and also spiritual relationships through baptism. Medieval writers accepted that incestuous desire was a widespread phenomenon among women as well as men. They are surprisingly open about incest, though of course they disapprove of it; in many exemplary stories incest is identified with original sin, but the moral emphasizes the importance of contrition and the availability of grace even to such heinous sinners. This study begins with a brief account of the development of medieval incest laws, and the extent to which they were obeyed. Next comes a survey of classical incest stories and their legacy; many were retold in the Middle Ages, but they were frequently adapted to the purposes of Christian moralizers. In the three chapters that follow, homegrown medieval incest stories are grouped by relationship: mother-son (focusing on the Gregorius legend), father-daughter (focusing on La Manekine and its analogues), and sibling (focusing on the Arthurian legend). The final chapter considers the very common medieval trope of the Virgin Mary as mother, daughter, sister and bride of Christ, the one exception to the incest taboo. In western society today, incest has recently been recognized as a serious social problem, and has also become a frequent theme in both fiction and non-fiction, just as it was in the Middle Ages. This interdisciplinary study is the first broad survey of medieval incest stories in Latin and the vernaculars (mainly French, English and German). It situates the incest theme in both literary and cultural contexts, and offers many thought-provoking comparisons and contrasts to our own society in terms of gender relations, the power of patriarchy, the role of religious institutions in regulating morality, and the relationship between life and literature.

Incest and the Medieval Imagination

Differential Evolution

Differential Evolution

Differential evolution is a very simple but very powerful stochastic optimizer. Since its inception, it has proved very efficient and robust in function optimization and has been applied to solve problems in many scientific and engineering fields. In Differential Evolution , Dr. Qing begins with an overview of optimization, followed by a state-of-the-art review of differential evolution, including its fundamentals and up-to-date advances. He goes on to explore the relationship between differential evolution strategies, intrinsic control parameters, non-intrinsic control parameters, and problem features through a parametric study. Findings and recommendations on the selection of strategies and intrinsic control parameter values are presented. Lastly, after an introductory review of reported applications in electrical and electronic engineering fields, different research groups demonstrate how the methods can be applied to such areas as: multicast routing, multisite mapping in grid environments, antenna arrays, analog electric circuit sizing, electricity markets, stochastic tracking in video sequences, and color quantization.

Differential Evolution

Starting to Read ECGs

Starting to Read ECGs

This book is book aims to provide the beginner with a concise, practical and systematic guide to interpreting ECGs. It will serve not only as a starter text but also as an immediate bedside reference manual. Starting to Read ECGs: The Basics begins with fundamentals such as how to perform, record and interpret a normal ECG before progressing onto more complex topics, including what effects anatomical abnormalities of the heart, cardiac and non-cardiac conditions can have on the ECG. Each chapter has been supplemented with a multitude of images and diagrams to illustrate points and ease understanding, and concludes with both a summary of key points to reinforce knowledge and a quiz for reflective learning.

Starting to Read ECGs

In the Beginning

In the Beginning

‘Applying extensive original sources and social movement theory, Lienesch begins with fundamentalism, describing how early twentieth-century fundamentalists worked to form a collective identity, to develop their own institutions, and to turn evolution from an idea into an issue. He traces the emerging antievolution movement through the 1920s, examining debates over Darwinism that took place on college campuses and in state legislatures throughout the country. With fresh insights and analysis, Lienesch retells the story of the 1925 Scopes monkey trial and reinterprets its meaning. In tracking the movement from that time to today, he explores the rise of creation science in the 1960s, the alliance with the New Christian Right in the 1980s, and the development of the theory of intelligent design in our own time. He concludes by speculating on its place in the politics of the twenty-first century.

In the Beginning

Glaucoma Surgery

Glaucoma Surgery

Renowned experts present the latest knowledge in … In this volume of Developments in Ophthalmology, a panel of renowned glaucoma surgeons reports its findings and the updated evidence-based literature data on indications, outcomes, pearls and pitfalls of techniques in which they all have an undisputable ‘hands-on’ everyday experience. The publication begins with chapters on conventional procedures, i.e. trabeculectomy (still the gold standard), deep sclerectomy, and glaucoma drainage device implantation explicitly focusing on postoperative management. The role of the ocular surface in glaucoma surgery and the issue of wound healing and its modulation through antimetabolites are further discussed. In the second part, the attention shifts to new techniques which still have a marginal role, but are promising for particular indications. In the last part, the greatest challenges of glaucoma surgery such as the surgical approach to angle closure, concomitant glaucoma and cataract as well as pediatric glaucoma are discussed in detail. Finally, the last chapter is dedicated to cyclodestructive techniques. This volume is recommended to glaucoma surgeons and glaucoma specialists seeking information on the best therapy for their patients, but also to general ophthalmologists who refer their patients for surgery or follow them up afterwards.

Glaucoma Surgery

The Murder House

The Murder House

PC Helen Anderson commits a cardinal error when she takes files for an upcoming court case home to study. For those files are not supposed to leave the police station – and the minute they fall into the wrong hands, Helen’s ordinary, uneventful life begins to spiral out of control … culminating in a gruesome and extraordinary murder.

The Murder House

House of Holes

House of Holes

Shandee finds a friendly arm at a granite quarry. Ned drops down a hole in a golf course. So begins Nicholson Bakers fuse-blowing sexual escapadea modern-day Hieronymus Boschian bacchanal set in a pleasure resort where normal rules dont apply. House of Holes, one of the most talked-about books in recent memory, is a gleefully provocative novel sure to surprise, amuse, and arouse.

House of Holes

The Rome Affair

The Rome Affair

Two security experts must work too closely for comfort in Addison Fox’s THE ROME AFFAIR. Jack Andrews has once again snatched a covetable job from the House of Steele. But now that the assignment has gotten complicated, he must call upon the last person he wants to ask for help: Kensington Steele. Jack never flinches at danger, but working side by side with his fascinating, sexy competitor might be more than he can handle…. When the assignment brings them to the Italian vineyard of a corrupt diplomat, Kensington vows to keep things professional. Even if working as a team fans the flames of their mutual desire. But once a murderer begins stalking them, they realize getting close may be the only way they’ll survive…

The Rome Affair

Boilers and Burners

Boilers and Burners

A joint effort of three continents, this book is about rational utilization of the fossil fuels for generation of heat or power. It provides a synthesis of two scientific traditions: the high-performance, but often proprietary, Western designs, and the elaborate national standards based on less advanced Eastern designs; it presents both in the same Western format. It is intended for engineers and advanced undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in steam power plants, burners, or furnaces. The text uses a format of practice based on theory: each chapter begins with an explanation of a process, with basic theory developed from first principles; then empirical relationships are presented and, finally, design methods are explained by worked out examples. It will thus provide researchers with a resource for applications of theory to practice. Plant operators will find solutions to and explanations of many of their daily operational problems. Designers will find this book ready with required data, design methods and equations. Finally, consultants will find it very useful for design evaluation.

Boilers and Burners

Lectures on Infinite-Dimensional Lie Algebra

Lectures on Infinite-Dimensional Lie Algebra

The representation theory of affine Lie algebras has been developed in close connection with various areas of mathematics and mathematical physics in the last two decades. There are three excellent books on it, written by Victor G Kac. This book begins with a survey and review of the material treated in Kac’s books. In particular, modular invariance and conformal invariance and are explained in more detail. The book then goes further, dealing with some of the recent topics involving the representation theory of affine Lie algebras. Since these topics are important not only in themselves but also in their application to some areas of mathematics and mathematical physics, the book expounds them with examples and detailed calculations.

Lectures on Infinite-Dimensional Lie Algebra

Mathematics for the Physical Sciences

Mathematics for the Physical Sciences

This book is intended to provide a bridge from courses in general physics to the intermediate -level courses in classical mechanics, electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. It begins with a short review of some topics in physics that are then used throughout the book to provide the physical contexts for the mathematical methods that are developed: electrostatics, electric currents, magnetic flux, simple harmonic motion, and the rigid rotor. The next chapters treat vector algebra and vector calculus; the concept of magnetic flux serves to give physical meaning to the integral theorems. A short chapter on complex numbers provides the needed background for the remainder of the text. Ordinary differential equations arise in may physical contexts; the simple harmonic oscillator serves as the illustrative example. Examples from both classical and quantum physics illustrate the chapters on partial differential equations and eigenvalue problems: the quantum harmonic oscillator and a particle in a box, a conducting sphere in a uniform field and a vibrating drum head. The eigenvalue problem leads naturally to a discussion of orthogonal functions, which again use the quantum harmonic oscillator to provide the physical insight, and to matrices, where coupled oscillators and the principal axes of a rotating rigid body provide the physical context. The text concludes with a brief discussion of variational methods and the Euler-Lagrange equation. Problems at the end of each chapter give the student experience in applying mathematical methods to the solution of physical problems. Illustrative exercises throughout provide guidance. Many of the exercises call for graphical representations, and some are particularly amenable to the use of numerical methods.

Mathematics for the Physical Sciences

Aztecs, Moors and Christians

Aztecs, Moors and Christians

In villages and towns across Spain and its former New World colonies, local performers stage mock battles between Spanish Christians and Moors or Aztecs that range from brief sword dances to massive street theatre lasting several days. The performances officially celebrate the triumph of Spanish Catholicism over its enemies. Such an explanation does not, however, account for the traditions persistence for more than five hundred years nor for its widespread diffusion. In this perceptive book, Max Harris seeks to understand the ‘puzzling and enduring passion’ of both Mexicans and Spaniards for festivals of moros y cristianos. He begins by tracing the performances roots in medieval Spain and showing how they came to be superimposed on the mock battles that had been part of pre-contact Aztec calendar rituals. Then, using James Scotts distinction between ‘public’ and ‘hidden transcripts,’ he reveals how, in the hands of folk and indigenous performers, these spectacles of conquest became prophecies of the eventual reconquest of Mexico by the defeated Aztec peoples. Finally, he documents the early arrival of native American performance practices in Europe and the shift of moros y cristianos from court to folk tradition in Spain. Even today, as lively descriptions of current festivals make plain, mock battles between Aztecs, Moors, and Christians remain a remarkably sophisticated vehicle for the communal expression of dissent.

Aztecs, Moors and Christians

B Vitamins and Folate

B Vitamins and Folate

B Vitamins and Folate covers thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, cobalamin and folate. The book begins with an overview covering the historical context of B vitamins, disease and fortification effects. Coverage then includes chemistry, biochemistry and metabolism across the vitamins and related compounds; analysis including spectrofluorimetry, isotope dilution mass spectrometry, chromatography; and finishes with the functional effects in humans including in strokes, epilepsy, dementia and kidney disease. Written by an expert team and delivering high quality information, this book provides a fascinating insight into this area of health and nutritional science. It will bridge scientific disciplines so that the information is more meaningful and applicable to health in general. Part of a series of books, it is specifically designed for chemists, analytical scientists, forensic scientists, food scientists, dieticians and health care workers, nutritionists, toxicologists and research academics. Due to its interdisciplinary nature it could also be suitable for lecturers and teachers in food and nutritional sciences and as a college or university library reference guide.

B Vitamins and Folate

Diagrammatica

Diagrammatica

This book provides an easily accessible introduction to quantum field theory via Feynman rules and calculations in particle physics. The aim is to make clear what the physical foundations of present day field theory are, to clarify the physical content of Feynman rules, and to outline their domain of applicability. The book begins with a brief review of some aspects of Einstein’s theory of relativity that are of particular importance for field theory, before going on to consider the relativistic quantum mechanics of free particles, interacting fields, and particles with spin. The techniques learned in the chapters are then demonstrated in examples that might be encountered in real accelerator physics. Further chapters contain discussions on renormalization, massive and massless vector fields and unitarity. A final chapter presents concluding arguments concerning quantum electrodynamics. The book includes valuable appendices that review some essential mathematics, including complex spaces, matrices, the CBH equation, traces and dimensional regularization. An appendix containing a comprehensive summary of the rules and conventions used is followed by an appendix specifying the full Lagrangian of the Standard Model and the corresponding Feynman rules. To make the book useful for a wide audience a final appendix provides a discussion on the metric used, and an easy to use dictionary connecting equations written with different metric. Written as a textbook, many diagrams and examples are included.

Diagrammatica

Liquid Crystalline and Mesomorphic Polymers

Liquid Crystalline and Mesomorphic Polymers

With contributions by internationally renowned researchers, this book provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments in a new class of liquid-crystalline compounds. The book begins with discussions of the theoretical aspects of cholesteric phase formation in polymers. The next part discusses recent work on polymers with mesogenic side groups (their molecular architecture, phase behavior, and dynamics in external fields, as well as their properties in mixtures with low-mass liquid crystals). The final group of chapters deals with mesomorphic systems that do not contain mesomorphic groups (for example, derivatives of polyorganophosphasenes, cellulose, and graphitizable carbons), as well as polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal films (which have important practical applications), and the new and exotic bowl-shaped liquid-crystal materials. Interdisciplinary in its approach, the book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in polymer science, liquid-crystal research, and materials science.

Liquid Crystalline and Mesomorphic Polymers

Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI

‘This guide introduces students of theology to the theoretical axes upon which the theology of Benedict XVI revolves. It begins with a presentation of the key ideas in the works of his intellectual antecedents and contemporary interlocutors and then moves to an account of Benedict’s responses to a number of theological crises.’

Benedict XVI

Advances in Silicon Carbide Processing and Applications

Advances in Silicon Carbide Processing and Applications

‘Advances In Silicon Carbide Processing and Applications provides detailed coverage of the latest advances in SiC (silicon carbide) technology from the leading experts in the field. The book serves as the professional’s single source for in-depth information on both SiC device fabrication and system-level applications. This comprehensive reference begins with an examination of how SiC is grown and how defects in SiC growth can affect working devices.’ ‘Key issues in selective doping of SiC via ion implantation are covered with a special focus on implant conditions and electrical activation of implants. SiC applications discussed include chemical sensors, motor-control components, high-temperature gas sensors, and high-temperature electronics. By cutting through the arcane data and jargon surrounding the hype on SiC, this book gives an assessment of today’s SiC technology and explains how SiC can be adopted in developing tomorrow’s applications.’–BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Advances in Silicon Carbide Processing and Applications

Sword of Axia

Sword of Axia

The first volume of an epic new science fiction trilogy. Constantine Blas, Captain of a Federation Battlecruiser, is imprisoned when the sole surviving allied fleet is defeated by the religious fanatics of Axia. But Blas is not without friends. During the journey to the prison planet Nabucco I, a small group of rebels helps him to escape. Together with two other escaped prisoners, he begins to plan the fightback.

Sword of Axia

The Memory of Sky

The Memory of Sky

Diamond is an odd little boy, a seemingly fragile child – who proves to be anything but. An epic story begins when he steps into the world his parents have so carefully kept him from, a world where gigantic trees each house thousands of humans and another human species, the papio, rule its far edges. Does Diamond hold the promise to remake one species and, perhaps, change all of the Creation?

The Memory of Sky