This book is a short introduction to classical field theory, most suitable for undergraduate students who have had at least intermediate-level courses in electromagnetism and classical mechanics. The main theme of the book is showcasing role of fields in mediating action-at-a-distance interactions. Suitable technical machinery is developed to explore at least some aspect of each of the four known fundamental forces in nature. Beginning with the physically-motivated introduction to field theory, the text covers the relativistic formulation of electromagnetism in great detail so that aspects of gravity and the nuclear interaction not usually encountered at the undergraduate level can be covered by using analogies with familiar electromagentism. Special topics such as the behavior of gravity in extra, compactified dimensions, magnetic monopoles and electromagnetic duality, and the Higgs mechanism are also briefly considered.

Thermal System Design and Simulation covers the fundamental analyses of thermal energy systems that enable users to effectively formulate their own simulation and optimal design procedures. This reference provides thorough guidance on how to formulate optimal design constraints and develop strategies to solve them with minimal computational effort. The book uniquely illustrates the methodology of combining information flow diagrams to simplify system simulation procedures needed in optimal design. It also includes a comprehensive presentation on dynamics of thermal systems and the control systems needed to ensure safe operation at varying loads. Designed to give readers the skills to develop their own customized software for simulating and designing thermal systems, this book is relevant for anyone interested in obtaining an advanced knowledge of thermal system analysis and design.

Solid Fuels and Heavy Hydrocarbon Liquids: Thermal Characterisation and Analysis, Second Edition integrates the developments that have taken place since publication of the first edition in 2006. This updated material includes new insights that help unify the thermochemical reactions of biomass and coal, as well as new developments in analytical techniques, including new applications in size exclusion chromatography, several mass spectrometric techniques, and new applications of nuclear magnetic spectroscopy to the characterization of heavy hydrocarbon liquids The topics covered are essential for the energy and fuels research community, including academics, students, and research engineers working in the power, oil and gas, and renewable energy industries.

The Performance of Photovoltaic (PV) Systems: Modelling, Measurement and Assessment explores the system lifetime of a PV system and the energy output of the system over that lifetime. The book concentrates on the prediction, measurement, and assessment of the performance of PV systems, allowing the reader to obtain a thorough understanding of the performance issues and progress that has been made in optimizing system performance.

Smart Energy Grid Engineering provides in-depth detail on the various important engineering challenges of smart energy grid design and operation by focusing on advanced methods and practices for designing different components and their integration within the grid. Governments around the world are investing heavily in smart energy grids to ensure optimum energy use and supply, enable better planning for outage responses and recovery, and facilitate the integration of heterogeneous technologies such as renewable energy systems, electrical vehicle networks, and smart homes around the grid. By looking at case studies and best practices that illustrate how to implement smart energy grid infrastructures and analyze the technical details involved in tackling emerging challenges, this valuable reference considers the important engineering aspects of design and implementation, energy generation, utilization and energy conservation, intelligent control and monitoring data analysis security, and asset integrity.

Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art developed based on the laws of nature, emphasises how 'to conquer the unyielding with the yielding.' The recent observation of star formation shows that stars result from the interaction between gravity, turbulence and magnetic fields. This interaction again follows the natural rules that inspired Tai Chi. For example, if self-gravity is the force that dominates, the molecular cloud will collapse isotropically, which compresses magnetic field lines. The density of the yielding field lines increases until magnetic pressure reaches the critical value to support the cloud against the gravitational force in directions perpendicular to the field lines (Lorentz force). Then gravity gives way to Lorentz force, accumulating gas only along the field lines till the gas density achieves the critical value to again compress the field lines. The Tai Chi goes on in a self similar way.

Thermal Solar Desalination: Methods and Systems presents numerous thermal seawater desalination technologies varying from the very simple, easy to construct and operate solar stills, to the more advance membrane and indirect distillation methods. All types of solar thermal desalination technologies are presented in detail to enable readers to comprehend the subject, from design details to enabling further research to be carried out in this area. The various units used in desalination are outlined, along with diagrams of all detailed working principles of desalination methods and systems. The authors consider the economic aspects of these processes, demonstrating successful implementation of desalination units suitable for areas where supplies of fresh water in natural ways is limited or non-existent.

Power Electronics and Motor Drive Systems is designed to aid electrical engineers, researchers, and students to analyze and address common problems in state-of-the-art power electronics technologies. Author Stefanos Manias supplies a detailed discussion of the theory of power electronics circuits and electronic power conversion technology systems, with common problems and methods of analysis to critically evaluate results. These theories are reinforced by simulation examples using well-known and widely available software programs, including SPICE, PSIM, and MATLAB/SIMULINK. Manias expertly analyzes power electronic circuits with basic power semiconductor devices, as well as the new power electronic converters. He also clearly and comprehensively provides an analysis of modulation and output voltage, current control techniques, passive and active filtering, and the characteristics and gating circuits of different power semiconductor switches, such as BJTs, IGBTs, MOSFETs, IGCTs, MCTs and GTOs.

The Outside the Research Lab series is a testament to the fact that the physics taught to high school and university students IS used in the real world. This book explores the physics and technology inherent to a selection of sports which have caught the author's attention and fascination over the years. Outside the Research Lab, Volume 3 is a path to discovering how less commonly watched sports use physics to optimize performance, diagnose injuries, and increase access to more competitors. It covers Olympic and Paralympic fencing, show jumping horses, and arguably the most brutal of motorsports - drag racing. Stunning images throughout the book and clear, understandable writing are supplemented by offset detail boxes which take the physics concepts to higher levels. Outside the Research Lab, Volume 3 is both for the general interest reader and students in STEM. Lecturers in university physics, materials science, engineering and other sciences will find this an excellent basis for teaching undergraduate students the range of applications for the physics they are learning. There is a vast range of different areas that require expertise in physics...this third volume of Outside the Research Lab shows a few with great detail provided by professionals doing the work.

Phasor Measurement Units and Wide Area Monitoring Systems presents complete coverage of phasor measurement units (PMUs), bringing together a rigorous academic approach and practical considerations on the implementation of PMUs to the power system. In addition, it includes a complete theory and practice of PMU technology development and implementation in power systems.

Reliability, Risk and Safety: Back to the Future covers topics on reliability, risk and safety issues, including risk and reliability analysis methods, maintenance optimization, human factors, and risk management. The application areas range from nuclear engineering, oil and gas industry, electrical and civil engineering to information technology and communication, security, transportation, health and medicine or critical infrastructures. Significant attention is paid to societal factors influencing the use of reliability and risk assessment methods, and to combinatorial analysis, which has found its way into the analysis of probabilities and risk, from which quantified risk analysis developed. Integral demonstrations of the use of risk analysis and safety assessment are provided in many practical applications concerning major technological systems and structures. Reliability, Risk and Safety: Back to the Future will be of interest to academics and engineers interested in nuclear engineering, oil and gas engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, information technology, communication, and infrastructure.

Integration of Distributed Energy Resources in Power Systems: Implementation, Operation and Control covers the operation of power transmission and distribution systems and their growing difficulty as the share of renewable energy sources in the world's energy mix grows and the proliferation trend of small scale power generation becomes a reality. The book gives students at the graduate level, as well as researchers and power engineering professionals, an understanding of the key issues necessary for the development of such strategies. It explores the most relevant topics, with a special focus on transmission and distribution areas. Subjects such as voltage control, AC and DC microgrids, and power electronics are explored in detail for all sources, while not neglecting the specific challenges posed by the most used variable renewable energy sources.

This book seeks to comprehensively cover recent progress in computational fluid dynamics and nonlinear science and its applications to MHD and FHD nanofluid flow and heat transfer. The book will be a valuable reference source to researchers in various fields, including materials science, nanotechnology, mathematics, physics, information science, engineering and medicine, seeing to understand the impact of external magnetic fields on the hydrothermal behavior of nanofluids in order to solve a wide variety of theoretical and practical problems.

The need for sustainable sources of energy has become more prevalent in an effort to conserve natural resources, as well as optimize the performance of wireless networks in daily life. Renewable sources of energy also help to cut costs while still providing a reliable power sources. Biologically-Inspired Energy Harvesting through Wireless Sensor Technologies highlights emerging research in the areas of sustainable energy management and transmission technologies. Featuring technological advancements in green technology, energy harvesting, sustainability, networking, and autonomic computing, as well as bio-inspired algorithms and solutions utilized in energy management, this publication is an essential reference source for researchers, academicians, and students interested in renewable or sustained energy in wireless networks.

Compendium of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 2: Hydrogen Storage, Distribution and Infrastructure focuses on the storage and transmission of hydrogen. As many experts believe the hydrogen economy will, at some point, replace the fossil fuel economy as the primary source of the world's energy, this book details hydrogen storage in pure form, including chapters on hydrogen liquefaction, slush production, as well as underground and pipeline storage. Other sections in the book explore physical and chemical storage, including environmentally sustainable methods of hydrogen production from water, with final chapters dedicated to hydrogen distribution and infrastructure.

Improve and optimize efficiency of HVAC and related energy systems from an exergy perspective. From fundamentals to advanced applications, Exergy Analysis of Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration provides readers with a clear and concise description of exergy analysis and its many uses. Focusing on the application of exergy methods to the primary technologies for heating, refrigerating, and air conditioning, Ibrahim Dincer and Marc A. Rosen demonstrate exactly how exergy can help improve and optimize efficiency, environmental performance, and cost-effectiveness. The book also discusses the analysis tools available, and includes many comprehensive case studies on current and emerging systems and technologies for real-world examples. From introducing exergy and thermodynamic fundamentals to presenting the use of exergy methods for heating, refrigeration, and air conditioning systems, this book equips any researcher or practicing engineer with the tools needed to learn and master the application of exergy analysis to these systems.

This book addresses the high performance computing of the Discrete Element Model (DEM). It is a comprehensive presentation of parallel implementation of the DEM on three popular parallel computing platforms; the multi-core PC, the GPU computer, and the cluster supercomputer. Featuring accompanying MatLab source this book helps you implement the DEM model for use with high performing technology, for particular implementation of the dynamic failure of solids, granular flow and stress wave propagation through solids.