SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2018 Bestselling author Simon Winchester writes a magnificent history of the pioneering engineers who developed precision machinery to allow us to see as far as the moon and as close as the Higgs boson. Precision is the key to everything. It is an integral, unchallenged and essential component of our modern social, mercantile, scientific, mechanical and intellectual landscapes. The items we value in our daily lives – a camera, phone, computer, bicycle, car, a dishwasher perhaps – all sport components that fit together with precision and operate with near perfection. We also assume that the more precise a device the better it is. And yet whilst we live lives peppered and larded with precision, we are not, when we come to think about it, entirely sure what precision is, or what it means. How and when did it begin to build the modern world? Simon Winchester seeks to answer these questions through stories of precision’s pioneers. Exactly takes us back to the origins of the Industrial Age, to Britain where he introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John ‘Iron-Mad’ Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. Thomas Jefferson exported their discoveries to the United States as manufacturing developed in the early twentieth century, with Britain’s Henry Royce developing the Rolls Royce and Henry Ford mass producing cars, Hattori’s Seiko and Leica lenses, to today’s cutting-edge developments from Europe, Asia and North America. As he introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world, Winchester explores fundamental questions. Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultra-precise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural co-exist in society?

Is specifically for MedTech entrepreneurs Covers all major steps in the development of a new medical device and bringing it to the market Analyzes product roadmap, common pitfalls, and factors, which can increase chances for success Discusses in each chapter a particular aspect of the MedDev startup roadmap: regulatory, fundraising, business model, IP protection Is primarily based on the US market but is also illustrated with examples from Europe and Canada

Validation of computer systems is the process that assures the formal assessment and report of quality and performance measures for all the life-cycle stages of software and system development, its implementation, qualification and acceptance, operation, modification, requalification, maintenance and retirement (PICS CSV PI 011-3). It is a process that demonstrates the compliance of computer systems functional and non-functional requirements, data integrity, regulated company procedures and safety requirements, industry standards, and applicable regulatory authority's requirements. Compliance is a state of being in adherence to application-related standards or conventions or regulations in laws and similar prescriptions. This book, which is relevant to the pharmaceutical and medical devices regulated operations, provides practical information to assist in the computer validation to production systems, while highlighting and efficiently integrating worldwide regulation into the subject. A practical approach is presented to increase efficiency and to ensure that the validation of computer systems is correctly achieved.

Design of Pulse Oximeters describes the hardware and software needed to make a pulse oximeter, and includes the equations, methods, and software required for them to function effectively. The book begins with a brief description of how oxygen is delivered to the tissue, historical methods for measuring oxygenation, and the invention of the pulse oximeter in the early 1980s. Subsequent chapters explain oxygen saturation display and how to use an LED, provide a survey of light sensors, and review probes and cables. The book closes with an assessment of techniques that may be used to analyze pulse oximeter performance and a brief overview of pulse oximetry applications. The book contains useful worked examples, several worked equations, flow charts, and examples of algorithms used to calculate oxygen saturation. It also includes a glossary of terms, instructional objectives by chapter, and references to further reading.

Pressurized equipment is used for many industrial processes, for example in petrochemical plants, off-m,shore oil rigs, gas storage and control systems. In each case the pressure vessels must be carefully designed to cope with the operating temperatures and pressures. With the increasing service demands, quality requirements and safety legislation it has become vitally important for engineers to understand the fundamental principles underlying the methodologies of the design standards codes. This text provides background information on pressure vessel design for a wide range of pressurized components. It is written by engineers, the majority of whom serve on the British Standard Pressure Vessel Design Committee. The book derives from a series of courses and seminars run regularly in the UK and overseas by the University of Strathclyde in conjunction with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers since 1986. The scope and coverage has been developed over an extended period to meet the needs of those involved with pressure vessels as designers, fabricators, users, plant operators, inspection bodies, researchers and senior students.

This book covers a variety of topics in the field of mechatronics engineering, with a special focus on innovative control systems and automation concepts for a wide range of applications. Based on a set of papers presented at the 2nd International Conference "Innovation in Engineering", ICIE, held in Minho, Portugal, on June 28-30, 2022, the chapters report on cutting-edge control algorithms for mobile robots, automatic monitoring systems and intelligent predictive maintenance techniques. They cover advanced scheduling, risk-assessment and decision-making strategies, and their applications in industrial production, training and education, and service organizations. This volume, which belongs to a three-volume set, provides engineering researchers and professionals with a timely overview and extensive information on trends and technologies behind the future developments of mechatronics systems in the era of Industry 4.0.

This book presents the latest research advances relating to machines and mechanisms. Featuring papers from the XIII International Conference on the Theory of Machines and Mechanisms (TMM 2020), held in Liberec, Czech Republic, on September 7-9, 2021, it includes a selection of the most important new results and developments. The book is divided into five parts, representing a well-balanced overview, and spanning the general theory of machines and mechanisms, through analysis and synthesis of planar and spatial mechanisms, linkages and cams, robots and manipulators, dynamics of machines and mechanisms, rotor dynamics, computational mechanics, vibration and noise in machines, optimization of mechanisms and machines, mechanisms of textile machines, mechatronics and control and monitoring systems of machines. This conference is traditionally held every four years under the auspices of the international organisation IFToMM and the Czech Society for Mechanics.

In this book Ian Sinclair provides the practical knowhow required by technician engineers, systems designers and students. The focus is firmly on understanding the technologies and their different applications, not a mathematical approach. The result is a highly readable text which provides a unique introduction to the selection and application of sensors, transducers and switches, and a grounding in the practicalities of designing with these devices.
The devices covered encompass heat, light and motion, environmental sensing, sensing in industrial control, and signal-carrying and non-signal switches.
Get up to speed in this key topic through this leading practical guide
Understand the range of technologies and applications before specifying
Gain a working knowledge with a minimum of maths

This book derives from a 3 day intensive course on Pressure Vessel Design given regularly in the UK and around the world since 1986. It is written by experts in their field and although the main thrust of the Course has been directed to BS5500, the treatment of the material is of a general nature thus providing insight into other national standards.

Over the last twenty years there has been tremendous growth in the research and development of sensors and sensor signal processing methods. Advances in materials and fabrication techniques have led to a departure from traditional sensor types and the development of novel sensing techniques and devices, many of which are now finding favor in industry. Novel Sensors and Sensing provides an introduction to modern sensor types and sensor signal processing methods, with emphasis placed on the underlying physics and the generic operating principles involved. It includes a review of the fundamentals of measurement and instrumentation and covers the principle types of modern sensor-resonator, semiconductor based, and optical fiber (including an overview of optical propagation and transmission.) The final chapter of the book is devoted to flow measurement, an area that has benefited greatly from the developments in novel sensing devices and techniques.

"Acquaints developers of medical devices with the basic concepts and major issues of medical quality assurance and regulatory documents, describes the requirements listed in these documents, and provides strategies for compliance with these requirements."

Between 1608 and 1610 the canopy of the night sky changed forever, ripped open by an object created almost by accident: a cylinder with lenses at both ends. Galileo's Telescope tells the story of how an ingenious optical device evolved from a toy-like curiosity into a precision scientific instrument, all in a few years. In transcending the limits of human vision, the telescope transformed humanity's view of itself and knowledge of the cosmos. Galileo plays a leading-but by no means solo-part in this riveting tale. He shares the stage with mathematicians, astronomers, and theologians from Paolo Sarpi to Johannes Kepler and Cardinal Bellarmine, sovereigns such as Rudolph II and James I, as well as craftsmen, courtiers, poets, and painters. Starting in the Netherlands, where a spectacle-maker created a spyglass with the modest magnifying power of three, the telescope spread like technological wildfire to Venice, Rome, Prague, Paris, London, and ultimately India and China. Galileo's celestial discoveries-hundreds of stars previously invisible to the naked eye, lunar mountains, and moons orbiting Jupiter-were announced to the world in his revolutionary treatise Sidereus Nuncius. Combining science, politics, religion, and the arts, Galileo's Telescope rewrites the early history of a world-shattering innovation whose visual power ultimately came to embody meanings far beyond the science of the stars.

Why did Pythagoras pause outside a Blacksmith's workshop? Can the nature of Harmony really be understood visually? Why do harmonies leave gaps or 'commas' when added together? In this charming little book Anthony Ashton uses a Victorian device called a Harmonograph to tell the story of Harmony and the intervals in the scale. With useful appendices and exquisite line drawings this is a unique and original introduction to this magical subject. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

This indispensable handbook provides comprehensive coverage of the current state-of-the-art in inorganic, organic, and composite aerogels – from synthesis and characterization to cutting-edge applications and their potential market impact. Built upon Springer’s successful Aerogels Handbook published in 2011, this handbook features extensive revisions and timely updates, reflecting the changes in this fast-growing field.  Aerogels are the lightest solids known to man. Up to 1000 times lighter than glass and with a density only four times that of air, they possess extraordinarily high thermal, electrical, and acoustic insulation properties, and boast numerous entries in Guinness World Records. Originally based on silica, R&D efforts have extended this class of materials to incorporate non-silicate inorganic oxides, natural and synthetic organic polymers, carbon, metal, and ceramic materials. Composite systems involving polymer-crosslinked aerogels and interpenetrating hybrid networks have been developed and exhibit remarkable mechanical strength and flexibility. Even more exotic aerogels based on clays, chalcogenides, phosphides, quantum dots, and biopolymers such as chitosan are opening new applications for the construction, transportation, energy, defense and healthcare industries. Applications in electronics, chemistry, mechanics, engineering, energy production and storage, sensors, medicine, nanotechnology, military and aerospace, oil and gas recovery, thermal insulation, and household uses are being developed. Readers of this fully updated and expanded edition will find an exhaustive source for all aerogel materials known today, their fabrication, upscaling aspects, physical and chemical properties, and the most recent advances towards applications and commercial use. This key reference is essential reading for a combined audience of graduate students, academic researchers, and industry professionals.

The best-selling Distributed Sensor Networks became the definitive guide to understanding this far-reaching technology. Preserving the excellence and accessibility of its predecessor, Distributed Sensor Networks, Second Edition once again provides all the fundamentals and applications in one complete, self-contained source. Ideal as a tutorial for students or as research material for engineers, the book gives readers up-to-date, practical insight on all aspects of the field. Revised and expanded, this second edition incorporates contributions from many veterans of the DARPA ISO SENSIT program as well as new material from distinguished researchers in the field. Image and Sensor Signal Processing focuses on software issues and the history and future of sensor networks. The book also covers information fusion and power management. Readers of this book may also be interested in Distributed Sensor Networks, Second Edition: Sensor Networking and Applications (ISBN: 9781439862872).

At the start of the Industrial Revolution, it appeared that most scientific instruments were made and sold in London, but by the time of the Great Exhibition in 1851, a number of provincial firms had the self-confidence to exhibit their products in London to an international audience. How had this change come about, and why? This book looks at the four main, and two lesser, English centres known for instrument production outside the capital: Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, along with the older population centres in Bristol and York. Making wide use of new sources, Dr Morrison-Low, curator of history of science at the National Museums of Scotland, charts the growth of these centres and provides a characterisation of their products. New information is provided on aspects of the trade, especially marketing techniques, sources of materials, tools and customer relationships. From contemporary evidence, she argues that the principal output of the provincial trade (with some notable exceptions) must have been into the London marketplace, anonymously, and at the cheaper end of the market. She also discusses the structure and organization of the provincial trade, and looks at the impact of new technology imported from other closely-allied trades. By virtue of its approach and subject matter the book considers aspects of economic and business history, gender and the family, the history of science and technology, material culture, and patterns of migration. It contains a myriad of stories of families and firms, of entrepreneurs and customers, and of organizations and arms of government. In bringing together this wide range of interests, Dr Morrison-Low enables us to appreciate how central the making, selling and distribution of scientific instruments was for the Industrial Revolution.

Due to their speed, data density, and versatility, optical metrology tools play important roles in today s high-speed industrial manufacturing applications. Handbook of Optical Dimensional Metrology provides useful background information and practical examples to help readers understand and effectively use state-of-the-art optical metrology methods.

The book first builds a foundation for evaluating optical measurement methods. It explores the many terms of optical metrology and compares it to other forms of metrology, such as mechanical gaging, highlighting the limitations and errors associated with each mode of measurement at a general level. This comparison is particularly helpful to current industry users who operate the most widely applied mechanical tools.

The book then focuses on each application area of measurement, working down from large area to medium-sized to submicron measurements. It describes the measurement of large objects on the scale of buildings, the measurement of durable manufactured goods such as aircraft engines and appliances, and the measurement of fine features on the micron and nanometer scales. In each area, the book covers fast, coarse measures as well as the finest measurements possible. Best practices and practical examples for each technology aid readers in effectively using the methods.

Requiring no prior expertise in optical dimensional metrology, this handbook helps engineers and quality specialists understand the capabilities and limitations of optical metrology methods. It also shows them how to successfully apply optical metrology to a vast array of current engineering and scientific problems.

The need for both intrinsic and extrinsic fiber optic sensor technologies continues to grow. To meet the demands of this fast expanding applications-driven market, Fiber Optic Sensors, Second Edition presents both the latest advances in fiber optic sensor technology, such as the application of photonic crystal fibers to fiber optic gyroscopes, and recent application opportunities, including the use of fiber optic sensors as a minimally invasive medical treatment.

The new edition of this seminal work highlights the development of fiber optic sensors, while providing an overview of current methods for the construction of high-speed and high-capacity fiber optic systems. Two new chapters cover topics such as femtosecond laser illumination inscription and the growing application sector of fiber optic chemical and biological sensors.

Adding significant new material, the book continues to provide a progressive history of each sensor type as well as basic principles and fundamental building blocks for practical applications in the electrical aerospace, defense and manufacturing, smart structure, undersea surveillance, medical, and gas and oil industries.

Jesse Ramsden was one of the most prominent manufacturers of scientific instruments in the latter half of the eighteenth century. To own a Ramsden instrument, be it one of his great theodolites or one of the many sextants and barometers produced at his London workshop, was to own not only an instrument of incredible accuracy and great practical use, but also a thing of beauty. In this, the first biography of Jesse Ramsden, Dr Anita McConnell reconstructs his life and career and presents us with a detailed account of the instrument trade in this period. By studying the life of one prominent instrument maker, the entire practice of the trade is illuminated, from the initial commission, the intricate planning and design, through the practicalities of production, delivery and, crucially, payment for the work. The book will naturally be of immeasurable interest to historians of science and scientific instruments but, as it also sheds light on the increasing commercialisation of the scientific trade on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, should also interest social and economic historians of the eighteenth century.

For all the interest that wireless sensor networks have created over the past decade, there are few examples to show that they are truly delivering on this promise and anticipation. What is missing? Deviating from the usual focus on routing and energy efficiency, Building Sensor Networks: From Design to Applications attempts to stitch together the path from conceptual development of applications, on one end, to actual complete applications at the other. With this change in perspective, the book examines important facets of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) that are not often discussed in the literature. From Design Practices to the Networking Protocols that Glue Applications Together Organized into three sections, the book presents insights from international experts representing both industry and academia. The first section, on design practices, explores alternative ways to approach the tasks of developing a suitable WSN solution to an application and assisting that development in a manner that is not necessarily tied to a particular application. The second section, on networking protocols, illustrates the impact of the intermediaries-the "glue" of putting applications together. Chapters look at ways to address traffic, delays in network clustering, and the coexistence of a WSN with other systems on a frequency band. The final section of the book delves into experiences with applications in chemical sensing, defense, global trade and security, and ecosystem monitoring. Although these applications may fail the purist definition of an ideal WSN, they offer valuable lessons for the future development and deployment of WSNs. Challenge Your Thinking about Designing WSN Applications Emphasizing the need to build applications, the contributors present examples of what applications of WSNs could look like and identify the constraints. Throughout, the book challenges and illuminates your thinking about how to tame the complexity of designing a WSN application. It is essential reading for anyone interested in future wireless technologies.

This essential reference acquaints developers of medical devices with the basic concepts and major issues of medical quality assurance and regulatory documents, describes the requirements listed in these documents, and provides strategies for compliance with these requirements. Medical Device Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance summarizes regulation activities of the FDA, the European Economic Community, and the Global Harmonization Task Force shows how to choose a standard from the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 series teaches how to prepare your company for auditing, how to choose a notified body, and how to survive the audit reviews standards dealing specifically with medical devices such as EN 46000, ISO 13485, and ISO 13488 discusses the requirements for product submittals prior to product introduction addresses current issues such as third party approvals and more Including numerous key references, tables, and drawings, Medical Device Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance is ideal for biomedical, quality assurance, reliability, software, product design, manufacturing, research and development, and industrial engineers; project managers; biomedical technicians; medical device purchasing personnel; and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines.

Series Information:
Garland Encyclopedias in the History of Science

The Handbook of Chemical and Biological Sensors focuses on the development of sensors to recognize substances rather than physical quantities. This fully inclusive book examines devices that use a biological sensing element to detect and measure chemical and biological species as well as those that use a synthetic element to achieve a similar result. A first port of call for anyone with a specific interest, question, or problem relating to this area, this comprehensive source of reference serves as a guide for practicing scientists and as a text for many graduate courses. It presents relevant physics to chemists, chemistry to materials scientists, materials science to electronic engineers, and fabrication technology to all of the above. In addition, the handbook is useful both to newcomers and to experienced researchers who wish to broaden their knowledge of the constituent disciplines of this wide-ranging field.

From the Author's Preface
Ceramic sensors have been in use for more than thirty years. Since ceramics exhibit a number of specific characteristics that enable their cost to become lower and their reliability to increase, they have occupied a significant position in sensor technology. This is why many companies and universities have directed their efforts towards investigating and developing new ceramic sensors and expanding their areas of application.
To the best of our knowledge.., there has been] no book treating different sensors on the basis of their common physical and chemical properties, technological principles, and applications. This book is] a detailed survey of ceramic sensors and a generalization of the results achieved in this field so far. Ceramic sensors for different physical quantities are discussed without going too deep into theory...
The concept of ceramic sensors includes all sensors that are produced using ceramic technology. It also covers thick film sensors, since from a structural and technological point of view, they can be regarded as a variety of ceramic sensors. The subject of scientific research in this book is humidity, gas. temperature, and pressure sensors on the basis of semiconductor and dielectric ceramic materials and solid electrolytes.
Special attention is paid to the physical and chemical, as well as the technological, bases of ceramic sensors, their classification, the types of materials used..., the methods of controlling their parameters and characteristics, the areas of application, and the electric circuits for connecting the sensors.

Polymer films now play an essential and growing role in sensors. Recent advances in polymer science and film preparation have made polymer films useful, practical and economical in a wide range of sensor designs and applications. Further, the continuing miniaturization of microelectronics favors the use of polymer thin films in sensors.
This new book is the first comprehensive presentation of this technology. It covers both scientific fundamentals and practical engineering aspects. Included is an extensive survey of all types of sensors and applications. The very detailed table of contents in the next pages provides full information on content. More than 200 schematics illustrate a wide variety of sensor structures and their function.