The development of near-field optics marked a major advance in microscopy and our ability to develop nanoscale technologies. However, the tapered optical fiber widely in use as the optical near-field probe has serious limitations in its fabrication, its optical transmission efficiency, and its use in arrays.

Fabrication of Silicon Microprobes for Optical Near-Field Applications reports on several technological approaches to using silicon micromachining techniques for fabricating microprobes without the drawbacks of conventional optical fiber probes. The authors have developed a simple, effective method for batch-process production of silicon cantilevered probes with apertures as small as 20 nanometers. They have investigated in detail the probes' optical performance characteristics and show how the silicon probes overcome the limitations of the optical fiber probes in terms of production throughput, optical throughput, reproducibility, simplicity of instrumentation, and mechanical performance.

Since the 13th century, a few special public clocks have included the movement of the sun, moon, earth and other planets, and from those early days Jacks were devised as human figures which actually "struck" the hours. Soon thereafter, automata appeared as mechanical figures that performed many and various acts, such as the four knights on horseback who joust on the hour at the Wells Cathedral in England. Over 300 clocks, for buildings or tabletops, which do far more than tell time, are presented here with concise historical explanations, detailed drawings, and clear color photography. 22 chapters examine the amazing mystery, novelty, and fantasy clocks that display magical acts, appear to require no power to drive them, or have no apparent connection between the movement and the hands. Famous makers in England, Germany, France, and Switzerland created these special clocks which became treasures of royalty throughout Europe and Asia, particularly in Chinese courts. Clocks with mysterious, novel, and fantastic features continue to be made up to the present for retailers such as Asprey and Cartier. For over 700 years these amazing clocks have delighted and challenged all who witness their makers' ingenuity.

CHRONOMETERS - Marine and pocket chronometers, pocket watches with tourbillons or carousels form, in the large family of clocks, a small group of very precisely running timepieces with little sensitivity to external influences, such as variations in temperature. In the text, the author takes up the fascinating development and history of the chronometer, portrays the most important manufactures in short biographies, and reports on the great voyages of discovery in the 18th Century that proved the utility of the chronometer as a navigational instrument. The illustration section, divided into five sections on the basis of historical and technical standpoints, portays some 350 items in the antique trade and at auctions or seen in private collections, with special emphasis placed on illustrations of their movements.

Das von A. Leonhard im Jahre 1940 vorgeschlagene Stabilitatskriterium, bekannt als Zweiortskurvenverfahren, ist im Buch durch Einsatz eines gespiegelten negativ inversen Reglers zu einem neuen Verfahren (DBV) uberarbeitet und in einem Bode-Diagramm mit drei getrennten Amplituden- und Phasengangen angewendet. Das DBV hat mehrere Vorteile gegenuber bekannten Nyquist- oder Michailow-Stabilitatskriterien und lasst die Stabilitat von Regelkreisen direkt anhand Bode-Plots der Regelstrecke prufen. Die UEbungsaufgaben sind mit Loesungen begleitet, die zum besseren Verstandnis mit MATLAB (R) simuliert sind.

Dieses Lehrbuch zeigt das universelle Modellbildungs- und Beschreibungstool "Bondgraph" und die dazugehoerige Methode. Damit koennen wichtige Komponenten mechatronischer Systeme sowie komplexere technische Systeme domanenubergreifend modelliert und anschliessend simuliert werden. Aufgaben mit vollstandigen Loesungen ermoeglichen ein erfolgreiches Selbststudium. Die aktuelle Auflage wurde uberarbeitet, die Loesungen zu den Aufgaben sind auf der Verlagshomepage uber einen Link beim jeweiligen Kapitel kostenlos abrufbar.

This book describes the use of modern micro- and nanofabrication technologies to develop improved tools for stimulating and recording electrical activity in neuronal networks. It provides an overview of the different ways in which the "nano-world" can be beneficial for neuroscientists, including improvement of mechanical adhesion of cells on electrodes, tight-sealed extracellular recordings or intracellular approaches with strongly reduced invasiveness and tools for localized electrical or optical stimulation in optogenetics experiments. Specific discussion of fabrication strategies is included, to provide a comprehensive guide to develop micro and nanostructured tools for biological applications. A perspective on integrating these devices with state-of-the-art technologies for large-scale in vitro and in vivo experiments completes the picture of neuronal interfacing with micro- and nanostructures.

This reference work compiles and summarizes the available information on epoxy blends. It covers all essential areas - the synthesis, processing, characterization and applications of epoxy blends - in a comprehensive manner. The handbook is highly application-oriented and thus serves as a valuable, authoritative reference guide for researchers, engineers, and technologists working on epoxy blends, but also for graduate and postgraduate students, polymer chemists, and faculties at universities and colleges.The handbook is divided into three parts and organized by the types of blends and components: Part I covers epoxy rubber blends, Part II focuses on epoxy thermoplastic blends, and Part III examines epoxy block-copolymer blends. Each part starts with an introduction, and the individual chapters provide readers with comprehensive information on the synthesis and processing, analysis and characterization, properties and applications of the different epoxy blends. All parts conclude with a critical evaluation of the applications, weighing their advantages and drawbacks. Leading international experts from corporate and academic research institutions and universities discuss the correlations of different epoxy blend properties with their macro-, micro- and nanostructures. This handbook thus offers a rich resource for newcomers to the field, and a major reference work for experienced researchers, the first of its kind available on the market. As epoxies find extremely broad applications, e.g. in oil & gas, in the chemical industry, building and construction industry, automotive, aviation and aerospace, boat building and marine applications, in adhesives and coatings, and many more, this handbook addresses researchers and practitioners from all these fields.

This edited volume presents most techniques and methods that have been developed by material scientists, chemists, chemical engineers and physicists for the commercial production of particulate materials, ranging from the millimeter to the nanometer scale. The scope includes the physical and chemical background, experimental optimization of equipment and procedures, as well as an outlook on future methods. The books addresses issues of industrial importance such as specifications, control parameter(s), control strategy, process models, energy consumption and discusses the various techniques in relation to potential applications. In addition to the production processes, all major unit operations and characterization methods are described in this book. It differs from other books which are devoted to a single technique or a single material. Contributors to this book are acknowledged experts in their field. The aim of the book is to facilitate comparison of the different unit operations leading to optimum equipment choices for the production, handling and storage of particulate materials. An advantage of this approach is that unit operations that are common in one field of application are made accessible to other fields. The overall focus is on industrial application and the book includes some concrete examples. The book is an essential resource for students or researchers who work in collaboration with manufacturing industries or who are planning to make the switch from academia to industry.

This volume describes the design of relay-based circuit systems from device fabrication to circuit micro-architectures. This book is ideal for both device engineers as well as circuit system designers, and highlights the importance of co-design across design hierarchies when trying to optimize system performance (in this case, energy-efficiency). The book will also appeal to researchers and engineers focused on semiconductor, integrated circuits, and energy efficient electronics.

This Handbook provides researchers, faculty, design engineers in industrial R&D, and practicing engineers in the field concise treatments of advanced and more-recently established topics in thermal science and engineering, with an important emphasis on micro- and nanosystems, not covered in earlier references on applied thermal science, heat transfer or relevant aspects of mechanical/chemical engineering. Major sections address new developments in heat transfer, transport phenomena, single- and multiphase flows with energy transfer, thermal-bioengineering, thermal radiation, combined mode heat transfer, coupled heat and mass transfer, and energy systems. Energy transport at the macro-scale and micro/nano-scales is also included. The internationally recognized team of authors adopt a consistent and systematic approach and writing style, including ample cross reference among topics, offering readers a user-friendly knowledgebase greater than the sum of its parts, perfect for frequent consultation. The Handbook of Thermal Science and Engineering is ideal for academic and professional readers in the traditional and emerging areas of mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, aerospace engineering, bioengineering, electronics fabrication, energy, and manufacturing concerned with the influence thermal phenomena.