Intelligent technical systems, which combine mechanical, electrical and software engineering with control engineering and advanced mathematics, go far beyond the state of the art in mechatronics and open up fascinating perspectives. Among these systems are so-called self-optimizing systems, which are able to adapt their behavior autonomously and flexibly to changing operating conditions. Self-optimizing systems create high value for example in terms of energy and resource efficiency as well as reliability.

The Collaborative Research Center 614 "Self-optimizing Concepts and Structures in Mechanical Engineering" pursued the long-term aim to open up the active paradigm of self-optimization for mechanical engineering and to enable others to develop self-optimizing systems.

This book is directed to researchers and practitioners alike. It provides a design methodology for the development of self-optimizing systems consisting of a reference process, methods, and tools. The reference process is divided into two phases the domain-spanning conceptual design and the domain-specific design and development. For the conceptual design a holistic approach is provided. Domain-specific methods and tools developed especially for the design and development of self-optimizing systems are described and illustrated by application examples. This book will enable the reader to identify the potential for self-optimization and to develop self-optimizing systems independently."

This book provides a new direction in electronics research with the invention of a new material tuPOY, which changes our perception of developing electronics. Evolving on a relatively underplayed phenomenon of static electricity in scientific exploration and application, tuPOY upholds the potential to rival both silicon and metals as electronics of the future. Devices made of tuPOY present a new emblem to the technological world, where we could envision our electronic paraphernalia from a completely different perspective. A computer the size of a big wall, which could be neatly folded and kept in our pockets when not in use and laundered on a regular basis, can be imagined possible with this invention. The concept, manufacturing process, physics and uses of tuPOY as the next generation material of electronics is described in this book. The book covers the production process of tuPOY and goes on to conceptual advancement from manipulating the sensing, radiating and processing properties of tuPOY. Theoretical modelling of tuPOY is characterized by steady-state equations exploiting interchanges based on the lattice kinetics, which mathematizes an Interchange Phenomenon in tuPOY. The numerical manifestations calibrate mathematically, tuPOY's response to any external physical impetus such as charge, heat or energy flow. The book validates the sensing properties and theoretical model by designing a tuPOY sensor which can be used in a plethora of applications. A novel microstrip antenna is designed by amalgamation of tuPOY, raw silk and polynylon composites to experimentally verify the radiation properties of the new material. The conduction properties are verified by drawing fibres of tuPOY and using them as wires and connectors in electronics. A Power Generating Unit (PGU) is designed with tuPOY as its primary element. This is a first of its kind PGU that scavenges power from thermal energy presenting a new dimension in operational power dynamics. Overall this book should be of interest to a wide range of readers ranging from researchers, scientists, developers, manufacturers, engineers, graduate students and anyone who has satiety to think differently.

The research and its outcomes presented here is devoted to the use of x-ray scattering to study correlated electron systems and magnetism. Different x-ray based methods are provided to analyze three dimensional electron systems and the structure of transition-metal oxides. Finally the observation of multipole orderings with x-ray diffraction is shown.

This book discusses the effects, modeling, latest results, and nanotechnology applications of rainbows that appear during channeling of charged particles in crystals and nanotubes. The authors begin with a brief review of the optical and particle rainbow effects followed by a detailed description of crystal rainbows, which appear in ion channeling in crystals, and their modeling using catastrophe theory. The effects of spatial and angular focusing of channeled ions are described, with special attention given to the applications of the former effect to subatomic microscopy. The results of a thorough study of the recent high-resolution channeling experiments performed with protons of energies between 2.0 and 0.7 MeV and a 55 nm thick silicon crystal are also provided. This study opens up the potential for accurate analysis of very thin crystals. Also presented are recent results related to rainbows occurring in proton transmission through carbon nanotubes, and a detailed quantum consideration of the transmission of positrons of an energy of 1 MeV through very short carbon nanotubes. This process is determined by the rainbow effect. The initial positron beam is represented as an ensemble of non-interacting Gaussian wave packets, and the principal and supernumerary primary rainbows appearing in the spatial and angular distributions of transmitted positrons are clearly identified. They are explained by the effects of wrinkling, concentration and coordination of the wave packets.

It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that we introduce this volume which comprises the papers accepted for the 4th International Conference on Hydrocyclones held in Southampton from 23rd to 25th September 1992. As the name implies, this is the fourth Conference in the series, with the previous ones held in Cambridge in 1980, Bath in 1984 and Oxford in 1987. The papers cover a wide span of activities, from fundamental research to advances in industrial practice and, as in the earlier volumes, make a significant contribution of lasting value to the technical literature on hydrocyclones. Hydrocyclones continue to widen their appeal to engineers; besides their traditional role in mineral processing they now attract a lot of attention in chemical engineering, the oil and gas industry, power generation, the food industry, textiles, metal working, waste water treatment, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and other industries. The reason for this continuously increasing attention is, as David Parkinson (General Manager of Conoco (UK)) said recently, that" ... a hydrocyclone is an engineering dream, a machine with no moving parts." Yet as this Volume clearly shows, the hydrocyclone can do so many things and do them well, whether the application is in solid-liquid, liquid-liquid or liquid-gas separation.

The book presents the fabrication and circuit modeling of quantum dot gate field effect transistor (QDGFET) and quantum dot gate NMOS inverter (QDNMOS inverter). It also introduces the development of a circuit model of QDGFET based on Berkley Short Channel IGFET model (BSIM). Different ternary logic circuits based on QDGFET are also investigated in this book. Advanced circuit such as three-bit and six bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) were also simulated.

This book brings together recent developments in the areas of MEMS tribology, novel lubricants and coatings for nanotechnological applications, biomimetics in tribology and fundamentals of micro/nano-tribology. Tribology plays important roles in the functioning and durability of machines at small length scales because of the problems associated with strong surface adhesion, friction, wear etc. Recently, a number of studies have been conducted to understand tribological phenomena at nano/micro scales and many new tribological solutions for MEMS have been proposed.

Microfluidics and Microfabrication discusses the interconnect between microfluidics, microfabrication and the life sciences. Specifically, this includes fundamental aspects of fluid mechanics in micro-scale and nano-scale confinements and microfabrication. Material is also presented discussing micro-textured engineered surfaces, high-performance AFM probe-based, micro-grooving processes, fabrication with metals and polymers in bio-micromanipulation and microfluidic applications. Editor Suman Chakraborty brings together leading minds in both fields who also:

• Cover the fundamentals of microfluidics in a manner accessible to multi-disciplinary researchers, with a balance of mathematical details and physical principles
• Discuss the explicit interconnection between microfluiodics and microfabrication from an application perspective
• Detail the amalgamation of microfluidics with logic circuits and applications in micro-electronics

Microfluidics and Microfabrication is an ideal book for researchers, engineers and senior-level graduate students interested in learning more about the two fields.

This book provides readers with an overview of the design, fabrication, simulation, and reliability of nanoscale semiconductor devices, MEMS, and sensors, as they serve for realizing the next-generation internet of things. The authors focus on how the nanoscale structures interact with the electrical and/or optical performance, how to find optimal solutions to achieve the best outcome, how these apparatus can be designed via models and simulations, how to improve reliability, and what are the possible challenges and roadblocks moving forward.

This book contains a selection of papers presented at the 16th AISEM ( Associazione Italiana Sensori e Microsistemi ) National Conference on Sensors and Microsystems, held in Rome 7-9 February 2011. The conference highlighted updated results from both theoretical and applied research in the field of sensors and microsystems. This book presents material in an interdisciplinary approach, covering many aspects of the disciplines related to sensors and microsystems, including physics, chemistry, materials science, biology and applications.

This book presents a mechatronic approach to Active Noise Control (ANC). It describes the required elements of system theory, engineering acoustics, electroacoustics and adaptive signal processing in a comprehensive, consistent and systematic manner using a unified notation. Furthermore, it includes a design methodology for ANC-systems, explains its application and describes tools to be used for ANC-system design. From the research point of view, the book presents new approaches to sound source localization in weakly damped interiors. One is based on the inverse finite element method, the other is based on a sound intensity probe with an active free field. Furthermore, a prototype of an ANC-system able to reach the physical limits of local (feed-forward) ANC is described. This is one example for applied research in ANC-system design. Other examples are given for (i) local ANC in a semi-enclosed subspace of an aircraft cargo hold and (ii) for the combination of audio entertainment with ANC.

"Nanotechnology in Dermatology" is the first book of its kind to address all of the important and rapidly growing aspects of nanotechnology as it relates to dermatology. In the last few years there has been an explosion in research and development for products and devices related to nanotechnology, including numerous applications for consumers, physicians, patients, and industry. Applications are underway in medicine and dermatology for the early detection, diagnosis, and targeted therapy of disease, and nanodesigned materials and devices are expected to be faster, smaller, more powerful, more efficient, and more versatile than their traditional counterparts.

Written by experts working in this exciting field, "Nanotechnology in Dermatology" specifically addresses nanotechnology in consumer skin care products, in the diagnosis of skin disease, in the treatment of skin disease, and the overall safety of nanotechnology. The book also discusses future trends of this ever-growing and changing field, providing dermatologists, pharmaceutical companies, and consumer cosmetics companies with a clear understanding of the advantages and challenges of nanotechnology today."

This book covers smart polymer nanocomposites with perspectives for application in energy harvesting, as self-healing materials, or shape memory materials. The book is application-oriented and describes different types of polymer nanocomposites, such as elastomeric composites, thermoplastic composites, or conductive polymer composites. It outlines their potential for applications, which would meet some of the most important challenges nowadays: for harvesting energy, as materials with the capacity to self-heal, or as materials memorizing a given shape.The book brings together these different applications for the first time in one single platform. Chapters are ordered both by the type of composites and by the target applications. Readers will thus find a good overview, facilitating a comparison of the different smart materials and their applications. The book will appeal to scientists in the fields of chemistry, material science and engineering, but also to technologists and physicists, from graduate student level to researcher and professional.

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.

A quantum dot molecule (QDM) is composed of two or more closely spaced quantum dots or artificial atoms. In recent years, QDMs have received much attention as an emerging new artificial quantum system. The interesting and unique coupling and energy transfer processes between the artificial atoms could substantially extend the range of possible applications of quantum nanostructures. This book reviews recent advances in the exciting and rapidly growing field of QDMs via contributions from some of the most prominent researchers in this scientific community. The book explores many interesting topics such as the epitaxial growth of QDMs, spectroscopic characterization, and QDM transistors, and bridges between the fundamental physics of novel materials and device applications for future information technology. Both theoretical and experimental approaches are considered. "Quantum Dot Molecules" can be recommended for electrical engineering and materials science department courses on the science and design of advanced and future electronic and optoelectronic devices."

This book guides through general and fundamental problems of pressure vessel design. It moreover considers problems which seem to be of lower importance but which turn out to be crucial in the design phase. The basic approach is rigorously scientific with a complete theoretical development of the topics treated, but the analysis is always pushed so far as to offer concrete and precise calculation criteria that can be immediately applied to actual designs. This is accomplished through appropriate algorithms that lead to final equations or to characteristic parameters defined through mathematical equations.

The first chapter describes how to achieve verification criteria, the second analyzes a few general problems, such as stresses of the membrane in revolution solids and edge effects. The third chapter deals with cylinders under pressure from the inside, while the fourth focuses on cylinders under pressure from the outside. The fifth chapter covers spheres, and the sixth is about all types of heads. Chapter seven discusses different components of particular shape as well as pipes, with special attention to flanges. The eighth chapter discusses the influence of holes, while the ninth is devoted to the influence of supports. Finally, chapter ten illustrates the fundamental criteria regarding fatigue analysis.

Besides the unique approach to the entire work, original contributions can be found in most chapters, thanks to the author s numerous publications on the topic and to studies performed ad hoc for this book.

The tenth anniversary edition of the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest: the search for the solution of how to calculate longitude and the unlikely triumph of an English genius. With a new Foreword by the celebrated astronaut Neil Armstrong. 'Sobel has done the impossible and made horology sexy - no mean feat' New Scientist Anyone alive in the 18th century would have known that 'the longitude problem' was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day - and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution. The quest for a solution had occupied scientists and their patrons for the better part of two centuries when, in 1714, Parliament upped the ante by offering a king's ransom (GBP20,000) to anyone whose method or device proved successful. Countless quacks weighed in with preposterous suggestions. The scientific establishment throughout Europe - from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton - had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in its certain pursuit of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution. Full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd, LONGITUDE is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation and clockmaking.

Tutorial lectures given by world-renowned researchers have become one of the important traditions of the Nano and Giga Challenges (NGC) conference series. 1 Soon after preparations had begun for the rst forum, NGC2002, in Moscow, Russia, the organizers realized that publication of the lectures notes would be a va- able legacy of the meeting and a signi cant educational resource and knowledge base for students, young researchers, and senior experts. Our rst book was p- lished by Elsevier and received the same title as the meeting itself-Nano and Giga 2 Challenges in Microelectronics. Our second book, Nanotechnology for Electronic 3 4 Materials and Devices, based on the tutorial lectures at NGC2004 in Krakow, 5 Poland, the third book from NGC2007 in Phoenix, Arizona, and the current book 6 from joint NGC2009 and CSTC2009 meeting in Hamilton, Ontario, have been published in Springer's Nanostructure Science and Technology series. Hosted by McMaster University, the meeting NGC/CSTC 2009 was held as a joint event of two conference series, Nano and Giga Challenges (Nano & Giga Forum) and Canadian Semiconductor Technology Conferences (CSTC), bringing together the networks and expertise of both professional forums. Informational (electronics and photonics), renewable energy (solar systems, fuel cells, and batteries), and sensor (nano and bio) technologies have reached a new stage in their development in terms of engineering limits to cost-effective impro- ment of current technological approaches. The latest miniaturization of electronic devices is approaching atomic dimensions.

The repair of clocks calls for a variety of skills and crafts, few of which can be 'picked up' by bench work alone. In the horological trade, it is technical practice that the 'prentice hand' is first tried out on clocks, before attempting repair work on watches. Clocks have the advantage of possessing sizeable and robust parts and of being easier to handle. But there the advantage for the repairer ends. The sizes, shapes, complications and even the nationalities of clocks appear to be without end. Every movement has detail difference and, naturally, the defects when due for repair, are as varied. In this book, the author has dealt with the usual faults likely to develop in each type of movement in general use; from the lordly grandfather to the humble alarm. All the tools and equipment are described and illustrated, together with the ways of using them. The craftsman's most important and valuable tools of all - his skilful fingers - are shown in use in the clearest manner. As is usual in N.A.G. Press textbooks, the drawings have been specially made from parts under working conditions. A glance through the book will show their usefulness and clarity. Over 400 line drawings are used throughout and the reader is left in no doubt of what he is asked to do in following the author's clearly written technical and practical instructions.

'Micro-scaled Products Development via Microforming' presents state-of-the-art research on microforming processes, and focuses on the development of micro-scaled metallic parts via microforming processes. Microforming refers to the fabrication of microparts via micro-scaled plastic deformation and presents a promising micromanufacturing process. When compared to other micromanufacturing processes, microforming offers advantages such as high productivity and good mechanical properties of the deformed microparts. This book provides extensive and informative illustrations, tables and photos in order to convey this information clearly and directly to readers. Although the knowledge of macroforming processes is abundant and widely used in industry, microparts cannot be developed by leveraging existing knowledge of macroforming because the size effect presents a barrier to this knowledge transfer. Therefore systematic knowledge of microforming needs to be developed. In tandem with product miniaturization, the demand on microparts has been increased for their wide applications in many industries, including automotive, bio-medical, aerospace and consumer electronics industries. Micromanufacturing technologies have thus become more and more important. This book is intended for postgraduates, manufacturing engineers and professionals working in the areas of manufacturing and materials processing.

High Pressure Vessels is the only book to present timely information on high pressure vessel design for student engineers, mechanical and chemical engineers who design and build these vessels, and for chemical engineers, plant engineers and facilities managers who use them. It concentrates on design issues, giving the reader comprehensive coverage of the design aspects of the ASME High Pressure System Standard and the forthcoming ASME High Pressure Vessel Code. Coverage of the safety requirements of these new standards is included, as well as offering the reader examples and original data, a glossary of terms, SI conversions, and lists of references.

This book systematically describes the design options for micro systems as well as the equations needed for calculating the behavior of their basic elements. The fundamental equations needed to calculate the effects and forces that are important in micro systems are also provided. Readers do not require previous knowledge of fabrication processes. This second edition of the volume is a thoroughly revised and extended update. The target audience primarily comprises experts in the field of micro systems and the book is also suitable for graduate engineering students. For quick reference, equations are presented in tables that can be found in an index at the end of the book.

-Shear-Induced Transitions and Instabilities in Surfactant Wormlike Micelles By S. Lerouge, J.-F. Berret -Laser-Interferometric Creep Rate Spectroscopy of Polymers By V. A. Bershtein, P. N. Yakushev -Polymer Nanocomposites for Electro-Optics: Perspectives on Processing Technologies, Material Characterization, and Future Application K. Matras-Postolek, D. Bogdal

This book presents the latest results of quantum properties of light in the nanostructured environment supporting surface plasmons, including waveguide quantum electrodynamics, quantum emitters, strong-coupling phenomena and lasing in plasmonic structures. Different approaches are described for controlling the emission and propagation of light with extreme light confinement and field enhancement provided by surface plasmons. Recent progress is reviewed in both experimental and theoretical investigations within quantum plasmonics, elucidating the fundamental physical phenomena involved and discussing the realization of quantum-controlled devices, including single-photon sources, transistors and ultra-compact circuitry at the nanoscale.

Nanoimprint Lithography: An enabling process for nanofabrication presents a comprehensive description of nanotechnology that is one of the most promising low-cost, high-throughput technologies for manufacturing nanostructures, and an emerging lithography candidates for 22, 16 and 11 nm nodes. It provides the exciting, multidisciplinary field, offering a wide range of topics covering: principles, process, material and application. This book would be of specific interest for researchers and graduate students in the field of nanoscience, nanotechnology and nanofabrication, material, physical, chemical, electric engineering and biology. Dr. Weimin Zhou is an associate professor at Shanghai Nanotechnology Promotion Center, China.