When confronted with the how's and why's of nature's computational engines, some prefer to focus upon neural function: addressing issues of neural system behavior and its relation to natural intelligence. Then there are those who prefer the study of the 'mechanics' of neural systems: the nuts and bolts of the 'wetware': the neurons and synapses. Those who investigate pulse coded implementations of artificial neural networks know what it means to stand at the boundary which lies between these two worlds: not just asking why natural neural systems behave as they do, but also how they achieve their marvelous feats. The state-of-the-art research results presented in Silicon Implementation of Pulse Coded Neural Networks not only address more conventional abstract notions of neural-like processing, but also the more specific details of neural-like processors. It has been established for some time that natural neural systems perform a great deal of information processing via electrochemical pulses. Accordingly, pulse coded neural network concepts are receiving increased attention in artificial neural network research.This increased interest is compounded by continuing advances in the field of VLSI circuit design. For the first time in history, it is practical to construct networks of neuron-like circuits of reasonable complexity that can be applied to real problems. The pioneering work in artificial neural systems presented in Silicon Implementation of Pulse Coded Neural Networks will lead to further advances that will not only be useful in some practical sense, but may also provide some additional insight into the operation of their natural counterparts. Silicon Implementation of Pulse Coded Neural Networks seeks to cover many of the relevant contemporary studies coming out of this newly emerging area. As such, it serves as an excellent reference, and may be used as a text for advanced courses on the subject.

Developing a new treatment of 'Free Convection Film Flows and Heat Transfer' began in Shang's first monograph and is continued in this monograph. The current book displays the recent developments of laminar forced convection and forced film condensation. It is aimed at revealing the true features of heat and mass transfer with forced convection film flows to model the deposition of thin layers. The novel mathematical similarity theory model is developed to simulate temperature- and concentration- dependent physical processes. The following topics are covered in this book: 1. Mathematical methods - advanced similarity analysis method to replace the traditional Falkner-Skan type transformation - a novel system of similarity analysis and transformation models to overcome the difficult issues of forced convection and forced film flows - heat and mass transfer equations based on the advanced similarity analysis models and equations formulated with rigorous key numerical solutions 2. Modeling the influence of physical factors - effect of thermal dissipation on forced convection heat transfer - a system of models of temperature and concentration-dependent variable physical properties based on the advanced temperature-parameter model and rigorous analysis model on vapor-gas mixture physical properties for the rigorous and convenient description of the governing differential equations - an available approach to satisfy interfacial matching conditions for rigorous and reliable solutions - a system of numerical results on velocity, temperature and concentration fields, as well as, key solutions on heat and mass transfer - the effect of non-condensable gas on heat and mass transfer for forced film condensation. This way it is realized to conveniently and reliably predict heat and mass transfer for convection and film flows and to resolve a series of current difficult issues of heat and mass transfer with forced convection film flows. Professionals in this fields as well as graduate students will find this a valuable book for their work.

Structural Phase Transitions II, like its predecessor (Topics in Current Physics, Vol. 23), presents selected methods and recent advances in the experimental investigation of phase transitions in solids. The two chapters in this volume deal with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and with nuclear magnetic and nuclear quadrupole resonance (NMR-NQR). Both techniques are particularly sensitive to local properties. The chapter on EPR concentrates largely on the investigation of static properties, including mean-field behaviour, critical and multicritical phenomena, whilst NMR is shown to be a powerful tool for studying nonlinear dynamics, incommensurate transitions, and disordered systems. This book will serve as an excellent introduction to the methodology and applications of EPR and NMR-NQR for all those wishing to become acquainted with these important tools for studying structural phase transitions.

Stochastic Dynamics, born almost 100 years ago with the early explanations of Brownian motion by physicists, is nowadays a quickly expanding field of research within nonequilibrium statistical physics. The present volume provides a survey on the influence of fluctuations in nonlinear dynamics. It addresses specialists, although the intention of this book is to provide teachers and students with a reliable resource for seminar work. In particular, the reader will find many examples illustrating the theory as well as a host of recent findings.

This book originated from a course given at the Univcrsidad Aut6noma of Madrid in the Spring of 1994 and in the Universidad Complutense of Madrid in 1995. The goal of these courses is to give the non-specialist an introduction to some old and new ideas in the field of strongly correlated systems, in particular the problems posed by the high-1 superconducting materials. As theoretical physicists, our starting viewpoint to address the problem of strongly correlat ed ferlnion systems and related issues of modern condensed matter physics .is the renormalization group approach applied both to quantU111 field theory and statistical physics. In recent years this has become not only a powerful tool for retrieving the essential physics of interacting systems but also a link between theoretical physics and modern condensed matter physics. Furthermore, once we have this common background for dealing with apparently different prob lems, we discuss more specific topics and even phenomenological aspects of the field. In doing so we have tried to make the exposition clear and simple, with out entering into technical details but focusing ill the fundamental physics of the phenomena under study. Therefore, ve expect that our experience ll1ay have some value to other people entering this fascinating field. We have divided these notes into three parts and each part into chapters, which correspond roughly to one or two lectures. Part I, Chaps. 1-2 (A. H. V."

This compilation contains new theoretical work as well as up-to-date applications contributed by some of the world leaders of current SOM research. It is a compact and vivid collection of almost all aspects of current research on Self-Organizing Maps, ranging from theoretical work, several technical and non-technical applications, numerical and implementation details on sequential and parallel hardware to self-organisation with spiking neurons. An overture, given by Teuvo Kohonen, builds a bridge from the development of the fundamentals to the many extensions, modifications and applications which have made this neural network architecture so successful.

The accomplishments and the available expertise of scientists working on spin systems, lattice gauge models, and quantum liquids and solids has culminated in an extraordinary opportunity for rapid and efficient development of realistic strategies and algorithms of ab initio theoretical analysis of conventional and exotic condensed-matter systems. This volume presents the latest results in the interdisciplinary field of lattice many-body systems. These include magnetism and phase transitions and lattice gauge problems in quantum field theory. Also treated are strongly correlated systems that help to unify many-body problems in solid-state physics, crystallography, and materials sciences and that helped their quantitative understanding.

This book introduces the novel concept of a fuzzy network whose nodes are rule bases and the connections between the nodes are the interactions between the rule bases in the form of outputs fed as inputs. The concept is presented as a systematic study for improving the feasibility and transparency of fuzzy models by means of modular rule bases whereby the model accuracy and efficiency can be optimised in a flexible way. The study uses an effective approach for fuzzy rule based modelling of complex systems that are characterised by attributes such as nonlinearity, uncertainty, dimensionality and structure.The approach is illustrated by formal models for fuzzy networks, basic and advanced operations on network nodes, properties of operations, feedforward and feedback fuzzy networks as well as evaluation of fuzzy networks. The results are demonstrated by numerous examples, two case studies and software programmes within the Matlab environment that implement some of the theoretical methods from the book. The book shows the novel concept of a fuzzy network with networked rule bases as a bridge between the existing concepts of a standard fuzzy system with a single rule base and a hierarchical fuzzy system with multiple rule bases.

Applied Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics provides the undergraduate and graduate student of chemical engineering with the basic knowledge, the methodology and the references he needs to apply it in industrial practice. Thus, in addition to the classical topics of the laws of thermodynamics, pure component and mixture thermodynamic properties as well as phase and chemical equilibria the reader will find: - history of thermodynamics - energy conservation - internmolecular forces and molecular thermodynamics - cubic equations of state - statistical mechanics. A great number of calculated problems with solutions and an appendix with numerous tables of numbers of practical importance are extremely helpful for applied calculations. The computer programs on the included disk help the student to become familiar with the typical methods used in industry for volumetric and vapor-liquid equilibria calculations.

This monograph attempts to provide a systematic and consistent survey of the fundamentals of the theory of free, linear, isentropic oscillations in spherically symmetric, gaseous equilibrium stars, whose structure is affected neither by axial rotation, nor by the tidal action of a companion, nor by a magnetic eld. Three parts can be distinguished. The rst part, consisting of Chaps.1-8, covers the basic concepts and equations, the distinction between spheroidal and toroidal normal modes, the solution of Poisson's differential equation for the perturbation of the gravitational potential, and Hamilton's variational principle. The second part, consisting of Chaps.9-13, is devotedto the possible existenceof waves propagating in the radial direction, the origin and classi cation of normal modes, the comple- ness of the normal modes, and the relation between the local stability with respect to convection and the global stability of a star. In the third part, Chaps.14-18 c- tain asymptoticrepresentationsof normalmodes. Chapter 19 deals with slow period changes in rapidly evolving pulsating stars. The theory is developed within the framework of the Newtonian theory of gr- itation and the hydrodynamics of compressible uids. It is described in its present status, with inclusion of open questions. We give preference to the use of the adjective "isentropic" above that of the adjective "adiabatic," since, from a thermodynamic point of view, these stellar - cillations are described as reversible adiabatic processes and thus as processes that take place at constant entropy.

This book is intended for scientists, researchers, and graduate students interested in solutions in general, and solutions of metals in particular. Readers are assumed to have a good background in thermodynamics, presented in such books as those cited at the end of Chapter 1, "Thermo dynamic Background." The contents of the book are limited to the solutions of metals + metals, and metals + metalloids, but the results are also appli cable to numerous other types of solutions encountered by metallurgists, materials scientists, geologists, ceramists, and chemists. Attempts have been made to cover each topic in depth with numerical examples whenever necessary. Chapter 2 presents phase equilibria and phase diagrams as related to the thermodynamics of solutions. The emphasis is on the binary diagrams since the ternary diagrams can be understood in terms of the binary diagrams coupled with the phase rule, and the Gibbs energies of mixing. The cal culation of thermodynamic properties from the phase diagrams is not emphasized because such a procedure generally yields mediocre results. Nevertheless, the reader can readily obtain thermodynamic data from phase diagrams by reversing the detailed process of calculation of phase diagrams from thermodynamic data. Empirical rules on phase stability are given in this chapter for a brief and clear understanding of the physical and atomistic factors underlying the alloy phase formation."

Composed of papers written by leading engineers and scientists in the field, this valuable collection reports the most recent advances in cryocooler development, contains extensive performance test results and comparisons, and relates the latest experience in integrating cryocoolers into advanced applications.

Current companies and communities of practice are involved in intensive networking and collaborative systems by a great variety of electronic relations and collaborative interactions. This has resulted in entangled systems that need to be managed efficiently and in an autonomous way, thus facing many issues and challenges. The extensive research produced in this book will help virtual organizations to exploit latest and powerful technologies based on Grid and Wireless infrastructures as well as Cloud computing in order to alleviate complex issues and challenges arisen in networking and collaborative systems, in terms of collaborative applications, resource management, mobility, and security and system resilience. The ultimate aim of the book is to stimulate research that leads to the creation of responsive environments for networking and, at longer-term, the development of adaptive, secure, mobile, and intuitive intelligent systems for collaborative work and learning. Academic researchers, professionals and practitioners in the field will be inspired and put in practice the ideas and experiences proposed in the book in order to evaluate them for their specific research and work.

Modern achievements in the intensively developing field of applied mathematics are presented in this monograph. In particular, it proposes a new approach to extremal problem theory for nonlinear operators, differential-operator equations and inclusions, and for variational inequalities in Banach spaces. An axiomatic study of nonlinear maps (including multi-valued ones) is given, and the properties of resolving operators for systems, consisting of operator and differential-operator equations, are stated in nonlinear-map terms. The solvability conditions and the properties of extremal problem solutions are obtained, while their weak expansions and necessary conditions of optimality in variational inequality form are formulated. In addition. the monograph proposes regularization methods and approximation schemes. This book is adressed to scientists, graduates and undergraduates who are interested in nonlinear analysis, control theory, system analysis and differential equations.

Fuzzy Set Theory and Advanced Mathematical Applications contains contributions by many of the leading experts in the field, including coverage of the mathematical foundations of the theory, decision making and systems science, and recent developments in fuzzy neural control. The book supplies a readable, practical toolkit with a clear introduction to fuzzy set theory and its evolution in mathematics and new results on foundations of fuzzy set theory, decision making and systems science, and fuzzy control and neural systems. Each chapter is self-contained, providing up-to-date coverage of its subject. Audience: An important reference work for university students, and researchers and engineers working in both industrial and academic settings.

This book provides a compilation of important optical techniques applied to experiments in heat and mass transfer, multiphase flow and combustion. The emphasis of this book is on the application of these techniques to various engineering problems. The contributions are aiming to provide practicing engineers, both in industry and research, with the recent state of science in the application of advanced optical measurements. The book is written by selected specialists representing leading experts in this field who present new information for the possibilities of these techniques and give stimulation of new ideas for their application.

This book illustrates how models of complex systems are built up and provides indispensable mathematical tools for studying their dynamics. This second edition includes more recent research results and many new and improved worked out examples and exercises.

Since the late 1960s, there has been a revolution in robots and industrial automation, from the design of robots with no computing or sensorycapabilities (first-generation), to the design of robots with limited computational power and feedback capabilities (second-generation), and the design of intelligent robots (third-generation), which possess diverse sensing and decision making capabilities. The development of the theory of intelligent machines has been developed in parallel to the advances in robot design. This theory is the natural outcome of research and development in classical control (1950s), adaptive and learning control (1960s), self-organizing control (1970s) and intelligent control systems (1980s). The theory of intelligent machines involves utilization and integration of concepts and ideas from the diverse disciplines of science, engineering and mathematics, and fields like artificial intelligence, system theory and operations research. The main focus and motivation is to bridge the gap between diverse disciplines involved and bring under a common cover several generic methodologies pertaining to what has been defined as machine intelligence. Intelligent robotic systems are a specific application of intelligent machines. They are complex computer controlled robotic systems equipped with a diverse set of visual and non visual sensors and possess decision making and problem solving capabilities within their domain of operation. Their modeling and control is accomplished via analytical and heuristic methodologies and techniques pertaining to generalized system theory and artificial intelligence. Intelligent Robotic Systems: Theory, Design and Applications, presents and justifies the fundamental concepts and ideas associated with the modeling and analysis of intelligent robotic systems. Appropriate for researchers and engineers in the general area of robotics and automation, Intelligent Robotic Systems is both a solid reference as well as a text for a graduate level course in intelligent robotics/machines.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in applying neural networks to dynamic systems identification (modelling), prediction and control. Neural networks are computing systems characterised by the ability to learn from examples rather than having to be programmed in a conventional sense. Their use enables the behaviour of complex systems to be modelled and predicted and accurate control to be achieved through training, without a priori information about the systems' structures or parameters. This book describes examples of applications of neural networks In modelling, prediction and control. The topics covered include identification of general linear and non-linear processes, forecasting of river levels, stock market prices and currency exchange rates, and control of a time-delayed plant and a two-joint robot. These applications employ the major types of neural networks and learning algorithms. The neural network types considered in detail are the muhilayer perceptron (MLP), the Elman and Jordan networks and the Group-Method-of-Data-Handling (GMDH) network. In addition, cerebellar-model-articulation-controller (CMAC) networks and neuromorphic fuzzy logic systems are also presented. The main learning algorithm adopted in the applications is the standard backpropagation (BP) algorithm. Widrow-Hoff learning, dynamic BP and evolutionary learning are also described.

This 6th International Symposium on Thermal Expansion, the first outside the USA, was held on August 29-31, 1977 at the Gull Harbour Resort on Hecla Island, Manitoba, Canada. Symposium Chairman was Ian D. Peggs, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, and our continuing sponsor was CINDAS/Purdue University. We made considerable efforts to broaden the base this year to include more users of expansion data but with little success. We were successful, however, in establishing a session on liquids, an area which is receiving more attention as a logical extension to the high-speed thermophysical property measurements on materials at temperatures close to their melting points. The Symposium had good international representation but the overall attendance was, disappointingly, relatively low. Neverthe less, this enhanced the informal atmosphere throughout the meeting with a resultant frank exchange of information and ideas which all attendees appreciated. A totally new item this year was the presentation of a bursary to assist an outstanding research student to attend the Symposium. We were delighted to welcome Mr. Benedick Fraass from the Univer sity of Illinois to the Symposium, and he responded by making an informal presentation on the topic of his research. We hope this feature will continue. Previous Symposia in the series were: DATE SPONSOR LOCATION CHAIRMEN September 18-20 Gaithersburg, R.K. Kirby Natl. Bureau of 1968 Maryland Standards P.S. Gaal Westinghouse Astronuclear Lab. June 10-12 Santa Fe, R.O. Simmons Materials Res. Lab."

This self-contained treatment covers all aspects of nonlinear dynamics, from fundamentals to recent developments, in a unified and comprehensive way. Numerous examples and exercises will help the student to assimilate and apply the techniques presented.

The Dynamics of Digital Excitation provides a fundamental new viewpoint on circuit therapy. It begins with a very real and practical problem and then presents arguments that are set forth for the first time. The most commonly used parameter of digital circuits, the gate delay time, does not exist. This problem emerges most clearly in the high-speed CMOS, above 1 GHz clock frequency. This book explains why that is so and then how to deal with the situation in a practical manner. Most of the large IC companies, and many of the small IC design companies, are now racing to capture above 1 GHz clock CMOS IC markets. A few examples of such companies in the United States are Motorola, Intel and DEC. Numerous new small design-only companies are also interested in this technology. The above 1 GHz circuit design is an extremely difficult concept and, for the designers, the material discussed in this book is indispensable. The Dynamics of Digital Excitation shows that the fastest CMOS circuits can be understood and designed only after understanding their quantum-mechanical nature.The Dynamics of Digital Excitation will help the circuit designer to learn how to deal with the problems of circuit delay when the gate delay is not a valid concept at high switching speeds and how to design the fastest critical paths. This book outlines essential and fundamental guidelines for designing the fastest CMOS circuits. It also explains how to design and structure computer-aided designs to deal with above 1 GHz circuits. The Dynamics of Digital Excitation sets forth exciting new ideas and will be of interest to IC designers and CAD professionals alike.

This book contains the lectures given at the NATO ASI 910820 "Cellular Automata and Cooperative Systems" Meeting which was held at the Centre de Physique des Houches, France, from June 22 to July 2, 1992. This workshop brought together mathematical physicists, theoretical physicists and mathe maticians working in fields related to local interacting systems, cellular and probabilistic automata, statistical physics, and complexity theory, as well as applications of these fields. We would like to thank our sponsors and supporters whose interest and help was essential for the success of the meeting: the NATO Scientific Affairs Division, the DRET (Direction des Recherches, Etudes et Techniques), the Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres, the National Science Foundation. We would also like to thank all the secretaries who helped us during the preparation of the meeting, in particular Maryse Cohen-Solal (CPT, Marseille) and Janice Nowinski (Courant Institute, New York). We are grateful for the fine work of Mrs. Gladys Cavallone in preparing this volume."

In the last ten to fifteen years there have been many important developments in the theory of integrable equations. This period is marked in particular by the strong impact of soliton theory in many diverse areas of mathematics and physics; for example, algebraic geometry (the solution of the Schottky problem), group theory (the discovery of quantum groups), topology (the connection of Jones polynomials with integrable models), and quantum gravity (the connection of the KdV with matrix models). This is the first book to present a comprehensive overview of these developments. Numbered among the authors are many of the most prominent researchers in the field.

Computer Simulation in Chemical Physics contains the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute held at CORISA, Alghero, Sardinia, in September 1992. In the five years that have elapsed since the field was last summarized there have been a number of remarkable advances which have significantly expanded the scope of the methods. Good examples are the Car--Parrinello method, which allows the study of materials with itinerant electrons; the Gibbs technique for the direct simulation of liquid--vapor phase equilibria; the transfer of scaling concepts from simulations of spin models to more complex systems; and the development of the configurational--biased Monte-Carlo methods for studying dense polymers. The field has also been stimulated by an enormous increase in available computing power and the provision of new software. All these exciting developments, an more, are discussed in an accessible way here, making the book indispensable reading for graduate students and research scientists in both academic and industrial settings.