The expense of extending the conventional electric power utility-grid to remote loca tions (about $20,000 per mile in the U. S. ) often prohibits the installation of electric lighting, common household appliances, television receivers, and other telecommuni cations equipment in such locations. Additionally, the installation of important, but perhaps seldom noticed, electronic equipment such as remote automatic weather moni toring stations, microwave telephone repeaters on mountain tops, and earth-bound navi gational aids for commercial aircraft and ships, is also impeded by the difficulty in providing electric power. The unavailability or expense of electric power in remote locations is a particularly acute problem in underdeveloped countries. The opportunity for people in these countries to improve their lives through technology will be mostly lost if they can not obtain even modest amounts of electricity. In a rural village, for example, just one or two kilowatts of electrical power can make a tremendous differ ence in the quality of life by providing refrigeration for food and medicinal storage, lighting for reading after dark, television reception, and water pumping and purifica tion. In the industrialized countries, there is the additional problem of the environmen tal burden of producing and distributing huge amounts of electricity in an economy which is. always hungry for electric power. However, within the last several years, photovoltaic (i. e., crystalline silicon solar cell) engineering has become a cost-com petitive approach for ameliorating certain difficult electrical power needs in both un derdeveloped and industrialized countries."

A practical, accessible introduction to the evolving electric power industry

As the industry environment transforms from a completely regulated setting to a broader, deregulated marketplace, new market participants must understand planning and operations of power systems to effectively participate in markets. This industry overview provides a description of utility operations and traditional planning, and then explains asset management, investment analysis, and risk management within the context of a market environment. Written to provide a broad, working knowledge of the industry, Electric Power Planning for Regulated and Deregulated Markets:

Includes descriptions of generation and transmission network equipment

Provides an overview of the regulatory framework, system design, and systems operations for ensuring reliable delivery of power

Presents system planning across different time horizons with the objective of minimizing power production costs

Explains the principles and architecture of a market environment, coupling operational imperatives with financial transactions

Addresses approaches of various participants, including power producers, retailers, and integrated energy companies toward bidding in day ahead markets, managing risks in forward markets, portfolio development, and investment analysis

Provides numerous examples addressing cost minimization, price forecasting, contract valuation, portfolio risk measurement, and other challenges

Examines past news events and explains what went wrong at Three Mile Island, the Northeast blackout of 2003, and the California energy crisis

This is an ideal reference for professionals in the public and privatepower service sectors, including engineers, lawyers, systems specialists, economists, financial analysts, policy analysts, and applied mathematicians.

Explores the development of the ellipse and presents mathematical concepts within a rich, historical context

"The Ellipse" features a unique, narrative approach when presenting the development of this mathematical fixture, revealing its parallels to mankind's advancement from the Counter-Reformation to the Enlightenment. Incorporating illuminating historical background and examples, the author brings together basic concepts from geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus to uncover the ellipse as the shape of a planet's orbit around the sun.

The book begins with a discussion that tells the story of man's pursuit of the ellipse, from Aristarchus to Newton's successful unveiling nearly two millenniums later. The narrative draws insightful similarities between mathematical developments and the advancement of the Greeks, Romans, Medieval Europe, and Renaissance Europe. The author begins each chapter by setting the historical backdrop that is pertinent to the mathematical material that is discussed, equipping readers with the knowledge to fully grasp the presented examples and derive the ellipse as the planetary pathway. All topics are presented in both historical and mathematical contexts, and additional mathematical excursions are clearly marked so that readers have a guidepost for the materials' relevance to the development of the ellipse.

"The Ellipse" is an excellent book for courses on the history of mathematics at the undergraduate level. It is also a fascinating reference for mathematicians, engineers, or anyone with a general interest in historical mathematics.

A collection of short stories from around the world including such authors as Valentin Rasputin, Yasunari Kawabata, and Toni Cade Bambara.

Discover how mathematics and science have propelled history

From Ancient Greece to the Enlightenment and then on to modern times, Shifting the Earth: The Mathematical Quest to Understand the Motion of the Universe takes readers on a journey motivated by the desire to understand the universe and the motion of the heavens. The author presents a thought-provoking depiction of the sociopolitical environment in which some of the most prominent scientists in history lived and then provides a mathematical account of their contributions.

From Eudoxus to Einstein, this fascinating book describes how, beginning in ancient times, pioneers in the sciences and mathematics have dramatically changed our vision of who we are as well as our place in the universe. Readers will discover how Ptolemy's geocentric model evolved into Kepler's heliocentric model, with Copernicus as the critical intermediary. The author explains how one scientific breakthrough set the stage for the next one, and he also places the scientists and their discoveries within the context of history, including:

Archimedes, Apollonius, and the Punic Wars

Ptolemy and the rise of Christianity

Copernicus and the Renaissance

Kepler and the Counter-Reformation

Newton and the Enlightenment

Einstein and the detonation of the atom bomb

Each chapter presents the work of a single scientist or mathematician, building on the previous chapters to demonstrate the evolutionary process of discovery. Chapters begin with a narrative section and conclude with a mathematical presentation of one of the scientist's original works. Most of these mathematical presentations, including the section on Einstein's special relativity, are accessible using only basic mathematics; however, readers can skip the mathematical sections and still follow the evolution of science and mathematics.

Shifting the Earth is an excellent book for anyone interested in the history of mathematics and how the quest to understand the motion of the heavens has influenced the broader history of humankind.