This book describes a number of simple methods for showing that light is polarised and determining the direction of vibration. It is based on a demonstration lecture, called 'Polar Explorations in Light' developed for young audiences, at the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

This book presents state-of-the-art information concerning properties and processes involved in glass melts. Based upon contributions by renowned authors and scientists working with glass melt systems, Properties of Glass-Forming Melts is an excellent compilation of the current knowledge on property data, mechanisms, measurement techniques, and structure-related properties of glass-forming. The authors provide in-depth analyses of such topics as glass-melt density, thermal expansion, heat conductivity, and chemical activities. Each chapter combines fundamental concepts with a compilation of recent and reliable data that is essential in the modeling of glass melting, fining, conditioning, and forming. The book first discusses the glass-forming melts, thermodynamics, transport properties, and redox effects of glass. This provides a sound basis to the analysis of important properties of glass melts such as viscosity, surface tension, density, and heat capacity as well as more generalized subjects of heat transfer and gas solubility. A chapter on electrical properties provides a solid foundation for understanding glass melting via direct Joule heating of the melt. The examination of the corrosive nature of molten glasses will be of great interest to tank designers and operators. This unique handbook concludes with an overview of nuclear waste vitrification, a growing discipline that relies on current data and encourages research in glass melts. This book is an ideal starting place for future-generation glass scientists and an effective reference for scientists who require data on the behavior of viscous melts and for glass technologists who apply mathematical models simulating the meltingand forming processes. Properties of Glass-Forming Melts offers a one-of-a-kind and valuable source of reliable data and insight by those with firsthand knowledge and experiences in this field.

We humans cannot see when light is polarized and this leads to unfortunate misapprehensions about this aspect of nature. Even scientists who should know better often assume that it is an obscure topic of specialized interest in only a few rather isolated areas. In fact, it is a universal feature of our world and most natural light is at least partially polarized. In the animal kingdom, insects and other animals exploit such natural polarization in some fascinating ways since they do not share this human deficiency and can both detect and analyze polarization. It may be our unfamiliarity with this aspect of light that also makes people think it is a difficult subject, yet the basis is extremely simple. When these misconceptions are overcome, the phenomena associated with polarization are found to be important throughout science and technology, from physics, astronomy, natural history, geology, chemistry, and several branches of engineering to crafts such as glass-blowing and jewelry. Polarized light also involves some very beautiful effects, most of which are easy to demonstrate.
Enriching our perception of the world, this book addresses these misconceptions and provides a framework for applications. It covers wave alignment and crystals as well as various phenomena such as scattering and reflection.

This is a digital reprint of David Pye's original 1968 edition. Within it he argues that the aesthetic quality of our environment depends as much on its workmanship as on its design, and that workmanship has been largely ignored. He proceeds to develop a new theory of the aesthetics of workmanship which can be applied to architecture, to the products of industry and to craft work. Mr Pye shows how and why we are conscious of finish and workmanship, goes on to ask why so much of our environment is impoverished and asks what can be done about it.

This is David Pye's classic book on the theory of design. In it, he explores the many facets of good design, including the relationship of aesthetics with function.

This is one of the classic books on craftsmanship and design. In it, David Pye explores the meaning of skill and its relationship to design and manufacture. Cutting through a century of fuzzy thinking, he proposes a new theory of making based on the concept of good workmanship and shows how it imparts all-important diversity to our visual environment.