2 comments about Hydrodynamic Stability (Cambridge Mathematical Library).

1. This book is an outstanding and accurate treatise on hydrodynamic stability. I've never read any scientific article concerning hydro and fluid dynamic stability without a reference to this book. Thus let's deal with fluid dynamic stability with this precious and absolute masterpiece at hand!



2. This book is exactly what you need to enter the world of Stability of Fluid Flows. It is not sufficient in itself, because the reader should have some previous instruction in the theory of complex functions, transforms, and so on. But, the book delivers what he 'promises'. The treatment is basically complete, the order of the several topics is perfect, and it is written neatly and very didactically. The authors are to be complimented for this masterful work.

1 comments about Engineering Dynamics.

1. This book was used by us for a two quarter course. The book starts off with newtonian dynamics and introduces analytical mechanics in the later chapters. The book has sufficient number of solved examples with interesting exercise problems (Answers provided for odd numbered problems). The author does a great job explaining newtonian dynamics. The explanations are clear, terse and to the point. But I feel the analytical mechanics part could have been dealt in a much more better way. This is by far the best book I have read on this topic.

1 comments about Hydraulics of Spillways and Energy Dissipators (Civil and Environmental Engineering).

1. It is a clear writing book. It combines various sources of information, but some of them you can find free of charge online in USBR and USACE website. I found a lack of information about submerged deflectors with flatter angle (0 - 20 degrees) and a setting between flip buckets and submerged roller. This type of deflectors were investigated by Russian and Chinese long time ago, yet I haven't seen any Westerner account of them.

2 comments about Molecular Thermodynamics.

1. First off, if you are looking for an engineering thermo text, look elsewhere. The whole book is based on the theories behind the key thermo equations and laws, and how to derive all sorts of corollaries and equations from the basic few equations, and it does an awesome job at that.
   
   Thus, if you were looking really small-scale, as in molecular-scale (the title does say "molecular thermo"), this book does a great job of teaching you the key concepts that you need to know. It covers a wide range of topics, starting off with four chapters on quantum mechanics and statistical thermodynamics before going on into three chapters on the three laws of thermo. The authors then spend the second half of the book looking at consequences and applications, which are mainly of importance to people studying chemical processes (topics such as solutions, chemical equilibria, free energies).
   
   I'd say 85% of the book is math-based, so don't expect to make it through without thoroughly understanding vector calculus (although math chapters are included to provide crash courses in important mathematical concepts). If you do understand the math, this book is like a series of well-prepared lectures in paper form. The logic is clear and easy to follow, and problems provided are relevant and challenging enough to make you think and integrate concepts that are introduced.
   
   So if you're looking for a thorough look at molecular thermo, more specifically for chemical processes at that scale, look no further. If you want a comprehensive math-based book to help you understand key equations in thermo, this is also for you. However, if you're anything else, especially if you're an engineer, you need applications and other mentally imaginable stuff that you will not find here.



2. Some of the material in this book I have not required because I am studying macroscopic thermodynamics. However I can now see where some of the fundamentals come from and it has helped greatly with my stuides. The section on the Clausius-Clapeyron Equation is really well presented and easy to follow.

5 comments about Physical Fluid Dynamics (Oxford Science Publications).

1. Because of its physics orientation, rather than math or engineering, I found Tritton ideal as a required textbook for a graduate physics course in fluid dynamics at UCBerkeley. Having gained insight from this book myself, I then shared my enjoyment with my students.



2. This book is not ideal for mathematicians. It is written in the style of a physics book, with a large portion of the book devoted to experimental results; the theory is developed in the context of explaining these results, with little mathematical discussion of the resulting equations beyond asymptotic analysis. (This may be expected, given the word "Physical" in the title.)

   Overall it is a nice book. But the writing is not as clear as it could be. Some relevant properties of the example flows discussed are not stated explicitly, which I would discover by chance while working with the equations. Many of his derivations are also predicated by overly restrictive/unnecessary assumptions, with no mention of the behavior under other assumptions (although the problems require determining this in order to solve them). He leaves too much as an (often unstated) exercise for the reader. This is the reason I did not rate it five stars.




3. The book has nice examples of experimental evidence to tie together the concepts.



4. I really enjoyed this book. I found it in a bookstore one day and read it for pleasure slowly. I am a theory student (now) so I wanted to see a lot more math, but aside from that shortcoming (which some might welcome) it was just a fantastic description of fluid motion and derivations of the governing equations on a simple level.



5. This book is indeed very good, as it presents deeper analysis of many fluids phenomena, departing from basic ideas and fundamental concepts. But in my opinion you must already have a good understanding of fluid mechanics to really enjoy it. I guess it would not be easy for a begginer in the matter, and guess that's why some may call it confusing. In fact, you won't find that current structured treatment of the matter that other books (mainly the textbooks) presents, or the contents of regular under-graduate or graduate courses in engineering, with common engineering applications, and so on. Nevertheless, as a teacher and researcher in the field of fluid mechanics, I really enjoyed reading it, and it really improved my understanding on many topics.

5 comments about Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics.

1. This is a challenging book to use if you are studying thermodynamics. It is concise; the theory and notation used were well done. There were some formulation mistakes in the Maxwell relations table and other little formulation mistakes. The author uses well known classical and statistical formulae well and good derivations (I liked that). Some of the problem sets were inconsistent with areas covered in a few chapters and some were oversimplified. Overall a decent book to use if your taking statistical thermo.



2. We used this book in a undergrad thermo course, it was almost of no use. It covered a fair amount of material, though I have seen books that cover more (Look at the dimensions, it is small and only about 400 pages.) It moved quickly, skipping details, especially in the proofs. I feel it would be a good summary for grad students who have studied thermodynamics before, but there are many better books out there for students seeking a first course.



3. I read Carter's book as a reference to my graduate thermo course. The good thing is, that it is so far the only book I have come across, that covers both classical and statistical thermodynamics equally. You will find that most books that claim to do both (Callen's, for example) are in fact classical thermo texts with some statistical stuff dangling on it.
   
   The downside, is that it is a little too trivial. Having almost no exposure in stat. mech., I still find the exercises a little too easy. Concepts and derivations are spotty at times, and "leaps of faith" are common. Perhaps Carter wanted to spare the student from all the formalism. As a result, I needed a second book (I used Atkins' text on physical chemistry) to supplement my understanding.
   
   I suppose this book aimed for a senior undergrad level. Despite the brevity, I would recommend this book as an introductory book on the "new" thermodynamics.



4. I read this book pretty much cover to cover while preparing for a PhD qualify exam. It's the nicest thermodynamics book I've seen. The fact that I could just sit and read it like a novel was great (I never much liked thermo). Of course, it's also at a very basic level - it doesn't cover canonical or grand canonical formalism at all. But it has the basics of classical and even some quantum stat mech, and a good little bit on information theory.
   
   For those who think it's too basic - come on, it's an undergrad book. Good for a second or third year course. The book description calling it "an important reference book for every professional" is puzzling, since it's not a reference book (not for the professional,anyway). But it is well written.
   
   And it's very much overpriced, so I wouldn't buy it. But check it out from the library.



5. Honestly, I was dissappointed in this book. It was too basic and didnt really explain anything in a great amount of detail. The exersizes were way too easy. I am an undergraduate physics major, there is no reason I should be able to do every problem in a chapter in 2 or 3 hours. That is unheard of. I really did not learn any thing from this book. Maybe it is good for a review, but it really is not good for learning the topic for the first time. Find something more detailed and rigorous.

5 comments about Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems/Students Solution Manual.

1. This solution manual only solves the first couple of problems of each chapter. These problems are usually the easier ones that you don't need much help with. All of the hard problems are left up to you.



2. Marion has ripped me off again. I'll get my hands on him one day



3. It's good for those who have no idea to start the calculation.



4. the classical dynamics course is very good one , however it needs a srtong background in calculus , the textbook focuses more on the mathematical point of vew rather than the theuretical consepts



5. The solutions manual provides solutions to the mostly easy problems, while leaving the student to the most difficult.
   
   Follow this line of thought: If the student needs help with the easier problems, how are they expected to fair on the harder problems?
   
   I've been working my way through the first chapter (req math), and sailed through the first half of the problems, only to come up short on Levi-Civita math, which has very little explanation provided in the text, and isn't addressed in the solutions manual.
   
   Not a very handy manual, in my opinion.

4 comments about The Control of Boilers.

1. This book helped me understand the control logic of boilers. Really easy to read and understand. Probably the best controls book out!



2. I have been a member of ISA since 1985 and joyfully read many publications from ISA. I find this book to be thorough, convincing and easy to understand, not only by the experienced Mechanical and Control System Engineers, but also by the new engineers and system designers. I sincerely look forward to the 3rd Edition.



3. The intent of this book is to emphasize the basic ideas involved in boiler control. Boiler control is a broad subject that includes the total start-up and shutdown procedures, as well as safety interlocks and the on-line operation of the boiler.
   
   This edition includes coverage of boiler basics, on-line operations, start-up, shutdown, flame monitoring, and safety interlock systems.
   
   The book content is distributed the following way:
   - Introduction.
   - Boiler basics and the steaming process.
   - Performance and input-output relationships.
   - Basic control loops and their system interconection.
   - Combustion of fuel, excess air, and products of combustion.
   - Efficiency calculations.
   - The steam supply system.
   - Firing rate demand for industrial boiler.
   - Firing rate demand for utility boilers.
   - Main steam and reheat steam of temperature control.
   - Boiler and unit interlocks.
   - Feedwater supply and boiler water circulation systems.
   - Feedwater control systems.
   - Boiler draft systems.
   - Measurement and control of furnace draft.
   - Measurement and control of combustion air flow plus related functions.
   - Fuel gas analysis trimming of combustion control systems.
   - Fluid fuel burners for oil,gas, and coal.
   - Solid fuel burning systems.
   - Burner management and flame safety interlocks for gas and fluid-fired boilers.
   - Combustion control for liquid and gaseous fuel boilers.
   - Pulverized coal and cyclone coal burner ystems.
   - Combustion control for cyclone and pulverized coal-fired boilers.
   - Combustion control for stoker-fired boilers.
   - Atmospheric fluidized-bed boilers.
   - Control system complexity and future directions for boiler control.
   
   This book will be a valuable reference for anyone involved with control and safety systems of boilers. I am an industrial practitioner that has been working for the last 16 years as an Instrumentation, Automation, Process Safety and Process Control Engineer for the Oil & Gas Industry. This book is always on my shelf, and has been useful many times during my career



4. This book is great for the operator to understand more about the boiler control loops and what happens when he/she, for example places the burner tilts on Auto, etc. I've bought this book twice, it was so good someone stole my first copy.
   I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone involved in operating a large boiler.

No comments about Computational Fluid Dynamics: A Practical Approach.

1 comments about A Gallery of Fluid Motion.

1. A pretty little book. It brings together several papers on fluid mechanics, where each paper is distinguished by one or more snapshots of fluid flow. Inspiring to the researcher, in much the same way as perhaps hardcopies of VLSI designs are to the chip designer.
   
   But the papers and diagrams here also serve a serious purpose. In fluid mechanics, a lot of qualitative understanding can arise from studying such diagrams. Not the least because sometimes modelling the equations leads to massive sets of numerical results, which might have to be understood visually. And in the book, the diagrams are of actual experimental results, not simulations, but the idea is the same. You often need some diagrams to understand the underlying phenomena.