1 comments about Electrolyte Solutions: Second Revised Edition.

1. A very good introductionary book for students or engineers. Considers main classical conspects of ion transport, thermodynamics and conductivity. I've found a number of concepts in the contemporary papers and books that would be derived from the basics, described by the book. It would also be helpful for scientists/engineers who are not in the chemistry physics or chemistry. Requires basics of calculus. And yeah, much much less than $$$ XXXX pages useless "all-included" type of handbooks). The only disadvantage is that the bibliography can be extended according to the modern needs.

1 comments about Aurora: The Mysterious Northern Lights.

1. Ms Savage does a very credible job of introducing the Aurora Borealis to the average person. The book begins with historical interest in the aurora and how different peoples view the lights and works its way up to the modern day physics of the lights. Interspersed throughout the book are wonderful photos of the lights and pithy quotes. This book is a must for anyone who enjoys the aurora and wants to know more about it. The one short coming of the book was the tendancy of Ms. Savage to be a little long winded at times. Shorter explanations and more pictures would have really made this book perfect. As it stands, however, the book is well worth the purchase price, if only to adorn your coffee table.

3 comments about Microwave Transmission Networks : Planning, Design and Deployment.

1. I'm a technical trainer in the microwave industry. This book provides me with a lot of information that it is not usually available in one single cover. This is a must have reference source.



2. I had to purchase this book for a course being given by the author. I have been in the industry for over 20 years and I have never had so much information packed into one reference book, ever. This book is extremely easy to read and it gives you a very comprehensive understanding of all the terms, formula's, and theories associated with MW Engineering. Do yourself a favor, buy the book, take the one of the authors seminars. Your career will be positively affected.



3. This book provides an excellent overview of microwave engineering within the industry. It is well written and laid out in an introduction to deployment fashion. Excellent discussion on link budget development and a thorough view of availability versus reliability within the microwave path. I like how the author introduces you to the basic fundamentals of microwave networks and then moves into planning, design, and deployment. If you design or work with microwave radios, this book should be on your shelf as a right hand tool. The book has been an excellent reference to me for developing software and microwave link budgets. Great job!

5 comments about Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics.

1. I am taking a college level course in EE and bought this book in hopes of deciphering some of my cryptic Hambley text. I think this book was quite a bit low-level for my needs, but it would be an excellent intro for a junior high school student. This book assumes absolutely no knowledge of Physics, or really math for that matter. The chapter questions are all multiple choice and very basic conceptual questions. But, it does touch on a lot of topics, giving a nice broad view of the field. I give this book 2 stars for my needs, but I rated it 3 stars because I think it is probably very good for someone who has no knowledge of basic Physics.



2. I studied this book several times. You really need more than one time through the book (or at least I did) for the concepts to sink in. It is very dense with information. However eventually the concepts stuck and when I interviewed for a tech job I got it. I guarantee that without this book I wouldn't have gotten it. Thanks a bunch Stan!



3. This is book is mainly concerned with the theory of electronics, and presents it without getting bogged down in advanced math. However, it does not really explain things - most of it reads like a summary of a more detailed book or an article from an encyclopedia - very dry. Also, I found it rather brief on the practical aspects - here, you will not learn how to read schematics, understand why components are where they are, and take educated guess at how to adapt a circuit for your needs.
   In this sense, it is not a practical beginners' book. In my opinion, if you are serious about theory, this is not the book for you, and if you want to do practical projects, you will not find anything here.



4. I have a BS in Electrical Engineering. I have been out of school for a while and just started graduate school. Rather than dig back into my old text books I thought I should start slow, something to get my brain working again.
   
   Well if you're like me I definitely would not recommend it. You forget a lot out of school, but not that much...
   
   However, as I read it, I think it would be an awesome book for someone who is 1) Considering engineering 2) About to start engineering 3) Engineering manager who deals with EEs a lot but has no EE background
   
   I kind of wish I had picked it up before I started my degree. It gives you just enough to not bore you.



5. I used this book to learn basic electronics so I could pass an employment test for an open position at my work. I combined this book with a college textbook to learn what I needed to know. This book successfully compresses all the major ideas of electronics into tidy chapters. I found this book easy to read and learn concepts from. However, it fell short on circuit analysis, so I turned to my textbook for that.

3 comments about EMI Troubleshooting Techniques.

1. This book is by no means the definitive guide to EMC. The advance reader seeking such a book should consult Clayton's R. Paul book (Intro {yea right} to EMC). Nonetheless, for what it is, it is outstanding. The author covers in a general and simplified format a wide array of topics. What I most liked about the book was that the author address installations and other non-PCB related EMI issues. Basically, issues not covered by similar books that have a tendency to address only the PCB and its related IO.



2. This is a great, practical guide to EMI testing and troubleshooting. Includes basic fixes, utility of those fixes to resolve observed issue(s), and estimates regarding the improvement those fixes might provide. It also includes a section on in-house, "confidence" testing (without shelling out for test chamber and all of the expensive test equipment... though you'll still need some)
   
   My background - BSEE, 15 yrs commercial and military experience. I think the text would be especially useful for Test, EMI and project engineers. It avoids deep derivation of formulae and would be useful to technicians and designers as well.



3. If you're in my situation, I do not recommend this book. I have been in electronics for about 10 years, but never had to deal with EMI issues. I switched jobs and had to (and still have to) learn EMI in a hurry.
   
   I found the drawings hard to understand and the tables lacking explanation. I can't expand much because I typically got lost early in each chapter. I learned more on how solve my immediate problem from the Fair-Rite web site.
   
   After struggling through the book, I realize that I need more of an introductory book to EMI with practical solutions. Any suggestions are welcome.

3 comments about Experimental Researches in Electricity.

1. This is NOT Faraday's complete works, despite the implications of its title. A reprint of a 1914 publication, this is the Faraday of the chemical equivalent and the Law of Electrolysis, not the Law of Electromagnetic Induction. The price is right for the Master's own words on investigations into the equivalence of all different sorts of electricity, and his work on electrolysis and voltaic cells. In this work we get to see the reasoning and experiments of this most inquisitive man; we get to see how his discoveries were made, and how Nature slowly yielded her secrets to his simple, persistent inquiries. Here he gives us "cation" and "anion" and also destroys Volta's view of the voltaic cell as an inexhaustible power source. This work shows why chemists rank Faraday as the greatest experimental chemist of the 19th century.
   
   Perhaps "Faraday's Experimental Researches in Electricity: Guide to a First Reading", by Howard J. Fisher, would be more like what a physicist would want. I have not read it myself, but I have heard from a reliable source that this is what physicists would care for. Fisher's work is published by Green Lion Press, which has published a number of other historically important scientific works.
   
   In particular, Green Lion Publishes, in three volumes, the unabridged version of "Faraday's Experimental Researches in Electricity." This is what the real history maven would want. (...)



2. THIS BOOK IS EXCELLANT FOR THE SERIOUS STUDENT OR EXPERIMENTOR,AS WELL AS FOR SHEER DELIGHT OF LIESURE READING;MUCH OF THIS WORK IS OBVIOUSLY SET OUT FOR THE BENEFIT OF FUTURE STUDENTS,AND SUCH STUDIES AS THE VOLTAIC PILE AND EARLY ELECTROMAGNETS,CAN BE REPRODUCED WITH EASE-I RECOMMEND THIS AS AN ABSORBING BOOK FOR ALL TO ENJOY:FARADAY THE MASTER!--REGARDS,ALBERT ANDREWS



3. Where the heck is his book on time travel? Also, why does he wear a tie while stranded on an island? This man is fascinating!
   
   PS - The artist who painted his picture on the cover should be fired. Faraday looks nothing like that.

5 comments about Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity.

1. The reader should understand that this author picked a huge subject and out of that book he follows a few interesting sidelights. The book's contents is like a rock skimming across the surface of a lake, Where the rock hits, there is an interesting story, but do I feel like I know about the lake? This author has an interesting style, his E=MC2 book dealt with a narrow subject (an equation). This book is a fast read with interesting facts, but of course it can not cover the scope of the title



2. Electric Universe is one of those science books full of anecdotal details and the little stories behind the big stories. The book covers some of the big discoveries and inventions in the field of electricity. Lightbulbs, telephones and radar are among the big ideas that get mentioned.
   
   The subtitle is meant more as a play on words than anything else, as there are no real "shocking" stories here, just a lot of interesting facts that make the book part science lesson and part history lesson in a format that is accessible even for those with no background or interest in science.
   
   Reading (or listening as the case may be) to a book like this, one gets the feeling that one could write a nonfiction story on just about anything and make it interesting. After all, there is always a story of some sort if you are willing to dig. Whether it's a book like The Meaning of Everything about the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary or Salt about, well, salt successful books have been written on subjects that don't at first seem interesting. I'm waiting for Whirr: The Story of the Electric Can Opener and From Corncobs to Quilted Northerm: The Story of Toilet Paper. Hmm, perhaps I should be writing book proposals instead of book reviews.



3. You won't learn much about electricity by reading this book. Oh, there is the odd, interesting snippet here and there, but by and large the book is mostly a recounting of the lives of the British wing of electrical research over the past several hundred years. Missing is Benjamin Franklin. Missing is Nikola Tesla. The story is grossly incomplete.
   
   Bodanis' style is a little too cutesy, a little too formulaic. His analogies are sophomoric: "...these silicon rocks can shift electric currents through in one direction or another, and the rock itself doesn't have to move...The rock can simply sit there, Buddha-like..." And the construction of the book is odd, with five sections covering electrical properties from "Wires" to "Waves" and so on, each told with mini, mini biographies of some of the scientists, researchers, and inventors involved. Sometimes the chapters build upon one another, demonstrating a curve of learning across the decades, but then there will be a complete disconnect: The chapter on Heinrich Hertz is recounted completely with excerpts from Hertz' diaries--interesting if placed in context, but this chapter reads like a plaster patch placed in the middle of the book. Toward the end of the book an addendum, a chapter entitled "What Happened Next" follows the lives of some of the historical people recounted in the book after their great discoveries were made. Joseph Henry, it seems, became a friend of Abraham Lincoln, and died in 1878 wishing he had taken out more patents. Another ending chapter, "Mr. Amp, Mr. Volt, and Mr. Watt"...oops, Bodanis forgot to explain the basics during the course of the narrative--just stick it in here. And then on to the "Notes", wherein lies much useful information that should have been incorporated into the earlier chapters.
   
   As a hodgepodge of information about electricity, "Electric Universe" could serve as a reasonable resource for primary or secondary school curricula. But in truth, this same information is readily available on Wikipedia if one trusts that source, or better yet, within a good, bound set of encyclopedias.



4. For the critical thinker who studies the history of science or history in general it is often most instructive what an author leaves out. Somehow Bodanis managed to tell the "true" story of electricity without mentioning Tesla once. WTF?



5. I found Electric Universe interesting, but lacking in certain respects. Granted, I listened to the abridged audio, CD version of this book, and my background is in Electrical Engineering, so I'll try to not to judge harshly because it was a good book. I would certainly recommend this to anyone new to the history and principles of electricity and electronics. It is a good starting point, in that it's very comprehensive, meaning it covers most of the big ideas and important people and puts these into a historical perspective that anyone can easily follow. A little more detail and focus would have been nice at times, but again, maybe that's just me. I'm a little disappointed my favorite EE wasn't mentioned in the book, Nikola Tesla, but I should expect that by now (forever an underrated geniuses). With that said, I'd certainly recommend Electric Universe, and I'm certainly glad I experienced it, but it probably won't crack my top ten anytime soon. Coolest parts of the book, Faraday, Turing, and finally, an accurate portrayal of Edison.

5 comments about AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War.

1. McNichols does an excellent job from explaining in clear terms about electricity, to the relevant background of the two main experimenters and producers -- exponents of either Alternating AC or Direct DC current, the competitors Edison and Westinghouse -- and finally to the modern equivalent of their wars. McNichol introduces the whole subject with his own personal dangerous episodes with both currents. Then the book has a fascinating section explaining the element, just like recent books on ice and salt. The one very difficult and long part to read is the animal experiments done electrocuting dogs and horses, to prove falsely that AC was more dangerous than DC. But the characters of Edison, whose stubbornness doomed him with only DC, and the savvy of Westinghouse to adopt AC, are vivid. Intriguing to learn that Telluride, Colorado was one of the first places where they experimented with the feasibility of AC in the mountains. And it is interesting to see the modern equivalent wars with formats for taping, starting with the early Beta vs. VHS.



2. What a fascinating study concerning a facet of our everyday life that we assume we've always had at our beckoned call! Who would have thought that Edison would have gone too such lengths to maintain that direct current was the safest,cheapest, and most efficient method of conveying electricity to the populace. It only goes to prove that even the greatest among us have flaws that overshadow their thinking when blindly following an indefensible theory or ideal. We owe a debt of graditude to Mr.McNichol
   for taking our hand and leading us through the murky waters of what could have been a complex and somewhat difficult concept for the average layman unschooled in the underlying principles of electrical energy.



3. Something that everyone takes for granted, electricity, has a very interesting history. The book, AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War, by Tom McNichol, does a very nice job of giving the reader an overview of the early days of electrical power generation. I say "overview" because at 190 pages, there isn't a lot of room for an exhaustively researched subject. But for what McNichol does, he does it quite well.
   
   Contents:
   Prologue: Negative and Positive
   Chapter 1: First Sparks
   Chapter 2: Lightening in a Bottle
   Chapter 3: Enter the Wizard
   Chapter 4: Let There Be Light
   Chapter 5: Electrifying the Big Apple
   Chapter 6: Tesla
   Chapter 7: The Animal Experiments
   Chapter 8: Old Sparky
   Chapter 9: Pulse of the World
   Chapter 10: Killing an Elephant
   Chapter 11: Twilight by Battery Power
   Chapter 12: DC's Revenge
   Epilogue: Standards Wars: Past, Present, and Future
   Further Reading in Electricity
   
   Picture a world without electricity. Hard to do, isn't it? Everything we use consumes electricity. But there was a time when there was no electricity. But as some people began to study it, there arose two competing men, who would fight to have their standard be the one that delivered power to the masses. The great inventor, Thomas Edison backed DC. An industrial titan, George Westinghouse, and a very eccentric inventor, Nikola Tesla, backed AC. Each man, Edison and Westinghouse, had factories churning out parts for their standard. They employed any means possible to get the public to back their method of electrical distribution. Edison, for his part, developed (or perfected) the electric chair, using AC, to show that it kills. McNichol gives you a couple of chapters on the electrocution of animals and humans, which were unnerving.
   
   You might think that a subject like electricity would be boring, but McNichol focuses primarily on the central characters. There is little technical information, so the novel moves quickly. The personalities of the men, Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse, are brought to life and help the reader to understand why Edison lost the war (mainly stubbornness and a lack of vision as to customer needs and wants) and how Westinghouse and Tesla were able to win (Westinghouse could anticipate some needs, and Tesla - well, he was a person unto himself). One of the most interesting facts is the distances electricity could travel using AC or DC. AC could span great distances, a fact that was not lost on Westinghouse. In fact, a power plant that he built to light Telluride, CO, is still working as is the one at Niagara Falls, NY (which supplies New York and Buffalo with power).
   
   This is a great read for those looking for an overview of early days of electricity, electrical distribution, and a fierce standards war. McNichols' Epilogue tells a tale of VHS versus Betamax and Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD. But the lessons in the book could equally be applied to OOXML and other tech standards wars.



4. This very short book provides a simple chronological history of the development and spread of electricity in the US from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Three characters are focused on; Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla. The amount of science and engineering is kept to a minimum with only the most superficial explanation of technical terms and inventions. Instead, the book focuses on the individual rivalries and relationships that dominated the electrical industry at the turn of the 20th century. The story makes for fun reading, and the author adds a little commentary to each chapter. The book could have been vastly improved by the inclusion of several dozen photos and diagrams. Many key technical concepts and inventions could have been better presented with photos and diagrams included. I consider this an appropriate book for someone interested in learning a little of the Industrial Revolution, and its affects on society.



5. McNichol's description of the AC/DC Wars is most interesting when he discusses the personalities involved, but it is very superficial. His description of electricity is primitive and in places misleading (I am an electrical engineer). His historical research is superficial and incomplete, and, in places, padded with extraneous material (I did not care about Edison's childhood). Fortunately, the book is short and an easy read. But it could be so much better.

2 comments about The Magnetic Effect.

1. This is an excellent book. Do yourself a huge favor and read it. You will never view the world in the same way again. Sounds like an exaggeration, but it isn't. The book explains how a simple, inexpensive magnet can treat a variety of complaints with no negative side effects. If you've read any of the other Davis/Rawls books you already know that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Biomagnetics can be used in a virtually infinite number of ways. Albert Roy Davis is the true founder of the Science of Biomagnetics. No other laboratory or company knows more about this science that is destined to be known the world over. Take a giant leap into the future and learn of its potential.



2. First of all, I recommend reading all of the books written by Davis and Rawls. It puzzles me that sales of this book are far behind their other books, as this too is an excellent book.
   
   Davis and Rawls expand on the implications of their discovery that magnetism consists of two separate and distinct energies, not one as many people still believe to this day. Magnetism affects every living and non-living thing on our planet.
   
   They make the connection between the extinction of many lifeforms on earth with the reversal of the magnetic poles, and very low levels of magnetism on earth.
   
   The "cables of force" of magnetism that Davis and Rawls discovered form a figure eight pattern around a magnet, and this figure eight is also found in the spiral double-stranded structure of DNA, the forming of the human zygote, and the birth of stars.
   
   Air ions are very similar in effects to the North and South poles of a magnet, and when mice that had influenza were subjected to high concentrations of positive ions, they all died. The mice in the negative ion chambers quickly recovered.
   
   Davis and Rawls emphasize the danger of positive electromagnetic energies that are "saturating" our environment more and more as powerlines, cell phone towers, radios, radars, etc., are being constructed with no regard to the detrimental effects they have on us.
   
   These two scientists have discovered how to utilize magnetism to improve the efficiency of petro fuels, to make nuclear power much safer to use, and to bring us much closer to using hydrogen as an energy source.
   
   All in all this is a very informative book about the amazing benefits we can reap from this research, and the appalling lack of action on the part of the authorities to permit these discoveries to be used widely, or to heed the irrefutable evidence that they are doing great harm to the environment.

1 comments about 2008+ Solved Problems in Electromagnetics.

1. This book is the Schume's outlet EM book. It is very helpful... full of gooood problems....