3 comments about First Course in Continuum Mechanics (3rd Edition).

1. I thought that this book was a great reference source and it has come in handy for me many times. I would be willing to buy it if I could find a copy, unfortunately it is out of stock, so I will have to return to the library every time I need it.



2. I am the matematican and I had to start learning C.M. from this book. And I didn't like it. First chapter is some very simplified approach to linear elasticity, but it doesn't developed any intuition and reading it was waste of time. Stretch tensor was introduced with avoided notion of polar decomposition. This presentation was far less intuitive for me. The linear algerbra behind primal stresses is described and computed in details, but nowadays the student involved in computer methods and engineering must know this things in my opinion. And the language is not instuitive: me, matematican, couldn't do most of exercises after reading chapter they relate to. It tasted like old-fashioned book.



3. I purchased this book for the first part of my Biomechanics class. We raced through the first 10 chapters, and each one was very difficult to understand. Fung skips steps in his derivations which, for an undergraduate, made studying more confusing and time consuming.
   
   Probably the most frustrating part (at least for an engineering student) of the text is that none of the equations (except the ones from Chapter 1) are applied to anything. Not even for the problems at the end of each chapter. The book is just a long list of mathematical derivations regarding hypothetical blobs, I mean "bodies of mass", in space.
   
   In summary, I wish this book had a lot more examples pertaining to applying all the equations written in this book. Perhaps application of these equations will be used in the second part of my Biomechanics class, where we use yet another Fung book. I hope so.

No comments about Modern Materials and Manufacturing Processes (3rd Edition).

5 comments about Design of Fluid Thermal Systems.

1. The exercises do not have the answer for students to check their work. In the examples showed in the calculation part, there are no unit show and make the students confusing on how the calculation work. For example, in ideal gas equaltion, the book shows pv = mrt which m stands for mass. It is confusing. The rest of the book is okay but it needs to be edited again.



2. This is an outstanding book. The text is very readable, and the material very practicle. This book could be picked up, read briefly, and applied to real world problems without any further instruction.



3. The content of this book is easily read for me!! It contains almost all practical equations and criteria in the field of thermal system design. The most important point I like the book is that it has really help me a lot with my work in many times. It is so suit to asist engineers in preliminary design of fluid thermal system.



4. This book is an exceptional follow up to the fluid dynamics publication by the same author. The material in this text is presented in a very straightforward manner which any mechanical engineer should be able to comprehend and apply. This is a must have for the engineer who wishes to design functional fluid thermal systems. This is my second copy.



5. Above Average review of thermal fluid fundamentals. Recommended for the beginning pipeline engineer.

5 comments about Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Microanalysis.

1. The book came in excellent condition as stated. It also arrived in a timely manner.



2. This book is a great book for learning the Basics about Electron Microscopy and X-ray Analysis. You get a good overview!



3. The book is very good. I can learn a lot about the SEM from this book. The cd has also some interesting pictures, additional information.



4. This ought to be the dream book of those who do SEM imaging. The first half or say first five/six chapters are solely devoted to fundamentals of SEMs and the rest of the chapters are dealing generation of X-rays and concentrate on EDS. I have not yet finished reading this book. But certainly recommend to other SEM users to possess this book and read it as and when required.



5. This book is a comprehensible review of principles and methods of SEM and X-ray microanalysis write in a single and elegant language. The authors avoid using mathematical formulas in the description and demonstration which turn it an atractive book to all scientists and even the beginners.

1 comments about Property Tables Booklet/Thermodynamics.

1. I bought this to accompany 'Thermodynamics An Engineering Approach' by the same authors. It saves having to flip to the back of the main book every time to look up a property to solve a problem.
   
   The charts and tables in the main book are printed in red+black instead of just black in this booklet. This makes the charts in the main book much easier to read data from.
   
   If money is an issue you should probably just get the main book and not bother with this booklet.

1 comments about Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Second Edition.

1. This book is pure fun to read... easy to follow, clearly written, and full of cool graphs. It invokes the engineer, physicist, and statistician in you all at once. If for nothing else but having fun, you should get a copy and read it.
   
   But wish it wasn't so expensive.

2 comments about Thermal-Fluid Sciences: An Integrated Approach.

1. Stephen Turns should be congratulated for writing this book, it is excellent. Covering everything a mechanical engineer would want to know in the areas of Thermodynamics, and heat transfer this book is well written, has plenty of diagrams, excellent examples, and solutions to its problems.



2. Stephen R. Turns, widely known for making understandable a very difficult field such as combustion without losing rigour midway, attempts to do the same with enginering thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics, all in one.
   
   Nice try. But one wonders about the utility of this book. More than thousand pages, all of them in color, lots of photographs and the latest pedagogical concepts, plus a CD, make it almost a piece of collection for every professor of thermal sciences alive.
   
   But the introduction to advanced topics one was expecting all the way was lacking. Blatantly. Then, what difference does it make with purchasing Incropera's, Moran's and Fox's books out of a sudden?
   
   Well, perhaps price it's only half the answer. I still don't know why. The integrated approach perhaps doesn't complete the other half. Overall: buy it, it will amuse you. And you can give a convincing answer to your relatives when they ask you: hey man, what do you teach at the university?

1 comments about Physical Chemistry: A Guided Inquiry: Thermodynamics (Student Text).

1. Everyone knows P-Chem is one of the harder chemistry courses out there, and one of the main reasons is that most of the P-Chem textbooks are so poorly written. Tough this book is not a textbook, in some ways it surpasses the major P-Chem textbooks in use out there because it takes complicated p-chem concepts and breaks them down into simpler concepts.
   
   Like I said earlier, this is not really a textbook - in fact, it is more like a workbook. Each section begins with descriptive information about a subject followed by related questions that stack on each other that as you answer them lead you to understanding the larger concept at-hand.
   
   This book is great for studying for exams - or at least the ones I took in P-Chem II and the American Chemical Society (ACS) final exam.
   
   The reason I gave it four stars instead of five was that sometimes it asks you to draw conclusions that are a little too far apart based on the information you're given, and I think the author (Moog) might be forgetting what it's like to be learning this for the first time. It might help to also obtain the solutions manual (ISBN: 978-0618308576 or 0618308571). I had it and found that looking at some of the problem's solutions helped me to understand what direction they were trying to lead me.
   
   All-in-all a pretty useful book, and an improvement when it comes to P-Chem resources.

3 comments about Mechanics of Materials, 2nd Edition.

1. 1. Emphasis on fundamentals - slower-paced in the beginning where engineering books should be. 2. Does not waste space on advanced topics such as thick,curved beams, etc. 3. Exception to 2 (above): Gives a brief introduction to the finite element method which is vital to today's stress engineer. Includes a 4-page insert of photos of FEM models. 4. Does not use complicated matrix and tensor notation. 5. Uses concepts of equilibrium. stress-strain, and geometric compatibility where possible. 6. Provides a systematic, 4-step, problem-solving procedure which includes a review of the solution (something many engineers don't do enough) 7. Comprehensive discussion of strain. 8. Numerous examples and HW problems. 9. Comes with a CD-ROM containing an award-winning program called MDSolids which has numerous modules for problem solving of beams, trusses, Mohr's circle, properties, etc. It is the most user-friendly software I have ever used, and I have used a lot of software over 30 years. The CD has built-in examples for learning the material, but the modules also allow you to input your own problems. For example, the Beam Module allows you to break up a beam into up to 10 finite elements with generic loads on each element. Output values are tabulated and plotted for shear, moment, slope, and deflection.An added feature is that you can import values from one module into another. For example, you can use the Properties Module to calculate area and moments of inertia, and then import those values into the Beam Module. The CD alone is worth the price of the book.



2. I became familiar with this outstanding text when my son took a strength of materials course at the University of Texas at Austin. As a Professional Structural Engineer, I understood the importance of this course in the engineering curriculum. Also, I know from experience that many good students have trouble mastering the material. So I bought a copy so I could help my son by telephone. I am familiar with all the major texts in this subject including the classic book by Gere and Timoshenko and the popular text by Beer and Johnston.

   I was immediately impressed with the Craig book. The text has clear discussions and explanations and a masterful emphasis on the three fundamentals of structural mechanics: equilibrium, material behavior and geometry of deformation. For my money it is head and shoulders above the Gere and Timoshenko and the Beer and Johnston texts. Not that they are bad books; but the Craig book is a much better book. The Beer and Johnston text is largely a cookbook approach. The emphasis is on learning specific methods to solve specific types of problems. The Gere and Timoshenko text is a virtual strength of materials encyclopedia. No book in this field has a more thorough discussion of beams. But what students (and practicing engineers) need most is where the Craig text has no peer: 1)clear, simple explanations with an emphasis on equilibrium, material behavior, and geometry of deformation and 2)a rational and logical problem solving procedure that shows students how practicing engineers approach real-world problems. A student who learns the material in this book will have solid basis for becoming a competent engineer and for more advanced work in structural mechanics.

   Some of the strengths of this text include:

   1. A graphic-based menu-driven computer program that includes for modules for beams, section properties, solution of simultaneous linear algebraic equations, plotting shear and moment diagrams, and plotting of Mohr's circles for stress and strain. The output from one module can be imported to the other modules. This is very user-friendly software. It can be used to solve homework problems and for carrying out iterative design solutions.

   2. Emphasis on a rational and logical four-step problem-solving procedure including flow charts. The procedure includes planning the solution as well as reviewing the solution for reasonableness. Making these two steps an ingrained habit is essential to being a competent and proficient structural engineer.

   3. Repeated emphasis on the three fundamental concepts of structural mechanics: equilibrium, deformation behavior of materials, and geometry of deformation. Part of becoming a competent engineer is making these three concepts second nature and learning to apply them in a skillful manner.

   4. The use of force-method and displacement-method concepts; understanding these concepts is essential in more advanced work in structural mechanics.

   5. All of the traditional mechanics of materials subjects are covered including what I consider the best, most through discussion of strain found in any of the popular texts on this subject. The discussion of strain includes a thorough explanation of the concept of deformation diagrams and strain-displacement analysis.

   6. An introductory chapter that reviews the concept of static equilibrium and relates it to the equilibrium of deformable bodies.

   7. A superior discussion of stress concentrations and failure theories.

   8. Exceptionally clear discussions of stress and strain in beams.

   9. The illustrations in the Craig text are clearly superior to the illustrations in the competitive texts.

   10. Appendix A includes a valuable discussion of the use of power series approximation formulas. The approximations are useful in strain-displacement analysis because they allow the reduction of complex, nonlinear strain-displacement equations to linear, small-displacement forms.

   11. The Craig book comes across to me as a book written by someone who passionately cares about his subject and really wants his students to understand the subject. Not just to learn enough problem solutions to pass the course. I get the impression that this book was a labor of love by the author. If an engineering student can pick up on that he has to believe that this is an important subject to master, not just to pass. The writing in the competitive texts comes across as somewhat stale. Maybe they have been through so many editions they just are not fresh and have become another job for the authors.




3. This book is excellent. I was educated as a nuclear engineer, but seem to constantly be drawn into mechanical problems in the power plant. I bought this book to teach myself mechanics of materials so I could develop a finite element analysis program to analyze turbine generator component stress' and strains.
   
   The book is well organized and well written. The examples are good, and the homework problems are hard enough to make you think.
   
   My only suggestion, for other non-mechanical engineers who buy this book to learn this material, is that you also have a engineering statics book available for reference when solving the homework problems in chapter one and two.

5 comments about Student's Solutions Manual for Thermodynamics, Statistical Thermodynamics, & Kinetics.

1. Thomas Engel's Physical Chemistry is a book full of mistakes as well as stupid problems... The Quantum chemistry part is horribly explained(about 10 chapters). Which makes me think... perhaps the author can not explain the material because he does not understand it. Engel take some more quantum classes or repeat them, and then write a book about a subject you have not mastered. I want my money back.



2. I've used half of the book now. The layout is not very organized. I found the graphical representations useful.
   
   ok, 2nd semester in work. I'd prefer to downgrade this rating to negative 5 if I could. This book has turned into a major disaster. It is so riddled with errors...the derivations are never right. Everytime something doesn't work out right it's because the book is wrong. flat out.
   
   This book gets my strongest disapproval possible. Buying this book is throwing away your money. Thanks engel. Thanks for all those hours lost trying to figure out what mistake I had make working out the derivations in this book only to find the book was wrong all along.
   
   I'm still a little bitter about the false advertising when I got it...re: spartan software student copy that wasn't included.



3. A modern, clear, and extensive physical chemistry text. It does break tradition with the heavyweights in the field (Atkins, McQuarrie), but does so for good reason: there aren't enough computational background or computer computation applications in the others. Those books do a great job with the theory and mathematics, but this book show's you how to use that mathematics to really understand chemistry. It focuses heavily computational chemistry with actual software and the Spartan Quantum chemistry software that book's authors use is very inexpensive if you buy the student version. As a bonus, this book is the most colorful and well laid-out and edited one available today.



4. I used this book for my pchem courses and found it to be completely worthless. While it does focus on computational crap that's not very important the first time around. The quantum chapters are pretty poorly done, and well the thermo stuff is just boring. All in all, I found this text to be useless. The derivations include many errors, and often are presented before the text introduces what they're trying to derive thereby further confusing you. You're better off not buying this book, unless you need for class, and buying one of the more used books like Levine's or Macquarrie's.



5. Let me begin by saying - I love chemistry. I love math. I'm a total nerd. But this book turned me off to both. Taking a year of physical chemistry is hard - but this book makes it even harder. This is the first year my professors have used this book, and I think it will be their last.
   
   The key points aren't covered in detail. The math is overly complicated, and the problems don't hit the right points. I don't have a lot of P.Chem textbook knowledge, but there has to be something better out there.
   
   I wouldn't recommend the text at all - but if you buy it, you ABSOLUTELY need the solutions manual.