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PID Control in the Third Millennium
by Antonio Visioli Ramon VilanovaThe early 21st century has seen a renewed interest in research in the widely-adopted proportional-integral-differential (PID) form of control. PID Control in the Third Millennium provides an overview of the advances made as a result. Featuring: new approaches for controller tuning; control structures and configurations for more efficient control; practical issues in PID implementation; and non-standard approaches to PID including fractional-order, event-based, nonlinear, data-driven and predictive control; the nearly twenty chapters provide a state-of-the-art resumé of PID controller theory, design and realization. Each chapter has specialist authorship and ideas clearly characterized from both academic and industrial viewpoints. PID Control in the Third Millennium is of interest to academics requiring a reference for the current state of PID-related research and a stimulus for further inquiry. Industrial practitioners and manufacturers of control systems with application problems relating to PID will find this to be a practical source of appropriate and advanced solutions.
PID Control System Design and Automatic Tuning using MATLAB/Simulink (Wiley - IEEE)
by Liuping WangCovers PID control systems from the very basics to the advanced topics This book covers the design, implementation and automatic tuning of PID control systems with operational constraints. It provides students, researchers, and industrial practitioners with everything they need to know about PID control systems—from classical tuning rules and model-based design to constraints, automatic tuning, cascade control, and gain scheduled control. PID Control System Design and Automatic Tuning using MATLAB/Simulink introduces PID control system structures, sensitivity analysis, PID control design, implementation with constraints, disturbance observer-based PID control, gain scheduled PID control systems, cascade PID control systems, PID control design for complex systems, automatic tuning and applications of PID control to unmanned aerial vehicles. It also presents resonant control systems relevant to many engineering applications. The implementation of PID control and resonant control highlights how to deal with operational constraints. Provides unique coverage of PID Control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including mathematical models of multi-rotor UAVs, control strategies of UAVs, and automatic tuning of PID controllers for UAVs Provides detailed descriptions of automatic tuning of PID control systems, including relay feedback control systems, frequency response estimation, Monte-Carlo simulation studies, PID controller design using frequency domain information, and MATLAB/Simulink simulation and implementation programs for automatic tuning Includes 15 MATLAB/Simulink tutorials, in a step-by-step manner, to illustrate the design, simulation, implementation and automatic tuning of PID control systems Assists lecturers, teaching assistants, students, and other readers to learn PID control with constraints and apply the control theory to various areas. Accompanying website includes lecture slides and MATLAB/ Simulink programs PID Control System Design and Automatic Tuning using MATLAB/Simulink is intended for undergraduate electrical, chemical, mechanical, and aerospace engineering students, and will greatly benefit postgraduate students, researchers, and industrial personnel who work with control systems and their applications.
PID Passivity-Based Control of Nonlinear Systems with Applications
by Romeo Ortega Jose Guadalupe Romero Pablo Borja Alejandro DonaireExplore the foundational and advanced subjects associated with proportional-integral-derivative controllers from leading authors in the field In PID Passivity-Based Control of Nonlinear Systems with Applications, expert researchers and authors Drs. Romeo Ortega, Jose Guadalupe Romero, Pablo Borja, and Alejandro Donaire deliver a comprehensive and detailed discussion of the most crucial and relevant concepts in the analysis and design of proportional-integral-derivative controllers using passivity techniques. The accomplished authors present a formal treatment of the recent research in the area and offer readers practical applications of the developed methods to physical systems, including electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, power electronics, and process control. The book offers the material with minimal mathematical background, making it relevant to a wide audience. Familiarity with the theoretical tools reported in the control systems literature is not necessary to understand the concepts contained within. You’ll learn about a wide range of concepts, including disturbance rejection via PID control, PID control of mechanical systems, and Lyapunov stability of PID controllers. Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of: A thorough introduction to a class of physical systems described in the port-Hamiltonian form and a presentation of the systematic procedures to design PID-PBC for them An exploration of the applications to electrical, electromechanical, and process control systems of Lyapunov stability of PID controllers Practical discussions of the regulation and tracking of bilinear systems via PID control and their application to power electronics and thermal process control A concise treatment of the characterization of passive outputs, incremental models, and Port Hamiltonian and Euler-Lagrange systems Perfect for senior undergraduate and graduate students studying control systems, PID Passivity-Based Control will also earn a place in the libraries of engineers who practice in this area and seek a one-stop and fully updated reference on the subject.
A Piece of the Sun: The Quest for Fusion Energy
by Daniel CleryHow physicists are trying to solve our energy problems—by unlocking the secrets of the sun: &“Explain[s] cutting-edge science with remarkable lucidity.&” —Booklist This revelatory book tells the story of the scientists who believe the solution to the planet&’s ills can be found in the original energy source: the Sun itself. There, at its center, the fusion of 620 million tons of hydrogen every second generates an unfathomable amount of energy. By replicating even a tiny piece of the Sun&’s power on Earth, we can secure all the heat and energy we would ever need. The simple yet extraordinary ambition of nuclear-fusion scientists has garnered many skeptics, but, as A Piece of the Sun makes clear, large-scale nuclear fusion is scientifically possible—and perhaps even preferable to other options. Clery argues passionately and eloquently that the only thing keeping us from harnessing this cheap, clean and renewable energy is our own shortsightedness. &“Surprisingly sprightly…Clery walks readers through the history of fusion study, from Lord Kelvin, Albert Einstein and a large cast of peculiar physicists, to all manner of international politics—e.g., the darts and feints of the Cold War, the braces applied by OPEC in the wake of the 1973 war among Israel, Egypt and Syria. Clery negotiates the hard science with aplomb.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“A timely perspective on truly urgent science.&” —Booklist &“Ultimately, Clery argues that developing a source of energy that won&’t damage the climate—or ever run out—is worth striving for.&” —Publishers Weekly
Pieces and Parts in Scientific Texts (Why the Sciences of the Ancient World Matter #1)
by Florence Bretelle-Establet Stéphane SchmittThis book starts from a first general observation: there are very diverse ways to frame and convey scientific knowledge in texts. It then analyzes texts on mathematics, astronomy, medicine and life sciences, produced in various parts of the globe and in different time periods, and examines the reasons behind the segmentation of texts and the consequences of such textual divisions. How can historians and philosophers of science approach this diversity, and what is at stake in dealing with it? The book addresses these questions, adopting a specific approach to do so. In order to shed light on the diversity of organizational patterns and rhetorical strategies in scientific texts, and to question the rationale behind the choices made to present such texts in one particular way, it focuses on the issue of text segmentation, offering answers to questions such as: What was the meaning of segmenting texts into paragraphs, chapters, sections and clusters? Was segmentation used to delimit self-contained units, or to mark breaks in the physical appearance of a text in order to aid reading and memorizing, or to cope with the constraints of the material supports? How, in these different settings and in different texts, were pieces and parts made visible?
Pieces of Light: How the New Science of Memory Illuminates the Stories We Tell About Our Pasts
by Charles FernyhoughIn a blend of memoir and science, a psychologist presents a “thoughtful exploration” of autobiographical memory (Booklist).A new consensus is emerging among cognitive scientists: rather than possessing fixed, unchanging memories, we create new recollections each time we are called upon to remember. As psychologist Charles Fernyhough explains, remembering is an act of narrative imagination as much as it is the product of a neurological process. In Pieces of Light, he illuminates this compelling scientific breakthrough in a series of personal stories, each illustrating memory’s complex synergy of cognitive and neurological functions.Combining science and literature, the ordinary and the extraordinary, this fascinating tour through the new science of autobiographical memory helps us better understand the ways we remember—and the ways we forget. Book of the Year: Sunday Times, Sunday Express, and New Scientist
Piel sana in corpore sano: Consejos prácticos para tener una piel sana, bonita y radiante
by Dra. Andrea CombaliaUna invitación a un estilo de vida saludable, a la prevención de ciertas enfermedades y al cuidado y belleza del único órgano visible para todos: la piel. La Dra. Andrea Combalia, médico dermatóloga, con más de 50.000 seguidores en su revista digital Piel sana in corpore sano, nos resuelve las dudas y nos lanza prácticos consejos para que la salud y la belleza de la piel estén al alcance de todos. ¿Cómo influye el estrés sobre nuestra piel? ¿Cómo podemos saber si un lunar es maligno? ¿Cada cuando debemos lavarnos el pelo? Desde su belleza hasta sus arrugas e imperfecciones, la piel es un órgano de nuestro cuerpo que nos seduce a la vez que nos obsesiona. La piel nos envuelve y nos protege, la podemos ver, tocar y sentir, y experimenta cambios a lo largo de la vida. Además, la piel nos comunica y nos transmite el estado de nuestro cuerpo y nuestra mente, de modo que no solo es importante cuidarla por cuestiones estéticas, sino que su bienestar es esencial.
Pierre-Daniel Huet (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées #238)
by José R. Maia NetoThis book offers a detailed and scholarly historical and philosophical examination of French scepticism from Descartes to the beginning of the Enlightenment by examining the views of Pierre-Daniel Huet (1630–1721). It shows the crucial role played by Huet in the modification of the early modern sceptical tradition: from a practical perspective closer to ancient scepticism, mostly presented by Montaigne and Charron, to an epistemological and metaphysical perspective strongly influenced by Descartes’s doubt. The book examines and gives original interpretations of the various sceptical (and semi-sceptical) views held in the period and their connections to Huet’s own scepticism. Besides known philosophers such as Descartes, Gassendi, Pascal and Bayle, the book also accesses sceptical views held by secondary figures such as La Mothe Le Vayer and Simon Foucher and others who have not thus far been connected to the sceptical tradition such as Jean-Baptiste du Hamel and Madeleine de Scudéry. The book is useful for scholars in the field of early modern ideas: philosophical, religious and scientific.
Pierre Musso and the Network Society
by José Luís GarciaThis book is devoted to discussion of the views of Pierre Musso and starts with a central chapter written by Musso, entitled Network Ideology: from Saint-Simonianism to the Internet . Pierre Musso is a French philosopher and is one of the most original thinkers in the history of the network society. His thought develops a critique of information and communication technologies through their imaginary and social representations and of the information society, based on the network metaphor.The main question on which Musso has focused his attention is how the network metaphor is one of the most powerful ways of understanding the complex societies in which we live. Showing characteristic attention to detail, and drawing on the history of ideas, political philosophy and sociology, Musso traces the genealogy of the network imaginary, and points out that it did not emerge with the Internet. He shows how its modern roots can be found in Henri de Saint-Simon and his disciples, engineers and entrepreneurs such as Michel de Chevalier, and Barthélemy Prosper Enfantin, who developed channel networks, railroads, and the telegraphic network in France in the nineteenth century. In addition to the central piece written by Musso, the book includes a general introduction and six commentaries from experts on information technologies and networks. It displays a wide range of perspectives from a diverse set of authors in terms of nationalities and universities, as well as disciplinary backgrounds.
Pierre Poivre and the Networking Naturalists: Pioneering Environmentalists of the Eighteenth Century
by Gillian JonesAlthough climate change is seen as a very 21st-century concern, back in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century naturalists around the world in places as far apart as Mauritius in the Indian ocean and St Vincent in the Caribbean were becoming aware of what they referred to as desiccation, the drying of the land and absence of rainfall due to the cutting down of large swathes of forest trees. This book traces the connections between those naturalists, scientists and men of letters to reveal the surprising truths that they discovered and which must inspire us to follow the trail they blazed.
Pietro Blaserna and the Birth of the Institute of Physics in Rome: A Gentleman Scientist at Via Panisperna (Springer Biographies)
by Miriam FocacciaThis book draws upon a wealth of archival material to present the life and achievements of Pietro Blaserna, a “gentleman scientist” whose greatest legacy is considered to be the Institute of Physics on the Via Panisperna in Rome, of which he was the creator and first director. Both in this role and as President of the Accademia dei Lincei, Blaserna contributed enormously in establishing a sound institutional base for the further development of physics in Italy. Starting from an accurate historical reconstruction of the scientific, social, and political context, the author presents the different phases of Pietro Blaserna’s life and career. As a multifaceted intellectual and a scientist holding several institutional positions, Blaserna worked ceaselessly to promote an effective policy in science and technology, which was critically important in stimulating the development of Italy as a modern nation. Blaserna may not have left scientific works that made history, but what he created in Rome was a real "house of physics", equipped with modern laboratories and instruments. In tracing his important legacy, this book will be of interest for all historians of science and for historians of nineteenth and twentieth century Italy.
Piety and Patienthood in Medieval Islam (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Ahmed RagabHow did pious medieval Muslims experience health and disease? Rooted in the prophet’s experiences with medicine and healing, Muslim pietistic literature developed cosmologies in which physical suffering and medical interventions interacted with religious obligations and spiritual health. This book traces the development of prophetic medical literature and religious writings around health and disease to give a new perspective on how patienthood was conditioned by the intersection of medicine and Islam. The author investigates the early and foundational writings on prophetic medicine and related pietistic writings on health and disease produced during the Islamic Classical Age. Looking at attitudes from and towards clerics, physicians and patients, sickness and health are gradually revealed as a social, gendered, religious, and cultural experience. Patients are shown to experience certain sensoria that are conditioned not only by medical knowledge, but also by religious and pietistic attitudes. This is a fascinating insight into the development of Muslim pieties and the traditions of medical practice. It will be of great interest to scholars interested in Islamic Studies, history of religion, history of medicine, science and religion and the history of embodied religious practice, particularly in matters of health and medicine.
Pieza a pieza: La historia del chico que se construyó a sí mismo
by David AguilarNo te pierdas la increíble historia de superación de David Aguilar, Hand Solo en redes. «Muchas veces me preguntan qué se siente cuando te falta medio brazo. Y, la verdad... no lo sé. ¿Qué sentís cuando os falta un dedo? Contadlos por mí, ¿vale? Dejad de leer y contad los dedos que tenéis. «Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, ¡diez! ¿Qué sentís cuando os falta el onceavo dedo? No lo sabéis; yo tampoco. Lo que sé es que no os falta nada; os sobra. Os sobran posibilidades.» En este libro, David Aguilar narra, con una voz fresca y cercana, cómo construyó su primer brazo de Lego y otras muchas historias con las que enseñarnos la lección más importante que ha aprendido: no hay mejor prótesis que el amor. Sobre los autores...DAVID Y FERRAN AGUILAR David nació con el síndrome de Poland. Sus padres, Ferran y Nathalie, así como su hermana Naia, lo han acompañado en todos sus proyectos. Con tan solo nueve años construyó su primera prótesis y desde entonces no ha parado de crear y evolucionar.Ferran, por su parte, no ha escatimado esfuerzo en dar a conocer la historia de su hijo, con la seguridad de que, algún día, inspiraría al mundo entero. Esta familia andorrana se ha convertido recientemente también en protagonista de un documental, Mr. Hand Solo, en el que comparten su historia de superación. Pieza a pieza supone la última muestra de su empeño en participar en un sinfín de proyectos solidarios con los que luchar contra el estigma de la discapacidad y el bullying.
Piezo-Active Composites: Microgeometry–Sensitivity Relations (Springer Series in Materials Science #271)
by Vitaly Yu. Topolov Christopher R. Bowen Paolo BisegnaThis book is devoted to the systematic description of the role of microgeometry of modern piezo-active composites in the formation of their piezoelectric sensitivity. In five chapters, the authors analyse kinds of piezoelectric sensitivity for piezo-active composites with specific connectivity patterns and links between the microgeometric feature and piezoelectric response. The role of components and microgeometric factors is discussed in the context of the piezoelectric properties and their anisotropy in the composites. Interrelations between different types of the piezoelectric coefficients are highlighted. This book fills a gap in piezoelectric materials science and provides readers with data on the piezoelectric performance of novel composite materials that are suitable for sensor, transducer, hydroacoustic, energy-harvesting, and other applications.
Piezoelectric Actuators and Generators for Energy Harvesting: Research And Development (Innovation And Discovery In Russian Science And Engineering Ser.)
by Sergey N. Shevtsov Arkady N. Soloviev Ivan A. Parinov Alexander V. Cherpakov Valery A. ChebanenkoThis book presents new approaches to R&D of piezoelectric actuators and generators of different types based on established, original constructions and contemporary research into framework of theoretical, experimental, and numerical methods of physics, mechanics, and materials science. Improved technical solutions incorporated into the devices demonstrate high output values of voltage and power, allowing application of the goods in various areas of energy harvesting. The book is divided into seven chapters, each presenting main results of the chapter, along with a brief exposition of novel findings from around the world proving context for the author’s results. It presents particular results of the Soviet and Russian schools of Mechanics and Material Sciences not previously available outside of Russia.
Piezoelectric Sensors (Springer Series on Chemical Sensors and Biosensors #18)
by Peter LieberzeitThis book provides a comprehensive overview of piezoelectric sensor devices and instrumentation and their use for chemical and biochemical analysis. Sensors relying on established transducers, such as the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and the surface acoustic wave resonator (SAW) are covered, and novel devices like surface transverse wave (STW) resonators, film bulk acoustic resonators (FBAR) as well as non-piezoelectric devices with mass-sensitive properties are presented. As their name implies, such devices respond directly to mass changes on their surfaces and thus address the most fundamental quality of any analytes. First, the book presents the fundamentals of new measuring strategies with these devices. Then, it introduces a variety of chemo- and biosensing application scenarios of these devices. In addition, the book covers both the state-of-the-art of academic research and prospects concerning the commercialization of these sensors. Given its scope, the book is of interest to academics, specialists in industry, and advanced students in the areas of analytical chemistry, rapid analysis, and sensor technology, giving them the unique possibility to familiarize themselves with this chemical sensing strategy. Readers will benefit from the coverage of both cutting-edge research results and applications that help bridge the gap between academia and industry.
Piezoresistive Effect of p-Type Single Crystalline 3C-SiC
by Hoang-Phuong PhanThis book addresses the piezoresistance in p-type 3C-SiC, which it investigates using experimental characterization and theoretical analysis. The gauge factor, the piezoresistive coefficients in two-terminal and four-terminal resistors, the comparison between single crystalline and nanocrystalline SiC, along with the temperature dependence of the piezoresistive effect in p-type 3C-SiC are also discussed. Silicon carbide (SiC) is an excellent material for electronic devices operating at high temperatures, thanks to its large energy band gap, superior mechanical properties and extreme chemical inertness. Among the numerous polytypes of SiC, the cubic single crystal, which is also well known as 3C-SiC, is the most promising platform for microelectromechanical (MEMS) applications, as it can be epitaxially grown on an Si substrate with diameters of up to several hundred millimeters. This feature makes 3C-SiC compatible with the conventional Si-based micro/nano processing and also cuts down the cost of SiC wafers. The investigation into the piezoresistive effect in 3C-SiC is of significant interest for the development of mechanical transducers such as pressure sensors and strain sensors used for controlling combustion and deep well drilling. Although a number of studies have focused on the piezoresistive effect in n-type 3C-SiC, 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC, comparatively little attention has been paid to piezoresistance in p-type 3C-SiC. In addition, the book investigates the piezoresistive effect of top-down fabricated SiC nanowires, revealing a high degree of sensitivity in nanowires employing an innovative nano strain-amplifier. The large gauge factors of the p-type 3C-SiC at both room temperature and high temperatures found here indicate that this polytype could be suitable for the development of mechanical sensing devices operating in harsh environments with high temperatures.
Piezoresistor Design and Applications
by Joseph C. Doll Beth L. PruittPiezoresistor Design and Applications provides an overview of these MEMS devices and related physics. The text demonstrates how MEMS allows miniaturization and integration of sensing as well as efficient packaging and signal conditioning. This text for engineers working in MEMS design describes the piezoresistive phenomenon and optimization in several applications. Includes detailed discussion of such topics as; coupled models of mechanics, materials and electronic behavior in a variety of common geometric implementations including strain gages, beam bending, and membrane loading. The text concludes with an up-to-date discussion of the need for integrated MEMS design and opportunities to leverage new materials, processes and MEMS technology. Piezoresistor Design and Applications is an ideal book for design engineers, process engineers and researchers.
Piezotronics and Piezo-Phototronics
by Zhong Lin WangThe fundamental principle of piezotronics and piezo-phototronics were introduced by Wang in 2007 and 2010, respectively. Due to the polarization of ions in a crystal that has non-central symmetry in materials, such as the wurtzite structured ZnO, GaN and InN, a piezoelectric potential (piezopotential) is created in the crystal by applying a stress. Owing to the simultaneous possession of piezoelectricity and semiconductor properties, the piezopotential created in the crystal has a strong effect on the carrier transport at the interface/junction. Piezotronics is for devices fabricated using the piezopotential as a "gate" voltage to control charge carrier transport at a contact or junction. The piezo-phototronic effect uses the piezopotential to control the carrier generation, transport, separation and/or recombination for improving the performance of optoelectronic devices, such as photon detector, solar cell and LED. The functionality offered by piezotroics and piezo-phototronics are complimentary to CMOS technology. There is an effective integration of piezotronic and piezo-phototronic devices with silicon based CMOS technology. Unique applications can be found in areas such as human-computer interfacing, sensing and actuating in nanorobotics, smart and personalized electronic signatures, smart MEMS/NEMS, nanorobotics and energy sciences. This book introduces the fundamentals of piezotronics and piezo-phototronics and advanced applications. It gives guidance to researchers, engineers and graduate students.
Piezotronics and Piezo-Phototronics: Applications to Third-Generation Semiconductors (Microtechnology and MEMS)
by Zhong Lin Wang Yan Zhang Weiguo HuCo-authored by the discoverer of the piezotronic effect, this book is a fundamental and comprehensive survey of piezotronics and piezo-phototronics. Piezotronics is a term broadly applied to devices fabricated using the piezopotential as a “gate” voltage to tune/control charge carrier transport at a contact or junction. The piezo-phototronic effect describes the use of the piezopotential to control the carrier generation, transport, separation and/or recombination for improving the performance of optoelectronic devices. The book first introduces the theory of the piezotronic effect and its applications in transistors, sensors, and catalysis. Subsequent chapters comprehensively cover the fundamentals of the piezo-phototronic effect and its impacts on photon sensors, solar cells, and LEDs.The updated and significantly expanded second edition covers the most recent advances and breakthroughs in this field over the last decade — gas, chemical, and biological nanosensors; quantum dots, wells, and wires; piezocatalysis; the piezo-photonic effect; and the pyro-phototronic effect. This seminal book serves as a basic text for scientists and students in the field of piezotronic devices and third-generation semiconductors.
The Pig: A Natural History
by Richard LutwycheA comprehensive, richly illustrated introduction to the fascinating natural history of the pig, from prehistory to the present At any given time, there are around one billion pigs in the world; that's one for every seven of us. And where would we be without them? Prolific, ubiquitous, smart, adaptable, and providers of high-quality protein, pigs have been our companions since neolithic times, when they obligingly domesticated themselves, coming in from the wild to root around our waste pits. But it's not all about the bacon; today, bred in micro sizes, the resourceful pig has developed a whole new career as a popular pet. And thanks to genome mapping, we now know that the pig shares many common physiological features with humans, spurring the use of pig tissue and organs in medical research and surgery. Beautifully designed and illustrated, The Pig provides a snout-to-tail natural history of this important species, from the prehistoric "hell pig" to today's placid porker, covering the pig's evolution and domestication, anatomy and biology, behavior, role in human life and culture, and breeds. The book also features an engrossing and visually stunning photographic gallery of some thirty popular breeds from around the world, with essential information about each. Filled with surprising facts and insights, The Pig will delight anyone who loves these animals and wants to understand them better. Provides a comprehensive, richly illustrated introduction to the pig's evolution and domestication, anatomy and biology, behavior, role in human life and culture, and breeds. Features infographics, diagrams, and 250 stunning color photographs. Includes a beautiful photographic directory to some 30 popular breeds from around the world, with essential information about each
Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird
by Andrew D. BlechmanFrom the Book Jacket: They have been worshiped as fertility goddesses and revered as symbols of peace. Domesticated since the dawn of man, they have been crucial to wartime communications for every major historical superpower from ancient Egypt to the United States and are credited with saving thousands of lives. One delivered the results of the first Olympics in 119 B.C. and another brought the news of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo more than 2,500 years later. Charles Darwin relied heavily upon them to help formulate and support his theory of evolution. Yet the pigeon is reviled today as a rat with wings. How did we come to misunderstand one of mankind's most steadfast companions? In Pigeons, Andrew D. Blechman travels across the United States and Europe in a quest to chronicle the bird's transformation from beloved friend to feathered outlaw. From Brooklyn's Main Event, the pigeon world's equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, to the eighty-third Grand National, with its thousands of bizarre and beautiful show pigeons, and from a pigeon shoot where people pay to gun down live birds, to the nation's oldest and biggest squab farm, Blechman takes the reader deep into the weird and wonderful world of pigeon fanaticism. He meets with pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters alike, includingthe Queen of England's Royal Loft Manager and members of the radical "pro-pigeon underground"; chases Mike Tyson, America's most famous pigeon lover; and for the first time tells the remarkable story behind this seemingly unremarkable bird. You'll never look at a pigeon the same way again. ! ANDREW D. BLECHMAN is an award- winning journalist who has worked for the Los Angeles Times and the Des Moines Register. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Smithsonian magazine and The New York Times. He currently divides his time between Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and Germany.
Pigeons at War: How Avian Heroes Changed History
by Connie GoldsmithFor more than five thousand years, people all over the world have worked with pigeons to send and receive important messages. These birds carried weather reports in ancient Egypt, letters between Mongolian warriors in the 1200s, news in nineteenth-century Europe, and more. Homing pigeons became especially important during World Wars I and II. From famous pigeons such as Cher Ami and GI Joe to lesser-known birds such as No. 48, these avian heroes were crucial to war communications. They carried messages between officers and soldiers when phone, radio, or telegraph lines were cut or officers needed to send top secret communications, transporting vital information across great distances. Homing pigeons, like human heroes, received awards and medals for their service. In fact, pigeons earned the most medals of any animal for their services during these conflicts. Discover how pigeons were domesticated and trained for use in military conflicts, learn about some of their most daring flights, and explore how pigeons and humans continue to work together.
Pigment Compendium: Optical Microscopy Of Historical Pigments
by Nicholas Eastaugh Valentine Walsh Tracey Chaplin Ruth SiddallThis is an essential purchase for all painting conservators and conservation scientists dealing with paintings and painted objects. It provides the first definitive manual dedicated to optical microscopy of historical pigments. Illustrated throughout with full colour images reproduced to the highest possible quality, this book is based on years of painstaking research into the visual and optical properties of pigments. Now combined with the Pigment Dictionary, the most thorough reference to pigment names and synonyms avaiable, the Pigment Compendium is a major addition to the study and understanding of historic pigments.
Pigments, Extenders, and Particles in Surface Coatings and Plastics: Fundamentals and Applications to Coatings, Plastics and Paper Laminate Formulation
by Frank A. Vanhecke Michael Diebold Steven De Backer Philipp M. Niedenzu Brett R. HesterThis book discusses the diverse array of particles that are found in coatings from both a physical and a performance standpoint. It also describes the fundamentals of particle behavior and shows how these affect the performance and properties of their end-use applications. It consists of nineteen chapters, demonstrating the wide range of types of particles found in coatings as well as the diversity of the important attributes they hold. The authors also present a forward looking view of current issues and trends in the coatings industry. In addition, a chapter on the use of particles in paper laminate, a closely aligned field, is included. This book is of interest to formulators of any type of coatings as well as researchers in aligned fields that use high volumes of small particles, such as the plastics and paper industries.