The bestselling author of E=mc2 weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration, and fraud through an account of the invisible force that permeates our universe—electricity—and introduces us to the virtuoso scientists who plumbed its secrets. For centuries, electricity was seen as little more than a curious property of certain substances that sparked when rubbed. Then, in the 1790s, Alessandro Volta began the scientific investigation that ignited an explosion of knowledge and invention. The force that once seemed inconsequential was revealed to be responsible for everything from the structure of the atom to the functioning of our brains. In harnessing its power, we have created a world of wonders—complete with roller coasters and radar, computer networks and psychopharmaceuticals. In Electric Universe, the great discoverers come to life in all their brilliance and idiosyncrasy, including the visionary Michael Faraday, who struggled against the prejudices of the British class system, and Samuel Morse, a painter who, before inventing the telegraph, ran for mayor of New York City on a platform of persecuting Catholics. Here too is Alan Turing, whose dream of a marvelous thinking machine—what we know as the computer—was met with indifference, and who ended his life in despair after British authorities forced him to undergo experimental treatments to “cure” his homosexuality. From the frigid waters of the Atlantic to the streets of Hamburg during a World War II firestorm to the interior of the human body, Electric Universe is a mesmerizing journey of discovery.

Affine Arithmetic-Based Methods for Uncertain Power System Analysis presents the unique properties and representative applications of Affine Arithmetic in power systems analysis, particularly as they are deployed for reliability optimization. The work provides a comprehensive foundation in Affine Arithmetic necessary to understand the central computing paradigms that can be adopted for uncertain power flow and optimal power flow analyses. These paradigms are adapted and applied to case studies, which integrate benchmark test systems and full step-by-step procedure for implementation so that readers are able to replicate and modify. The work is presented with illustrative numerical examples and MATLAB computations. - Provides a uniquely comprehensive review of affine arithmetic in both its core theoretical underpinnings and their developed applications to power system analysis - Details the exemplary benefits derived by the deployment of affine arithmetic methods for uncertainty handling in decision-making processes - Clarifies arithmetical complexity and eases the understanding of illustrative methodologies for researchers in both power system and decision-making fields