"Singularities are pervasive throughout nature and this book is one of the first to combine all aspects of singular optics and to give a detailed view of the subject. Singularities in Optical Physics and Engineering give a thorough introduction to singularities and their development and goes on to explain in detail important topics such as the types of singularities, their properties, detection and application and the emerging research trends that are still developing. The book concentrates mostly on phase singularities in a comprehensive development to allow a greater understanding of singularities throughout the chapters. It also discusses polarization singularities in its final chapter giving an in-depth description of this subject. With new advances being generated continuously, this book will cover a vibrant field of optics and will give an essential foundation to any students and researchers interested in singular optics. Part of IOP Series in Advances in Optics, Photonics and Optoelectronics" -- Prové de l'editor.

This book presents singular optics in a gradual and systematic manner and bridges the gap between a seasoned researcher and a student who aims to pursue research in this topic. The book includes illustrations, examples and references that will enable the reader to conceive their own ideas as they discover more about singular optics.

Singularities are pervasive throughout nature and this book is one of the first to combine all aspects of singular optics and to give a detailed view of the subject. Singularities in Optical Physics and Engineering give a thorough introduction to singularities and their development and goes on to explain in detail important topics such as the types of singularities, their properties, detection and application and the emerging research trends that are still developing. The book concentrates mostly on phase singularities in a comprehensive development to allow a greater understanding of singularities throughout the chapters. It also discusses polarization singularities in its final chapter giving an in-depth description of this subject. With new advances being generated continuously, this book will cover a vibrant field of optics and will give an essential foundation to any students and researchers interested in singular optics. Part of IOP Series in Advances in Optics, Photonics and Optoelectronics

The book gives a thorough introduction to singularities and their development. It explains in detail important topics such as the types of singularities, their properties, detection and application, and emerging research trends.

This book explores a wide range of singular phenomena, providing mathematical tools for understanding them and highlighting their common features.

Many key phenomena in physics and engineering are described as singularities in the solutions to the differential equations describing them. Examples covered thoroughly in this book include the formation of drops and bubbles, the propagation of a crack and the formation of a shock in a gas. Aimed at a broad audience, this book provides the mathematical tools for understanding singularities and explains the many common features in their mathematical structure. Part I introduces the main concepts and techniques, using the most elementary mathematics possible so that it can be followed by readers with only a general background in differential equations. Parts II and III require more specialised methods of partial differential equations, complex analysis and asymptotic techniques. The book may be used for advanced fluid mechanics courses and as a complement to a general course on applied partial differential equations.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Celebrated futurist Ray Kurzweil, hailed by Bill Gates as “the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence,” presents an “elaborate, smart, and persuasive” (The Boston Globe) view of the future course of human development. “Artfully envisions a breathtakingly better world.”—Los Angeles Times “Startling in scope and bravado.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times “An important book.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer At the onset of the twenty-first century, humanity stands on the verge of the most transforming and thrilling period in its history. It will be an era in which the very nature of what it means to be human will be both enriched and challenged as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity. While the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes will be profound, and the threats they pose considerable, The Singularity Is Near presents a radical and optimistic view of the coming age that is both a dramatic culmination of centuries of technological ingenuity and a genuinely inspiring vision of our ultimate destiny.