Pulse is not about dance music, not about heart rates—and not about electromagnetic fields. What it does describe is a sea change in human affairs, a vast and fundamental shift that is about to transform every aspect of our lives. Written in lively prose for lay readers, Pulse shows how ideas that have shaped Western science, industry, and culture for centuries are being displaced by the rapid and dramatic rise of a "new biology"—by human systems and machines that work like living things. In Pulse, Robert Frenay details the coming world of • emotional computers • ships that swim like fish • hard, soft, and wet artificial life • money that mimics the energy flows in nature • evolution at warp speed And these are not blue-sky dreams. By using hundreds of vivid and concrete examples of cutting-edge work, Frenay showcases the brilliant innovations and often colorful personalities now giving birth to a radical new future. Along the way, he also offers thoughtful conclusions on the promises—and dangers—of our transformation to the next great phase of "human cultural evolution."

Like cereal, pulse processing is one of the oldest and most important of all food processing, which encompasses a diverse range of products. Pulses are widely grown throughout the world and their dietary and economic importance is globally appreciated and well recognized. Although cereal processing has several dedicated text books, no dedicated text on pulse processing is currently available for food science and technology graduates. This book aims to address this oversight, starting with a chapter highlighting the importance of pulses, their production and consumption trends. The coverage in subsequent chapters provides details on the physical and chemical characteristics of pulses, starches, proteins and minor constituents in them and then how they are processed and used. Cooking quality, analysis and the value of the food products will all be examined with the final chapter reviewing the regulatory and legislative requirements for pulses. This book will serve as a comprehensive text book for undergraduate and postgraduate students, educators, industry personnel involved with grain processing and to some extent researchers providing an up-to-date insight into pulse science, processing and technology.

Robert Brain traces the origins of artistic modernism to specific technologies of perception developed in late-nineteenth-century laboratories. Brain argues that the thriving fin-de-siècle field of “physiological aesthetics,” which sought physiological explanations for the capacity to appreciate beauty and art, changed the way poets, artists, and musicians worked and brought a dramatic transformation to the idea of art itself.

This book is designed primarily to meet two objectives. It is intended to serve as a textbook for a one-semester university course for graduate or senior undergraduate students in the physical sciences, electrical engineering and other related disciplines, or it may be used as a reference book for those who are working in the field. For those intending to use the book for self-study, a general knowledge of electromagnetism, electrical circuitry and plasma and discharge physics is necessary. In order to meet these diverse objectives, the authors have attempted to make the book reasonably compact so that it can fit in a one-semester schedule while retaining its comprehensiveness in serving as a reference book. The contents are arranged so that theory and practice are proportionally balanced and each topic consists of essentially four basic elements: fundamental principles, mathematical expressions and formulas, examples and illustrations, numerical data and applications. In order to keep its compactness, lengthy theoretical discussions and detailed mathematical derivations are avoided whenever possible.

Ultrashort laser pulses with durations in the femtosecond range up to a few picoseconds provide a unique method for precise materials processing or medical applications. Paired with the recent developments in ultrashort pulse lasers, this technology is finding its way into various application fields. The book gives a comprehensive overview of the principles and applications of ultrashort pulse lasers, especially applied to medicine and production technology. Recent advances in laser technology are discussed in detail. This covers the development of reliable and cheap low power laser sources as well as high average power ultrashort pulse lasers for large scale manufacturing. The fundamentals of laser-matter-interaction as well as processing strategies and the required system technology are discussed for these laser sources with respect to precise materials processing. Finally, different applications within medicine, measurement technology or materials processing are highlighted.