Brian M. Shaw

Book Review: Noise and Other Interfering SignalsNoise and Other Interfering Signals: MORRISONR. (J. Wiley, 1992, 144 pp., £27.80 hardback)

useful graphical procedure for the determination of disturbance thresholds. Chapter II contains an essentially descriptive treatment of impulsive phenomena and effects with methods for their suppression. The final chapter reviews the legislative issues and introduces the measurement procedures necessary to certify equipment and systems. B. A. AUSTIN, Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool

Book Review: Phase-Locked Loops — principles and practicePhase-Locked Loops — principles and practice: BRENNANP. V. (Macmillan, 1996, 204 pp., £22 hardback)

and post-compensation. These are well summarised, with 139 references for readers to pursue any topic further. The tenth and final chapter concerns soliton-based communications beginning with the soliton physics and progressing to a very substantial treatment of soliton-based communication systems. This chapter has been greatly expanded to reflect the research effort that has occurred in this area since the first edition. The number of pages has been more than doubled and the references have grown in proportion to number in excess of two hundred. A section discussing the fundamentals of soliton-based transmission covers, inter alia, the transmission of information using solitons, methods for soliton generation and soliton amplification. Soliton system design is tackled via the average soliton approach, with subsequent discussion of jitter and experimental progress. The final two sections extend the coverage to high capacity and WDM soliton systems. There is a selection of problems at the end of each chapter but no solutions are provided. Although the inclusion of full worked answers is not perhaps appropriate to a mainly graduate level text, the addition of numerical answers would be helpful. For those in possession of the first edition, I think the balance just tips in favour of a purchase unless funds are very short. Other readers searching for a wide ranging and up to date view of fibre-optic communication systems would do well to purchase this book. MARK LEESON Department oj Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University

Book Review: Works 3, 2nd EdWorks 3, 2nd Ed.: WEALED.(Letts Educational Software-Guide Series — originally published by DP Publications, 1996, 159 pp., £6.95 paperback)

The World Wide Web for Scientists and Engineers: B. THOMAS (I.E.E. (co-publication with SPIE Press, USA) 1998, 356 pp., £25 (

Book Review: The Essence of Analogue ElectronicsThe Essence of Analogue Electronics: COLINLUNN (Prentice Hall, The Essence of Engineering Series, 1997, 325 pp., £14.95 paperback)

34) paperback) Over recent years email and the World Wide Web have become significant in the working lives of scientists and engineers, among others. Scientists and engineers find email vital for communication between colleagues, both locally within their own organisation, and worldwide. The World Wide Web has become essential for the presentation of information about ones own activities and even more importantly as a research tool, through which one learns of work elsewhere. Brian Thomass enthusiasm for both email and the World Wide Web is evident from his text. The early chapters of Part One of his book deal with the history of the Internet and Internet providers and provide useful background to the successful use of both email and the World Wide Web. Part Two discusses Web authoring and publishing in some detail while Part Three discusses searching and researching on the Web. An extended glossary of more than two hundred pages provides, under a wide variety of subject specialities, the Web addresses of many technical organisations and university departments. While many are located in the USA, thus reflecting the authors location, coverage is, indeed, worldwide. The book is aimed at professionals who are already using the Internet and is not for beginners. It will not materially assist those for whom the topic is a mystery. For those with some knowledge and experience the book will prove most useful and is recommended. The price of £25 is very reasonable. MICHAEL G. HARTLEY Co-editor IJEEE

Book Review: Word 6, 2nd EdWord 6, 2nd Ed.: COLESS. and ROWLEYJ.(Letts Educational Software-Guide Series, 1997, 176 pp., £6.95 paperback)

The Essence of Analogue Electronics: COLIN LUNN (Prentice Hall, The Essence of Engineering Series, 1997, 325 pp., £14.95 paperback) This is the second book of this new series which I have reviewed. The series is intended to provide a concise, practical, and uniform introduction to the core components of an undergraduate engineering degree. About six titles have been published to date, and about four more are in preparation. This book has ten chapters in all. The first introduction chapter deals with passive components and some simple concept and principles of circuit theory. It sets-the style and tone of the book with:

Book Review: Ultrasonic Measurements and TechnologiesUltrasonic Measurements and Technologies:ŠTEFANKOČIŠ and ZDENKOFIGURA (Chapman and Hall, Sensor Physics and Technology Series No. 4, 1996, 218 pp., £35 hardback)

I heard on the radio very recently that fewer than 20% of schoolteachers in the UK are comfortable, or conversant, with computers, and that the government is going to take urgent steps to redress this situation. I would recommend this book and others in the series to such teachers, or anyone else, who want a user-friendly, painless introduction to the information technology topics covered. BRIAN M. SHAW Department of Electrical and Electranic Engineering, Facility of Engineering and Infarmation Sciences, University of Hertfardshire

Book Review: Aircraft Structures and Systems:Aircraft Structures and Systems: WILKINSONR. (Longman, 1996, 201 pp., £19.95 paperback)

1 GHz, including VHF and UHF coverage. Wideband propagation is comprehensively included, with application to terrestrial trunk routes, to mobile cellular networks, and to earth-space paths. Finally, there is a brief review on applications of millimetric waves. Considerable emphasis is given to texts of the Radiocommunication Sector of the International Telecommunication Union. Such texts generally cover material widely accepted in the discipline after extensive professional study reaching international concurrence. The book is an updated version of Radiowave Propagation, edited by M. P. M. Hall and L. W. Barclay, published by the lEE in 1989. The authorship is slightly changed, and the new version includes very extensive additions. I am pleased to have copies of both books. It is intended for a wide readership; for those engaged in postgraduate studies or research, for those in industry Or in operating organisations who are concerned with the design and planning of radio systems, and for others wishing to improve their familiarity with radio propagation. Radio communication is a continuously developing subject, and an understanding of propagation is fundamental to the design of communi, cation, radar and broadcasting systems. GEOFFREY F. GOTT Professor ofDigital Communication Engineering UMIST

Book Review: Surface-Penetrating Radar:Surface-Penetrating Radar: DANIELSD. J. (IEE Radar, Sonar, Navigation and Avionics Series: Volume 6, 1996, 300 pp., £85 hardback)

are still being developed and put to use in a variety of ever more daring applications. Thus the conference title (and thus the title for this book) is very much justified: Advanced and Intelligent. Consequently, the appeal should go wider than the researchers involved in robotics or machines. The range of subjects touched in the conference highlights the multi-disciplinary nature of robotics and reveals a little of the continuing fascination with robotics experienced again and again by engineers. KLAUS SELKE Department of Electronics, University of Hull

Book Review: Introduction to Electric Circuits (3rd Ed.):Introduction to Electric Circuits (3rd Ed.): DORFRICHARD C. and SVOBODAJAMES A. (John Wiley, 1996, 998 pp., £21.95 hardback)

The first part contains 9 chapters. In this part, the fundamentals such as input/output files, matrix and scalar operations, polynomials and interpolation, and graphics are described. MATLAB programming and debugging are also discussed. Further, a class of operators for numerical analysis, for example, derivatives and integrals, optimizations of nonlinear equations, solution of differential equations, are described. The second part contains 9 chapters. In this part, the main features of SIMULiNK are described with examples of building and analysing SIMULINK schemes. SIMULINK is described in further detail with special emphasis on modelling continuous and discrete (or, hybrid) nonlinear systems, time-varying systems, and multivariable systems with examples included. The methods of grouping SIMULINK blocks into multilevel or hierarchical blocks and an overview of the functions of SIMULINK blocks are included. The third part, containing 7 chapters, describes the use of the Control System toolbox. This includes models of continuous-time linear time-invariant (LTI) systems, time-domain and frequency domain responses, root locus, state feedback such as feedback gain design, Kalman filter, and many more. The corresponding methods for discrete-time systems are then described. Many practical examples are included in these chapters. In Appendices, readers can find more details on advanced graphic functions, graphic user interface design and writing S-functions. This book contains 404 pages, not so thick as far as the coverage of its contents is concerned, yet, it contains most essential and useful information for the user. IRENE Y. H. GU Department of Applied Electronics, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

Book Reviews: The Informatics Handbook — A guide to multimedia communications and broadcasting:The Informatics Handbook — A guide to multimedia communications and broadcasting: FISTS. (Chapman and Hall, 1995, 746 pp., £35 paperback)

Some mathematical background knowledge of calculus and rotational theory is assumed for the early chapters. More rigorous mathematical equations are derived and developed later in the book. A proof relating to the p-n junction at equilibrium is given in Appendix B. Through The Essence of Solid-State Electronics, the author has fulfilled her aim of producing a concise (and affordable) introductory test for science and engineering undergraduate study. In doing so, she has created a highly recommendable book which, at the very least, presents detailed theory in a clear and compact manner and, if fully utilised, will lead to a thorough understanding of that theory and stimulate the readers desire for more knowledge. CHRISTINE HILLYAR De Montfort University, Leicester