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The Mathematical Radio
Inside the Magic of AM, FM, and Single-Sideband
Brief Description
The modern radio is a wonder, and behind that magic is mathematics. In The Mathematical Radio, Paul Nahin explains how radios work, deploying mathematics and historical discussion, accompanied by a steady stream of intriguing puzzles for math buffs to ponder. Beginning with oscillators and circuits, then...
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Format: Hardback
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Description
The modern radio is a wonder, and behind that magic is mathematics. In The Mathematical Radio, Paul Nahin explains how radios work, deploying mathematics and historical discussion, accompanied by a steady stream of intriguing puzzles for math buffs to ponder.
Beginning with oscillators and circuits, then moving on to AM, FM, and single-sideband radio, Nahin focuses on the elegant mathematics underlying radio technology rather than the engineering. He explores and explains more than a century of key developments, placing them in historical and technological context.
Nahin, a prolific author of books on math for the general reader, describes in fascinating detail the mathematical underpinnings of a technology we use daily. He explains and solves, for example, Maxwell's equations for the electromagnetic field. Readers need only a familiarity with advanced high school-level math to follow Nahin's mathematical discussions.
Writing with the non-engineer in mind, Nahin examines topics including impulses in time and frequency, spectrum shifting at the transmitter, the superheterodyne, the physics of single-sideband radio, and FM sidebands. Chapters end with 'challenge problems' and an appendix offers solutions, partial answers, and hints. Readers will come away with a new appreciation for the beauty of even the most useful mathematics.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780691235318
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 16 January 2024
Country: United States
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Illustration: 119 b/w illus.
Contributors:
- Foreword by Andrew Simoson
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 156.0mm
Height: 235.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 376
About the Author
Paul J. Nahin is emeritus professor of electrical engineering at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of many popular math books, including most recently In Pursuit of Zeta-3: The World's Most Mysterious Unsolved Math Problem; Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons: From the Mathematics of Heat to the Development of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable; and How to Fall Slower Than Gravity: And Other Everyday (and Not So Everyday) Uses of Mathematics and Physical Reasoning (all Princeton).
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The Mathematical Radio
The modern radio is a wonder, and behind that magic is mathematics. In The Mathematical Radio, Paul Nahin explains how radios work, deploying mathematics and historical discussion, accompanied by a steady stream of intriguing puzzles for maths buffs to ponder. Beginning with oscillators and circuits, then moving on to AM, FM, and single-sideband radio, Nahin focuses on the elegant mathematics...Paperback$4900Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
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Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons
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For centuries, mathematicians the world over have tried, and failed, to solve the zeta-3 problem. Math genius Leonhard Euler attempted it in the 1700s and came up short. The straightforward puzzle considers if there exists a simple symbolic formula for the following: 1+(1/2)^3+(1/3)^3+(1/4)^3+... But why is this issue—the sum of the reciprocals of the positive integers cubed—so important? With In...PaperbackSold Out -
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In the mid-eighteenth century, Swiss-born mathematician Leonhard Euler developed a formula so innovative and complex that it continues to inspire research, discussion, and even the occasional limerick. Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula shares the fascinating story of this groundbreaking formula—long regarded as the gold standard for mathematical beauty—and shows why it still lies at the heart of complex number theory. In...Paperback$6499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Will You Be Alive 10 Years from Now?
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Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons
An entertaining mathematical exploration of the heat equation and its role in the triumphant development of the trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. Heat, like gravity, shapes nearly every aspect of our world and universe, from how milk dissolves in coffee to how molten planets cool. The heat equation, a cornerstone of modern physics, demystifies such processes, painting a mathematical picture of the...PaperbackSold Out -
How to Fall Slower Than Gravity
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For centuries, mathematicians the world over have tried, and failed, to solve the zeta-3 problem. Math genius Leonhard Euler attempted it in the 1700s and came up short. The straightforward puzzle considers if there exists a simple symbolic formula for the following: 1+(1/2)^3+(1/3)^3+(1/4)^3+... But why is this issue—the sum of the reciprocals of the positive integers cubed—so important? With In...PaperbackSold Out -
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