The technology behind computers, fiber optics, and networks did not originate in the minds of engineers attempting to build an Internet. The Internet is a culmination of intellectual work by thousands of minds spanning hundreds of years. We have built concept upon concept and technology upon technology to arrive at where we are today, in a world co

From computers to optical communication, this text explores core principles underlying those technologies that continue to revolutionize our lives. Designed for nonscientists, this book requires no higher math or prior physics. It details basic physics principles at the core of information technology; examines the quantum era, discussing digital

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A suspenseful story about the dangers of unknowingly revealing our most intimate thoughts and actions online What happens when a naive intern is granted unfettered access to people's most private thoughts and actions? Stephen Thorpe lands a coveted internship at Ubatoo, an Internet empire that provides its users with popular online services, from a search engine and e-mail, to social networking. When Stephen’s boss asks him to work on a project with the American Coalition for Civil Liberties, Stephen innocently obliges, believing he is mining Ubatoo’s vast databases to protect people unfairly targeted in the name of national security. But nothing is as it seems. Suspicious individuals surface, doing all they can to access Ubatoo’s wealth of confidential information. This need not require technical wizardry—simply knowing how to manipulate a well-intentioned intern may be enough. The Silicon Jungle is a cautionary fictional tale of data mining’s promise and peril. Baluja raises ethical questions about contemporary technological innovations, and how minute details can be routinely pieced together into rich profiles that reveal our habits, goals, and secret desires—all ready to be exploited.

Detection of Light provides a comprehensive overview of the important approaches to photon detection from ultraviolet to submillimeter spectral regions. This expanded and fully updated second edition discusses recently introduced types of detector such as superconducting tunnel junctions, hot electron bolometer mixers, and fully depleted CCDs. Material from many disciplines is combined into a comprehensive and unified treatment of the detection of light, with emphasis on the underlying physical principles. This self-contained text assumes only an undergraduate level of physics, and is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.