This book covers the theoretical basis and practical aspects of the study of dielectric properties of biological systems, such as water, electrolyte and polyelectrolytes, solutions of biological macromolecules, cells suspensions and cellular systems.

Fractional Dynamics and Control provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the areas of nonlinear dynamics, vibration and control with analytical, numerical, and experimental results. This book provides an overview of recent discoveries in fractional control, delves into fractional variational principles and differential equations, and applies advanced techniques in fractional calculus to solving complicated mathematical and physical problems.Finally, this book also discusses the role that fractional order modeling can play in complex systems for engineering and science.

This bookis based on some of the lectures duringthe Paci?c Institute of Theoretical Physics (PITP) summer school on “Quantum Magnetism”, held during June 2006 in Les Houches, in the French Alps. The school was funded jointly by NATO, the CNRS, and PITP, and entirely organized by PITP. Magnetism is a somewhat peculiar research ?eld. It clearly has a quant- mechanical basis – the microscopic exchange interactions arise entirely from the exclusion principle, in conjunction with repulsive interactions between electrons. And yet until recently the vast majority of magnetism researchersand users of m- netic phenomena around the world paid no attention to these quantum-mechanical roots. Thus, e.g., the huge ($400 billion per annum) industry which manufactures hard discs, and other components in the information technology sector, depends entirely on room-temperature properties of magnets – yet at the macroscopic or mesoscopic scales of interest to this industry, room-temperature magnets behave entirely classically.

The book is focused on the use of functional oxide and nitride films to enlarge the application range of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), including micro-sensors, micro-actuators, transducers, and electronic components for microwaves and optical communications systems. Applications, emerging applications, fabrication technology and functioning issues are presented and discussed. The book covers the following topics: Part A: Applications and devices with electroceramic-based MEMS: Chemical microsensors Microactuators based on thin films Micromachined ultrasonic transducers Thick-film piezoelectric and magnetostrictive devices Pyroelectric microsystems RF bulk acoustic wave resonators and filters High frequency tunable devices MEMS for optical functionality Part B: Materials, fabrication technology, and functionality: Ceramic thick films for MEMS Piezoelectric thin films for MEMS Materials and technology in thin films for tunable high frequency devices Permittivity, tunability and loss in ferroelectrics for reconfigurable high frequency electronics Microfabrication of piezoelectric MEMS Nano patterning methods for electroceramics Soft lithography emerging techniques The book is addressed to engineers, scientists and researchers of various disciplines, device engineers, materials engineers, chemists, physicists and microtechnologists who are working and/or interested in this fast growing and highly promising field. The publication of this book follows a Special Issue on electroceramic-based MEMS that was published in the Journal of Electroceramics at the beginning of 2004. The ten invited papers of that special issue were adapted by the authors into chapters of the present book and five additional chapters were added.

Dielectrics in Electric Fields explores the influence of electric fields on dielectric—i.e., non-conducting or insulating—materials, examining the distinctive behaviors of these materials through well-established principles of physics and engineering. Featuring five new chapters, nearly 200 new figures, and more than 800 new citations, this fully updated and significantly expanded Second Edition: Analyzes inorganic substances with real-life applications in harsh working conditions such as outdoor, nuclear, and space environments Introduces methods for measuring dielectric properties at microwave frequencies, presenting results obtained for specific materials Discusses the application of dielectric theory in allied fields such as corrosion studies, civil engineering, and health sciences Combines in one chapter coverage of electrical breakdown in gases with breakdown in micrometric gaps Offers extensive coverage of electron energy distribution—essential knowledge required for the application of plasma sciences in medical science Delivers a detailed review of breakdown in liquids, along with an overview of electron mobility, providing a clear understanding of breakdown phenomena Explains breakdown in solid dielectrics such as single crystals, polycrystalline and amorphous states, thin films, and powders compressed to form pellets Addresses the latest advances in dielectric theory and research, including cutting-edge nanodielectric materials and their practical applications Blends early classical papers that laid the foundation for much of the dielectric theory with more recent work The author has drawn from more than 55 years of research studies and experience in the areas of high-voltage engineering, power systems, and dielectric materials and systems to supply both aspiring and practicing engineers with a comprehensive, authoritative source for up-to-date information on dielectrics in electric fields.

Uncover the Defects that Compromise Performance and ReliabilityAs microelectronics features and devices become smaller and more complex, it is critical that engineers and technologists completely understand how components can be damaged during the increasingly complicated fabrication processes required to produce them.A comprehensive survey of defe

The first derivative of a particle coordinate means its velocity, the second means its acceleration, but what does a fractional order derivative mean? Where does it come from, how does it work, where does it lead to? The two-volume book written on high didactic level answers these questions. Fractional Derivatives for Physicists and Engineers— The first volume contains a clear introduction into such a modern branch of analysis as the fractional calculus. The second develops a wide panorama of applications of the fractional calculus to various physical problems. This book recovers new perspectives in front of the reader dealing with turbulence and semiconductors, plasma and thermodynamics, mechanics and quantum optics, nanophysics and astrophysics. The book is addressed to students, engineers and physicists, specialists in theory of probability and statistics, in mathematical modeling and numerical simulations, to everybody who doesn't wish to stay apart from the new mathematical methods becoming more and more popular. Prof. Vladimir V. UCHAIKIN is a known Russian scientist and pedagogue, a Honored Worker of Russian High School, a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. He is the author of about three hundreds articles and more than a dozen books (mostly in Russian) in Cosmic ray physics, Mathematical physics, Levy stable statistics, Monte Carlo methods with applications to anomalous processes in complex systems of various levels: from quantum dots to the Milky Way galaxy.