Summary: Another collection of pearls of mathematical wisdom
If there were a mathematics of watching paint dry, Martin Gardner would make it interesting. Without peer as a popularizer of mathematics, he is equally adept at explaining all areas. This book, another updated collection of his Scientific American columns, is a twenty member set of polished pearls. Although somewhat mundane as a descriptive adjective, the word readable fits his writing like a custom made body stocking.

Wind and solar energy are pollution-free sources of abundant power. With renewable power generation expected to become more and more profitable with open access to transmission lines and rapid growth around the world, the design, operation, and control of alternative energy resources becomes an essential field of study.

Nanotechnology is revolutionising the world of materials. The research and development of nanofibres has gained much prominence in recent years due to the heightened awareness of its potential applications in the medical, engineering and defense fields. Among the most successful methods for producing nanofibres is the electrospinning process.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical for those dealing with toxic, infectious, and radioactive materials. An easily accessible guide for professionals and researchers in all PPE fields, this book takes a fresh look at how PPE is designed, selected, and used in today's emergency response environment where users may need to be protected against deliberately used chemical, biological, or radiological agents in terrorism or warfare scenarios as well as more traditional hazards. Covering the physics, chemistry, and physiology of these hazards, the book explains how PPE protects from various forms of hazards as well as how to use this information to select PPE against these highly hazardous substances for first responder or military users. The design of PPE and components plus relevant performance and evaluation standards are also discussed.