The Mathematical Radio: Inside the Magic of AM, FM, and Single-Sideband
Hardcover
- Price:
- $26.95/拢22.00
- ISBN:
- Published (US):
- Jan 16, 2024
- Published (UK):
- Mar 12, 2024
- Copyright:
- 2024
- Pages:
- 376
- Size:
- 6.13 x 9.25 in.
- 119 b/w illus.
ebook
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鈥檚 equations for the electromagnetic field. Readers need only a familarity with advanced high school鈥搇evel math to follow Nahin鈥檚 mathematical discussions. Writing with the nonengineer 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 鈥渃hallenge problems鈥� 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.
