Customer Reviews

Theory of Magnetic Recording

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book should be on the bookshelf of every serious worker in magnetic recording. While there are numerous introductory texts on magnetic recording, Bertram gives the reader in-depth treatments of transition models, non-linear bit shift, non-linear amplitude loss, and overwrite that are based on very clear models of the recording process and lead to useful back-of-the-envelope expressions that are readily compared with experiment. His discussions of medium noise mechanisms (such as fluctuations or jitter in transition position and slope in thin film media) are unexcelled. The level of mathematics assumes a good preparation at the college senior or graudate level. It would be great to have a second edition of this book such that a number of typos and errors could be cleared up.

The book covers fundamental principles in magnetic recording. It has rich content and inspiring discussion that reflect the author's subtle understanding and experience in the field. A must for pro's in magnetic recording.

I think Bertram's book needs to be more explanatory in nature for the maths and physics, not everybody has the mathematical and physics background to read the book, especially for engineers. I have written somewhere else that unless you have solid understanding in undergraduate and graduate engineering electromagnetic theory, this book is very hard to understand. It is a killer. Since I have not understood it, I give this book low rating. But I bet that as I understand the book better, the book rating will go up.

This book is extremely complex. The book assumes you already have a great understanding of magnetic recording terminology and physics. I wouldn't need the book if I understood it already. The constant mention of references detracts from the information flow. Complex mathematical formulations are tossed around like there was nothing to them. Terminology & technology is often referenced w/o any explanation to the reader.