Visualising Magnetic Fields: Numerical Equation Solvers in Action [Hardcover]

John Stuart Beeteson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0120847310 | ISBN-13: 978-0120847310 | Publication Date: December 21, 2000 | Edition: 1

Visualizing Magnetic Fields: Numerical Equation Solvers in Action provides a complete description of the theory behind a new technique, a detailed discussion of the ways of solving the equations (including a software visualization of the solution algorithms), the application software itself, and the full source code. Most importantly, there is a succinct, easy-to-follow description of each procedure in the code.

The physicist Michael Faraday said that the study of magnetic lines of force was greatly influential in leading him to formulate many of those concepts that are now so fundamental to our modern world, proving to him their "great utility as well as fertility." Michael Faraday could only visualize these lines in his mind's eye and, even with modern computers to help us, it has been very expensive and time consuming to plot lines of force in magnetic fields.

* Overview of the physics of magnetic fields
* Complete description of the theory behind the new technique
* Overview of the theory of Gaussian elimination and Conjugate Gradient equation solvers (including a software application to visualise the algorithms in action)
* Application software itself, the full-source code and a plain English description of each procedure in the code

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The physicist Michael Faraday said that the study of magnetic lines of force was greatly influential in leading him to formulate many of those concepts that are now so fundamental to our modern world, proving to him their "great utility as well as fertility." Michael Faraday could only visualise these lines in his mind's eye and, even with modern computers to help us, it has been very expensive and time consuming to plot lines of force. This unique CD-ROM and book features a new technique that allows the visualisation of magnetic fields and magnetic flux density in a simple, fast and intuitive way. The book also explains how the new method and numerical equation solving algorithms work.

Key features:
* An overview of the physics of magnetic fields
* A complete description of the theory behind the new technique
* An overview of the theory of Gaussian elimination and Conjugate Gradient equation solvers (including a software application to visualise the algorithms in action)
* Application software itself, the full source code and a plain English description of each procedure in the code
Undergraduate and graduate students in electrical and electronic engineering, as well as physics, will find this CD-ROM and book indispensable in the study of magnetic fields. To practising engineers, industrial and academic scientists Visualising Magnetic Fields: Numerical Equation Solvers in Action will provide a versatile tool in research and teaching. Software programmers working with event driven code and mathematicians interested in algorithm visualisation will also find this CD-ROM and book a useful source of information.
John S. Beeteson retired as a senior research scientist at IBM Greenock in 1998 after 20 years with IBM. He holds 40 US patents and many others worldwide, and was the inventor and co-inventor of two new magnetically based display technologies. Prior to joining the digital computer industry, Mr. Beeteson worked on radar systems and analogue computing.

About the Author

John S. Beeteson retired as a senior research scientist at IBM Greenock in 1998 after 20 years with IBM. He holds 40 US patents and many others worldwide, and was the inventor and co-inventor of two new magnetically based display technologies. Prior to joining the digital computer industry, Mr. Beeteson worked on radar systems and analogue computing.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 1 edition (December 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0120847310
• ISBN-13: 978-0120847310
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,178,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of "Visualising Magnetic Fields", February 12, 2001

By 

Dr Andrew R Knox (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Visualising Magnetic Fields: Numerical Equation Solvers in Action (Hardcover)

This book provides a no-nonsense introduction to the ideas and concepts of magnetic field visualisation. Electromagnetics is a large and complex field and, as such, can be difficult to obtain an intuitive grasp of. This book presents the basic ideas of magnetic field analysis in a simple and orderly manner with examples to demonstrate the important fundamental concepts. This makes it an ideal companion for more rigourous texts on the subject that go into greater detail where necessary.

The use of numerical analysis tools is widely regarded as essential for more than the simplest of geometries. Frequently these tools require a substantial knowledge in order to be able to apply them to the problem at hand. With the use of the author's visualisation of numerical solvers in action the user is able to understand how the computation process develops in solving in 2D a mathematical representation of the field problem. This understanding is essential if the reader wishes to progress to the more challenging 3D simulation environment, especially for those creating rather than just applying the simulation software.

Overall I found the book useful as a means of introducing the subject and would recommend it to students in their last year of school or as an introductory text in undergraduate studies. In addition to students of Physics and Electrical Engineering, the underlying concepts covered are similar to those for mechanical analysis (stress, strain, distortion) and computational fluid dynamics, including heat flow problems. Thus students in the other Engineering disciplines will find something useful in the book and especially the accompanying software.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Electromagnetism CAN be fun!, May 17, 2001

By 

Dr Tony Lowe (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Visualising Magnetic Fields: Numerical Equation Solvers in Action (Hardcover)

This book is a delight! If only it had been available during those less than interesting lectures on electromagnetic theory..........

Here, the reader can simulate almost any combination of magnets, conductors and external fields and visualize the result in a number of different ways. So this book and its accompanying software will find use in grade school, universities and industry. The visual impact of the approach used by John Beeteson should prove inspirational to younger students. I would recommend that any teacher involved in this subject should buy this book and try it out.

I have used the software on a W98 notebook computer and on a powerful dual processor NT machine. It works just fine in both cases.