The Science of Radio

What's new in the second edition. A Note to Professors. Prologue. 1. Solution to an Old Problem. 2. Pre-Radio History of Radio Waves. 3. Antenna as Launchers and Interceptors of Electromagnetic Waves. 4. Early Radio. 5. Receiving Spark Transmitter Signals. 6. Mathematics of AM Sidebands. 7. First Continuous Waves and Heterodyne Concept. 8. Birth of Electronics. 9. Fourier Series and Their Physical Meaning. 10. Convergence in Energy of the Fourier Series. 11. Radio Spectrum of a Spark-Gap Transmitter. 12. Fourier Integral Theorem, and the Continuous Spectrum of a Non-Periodic Time Signal. 13. Physical Meaning of the Fourier Transform. 14. Impulse 'Functions in Time and Frequency. 15. Convolution Theorem, Frequency Shifts, and Causal Time Signals. 16. Multiplying by Squaring and Filtering. 17. Squaring and Multiplying with Matched Nonlinearities. 18. Multiplying by 'Sampling and Filtering'. 19 Synchronous Demodulation and Its Problems. 20. Analytic Signals and Single-Sideband Radio. 21 Denoument. Epilogue. Technical Appendices: Complex Exponentials. Linear Time-Invariant Systems. Two-Terminal Components, Kirchoff's Circuit Laws, etc. Thevenin's and Norton's Theorems. Resonance in Electrical Circuits. Differential and Operational Amplifiers. Order of Integration and Differentiating an Integral. Fourier Theorem. Hilbert Integral Transform. Table of Fourier Transforms. Last Words. Indexes

From the reviews:

"... The notes and problems at the end of each chapter are very helpful. There are many quotable passages ... In the final analysis, the book is definitely worth owning ... It is an extremely well written - but unusual - book that I highly recommend for all physicists."  The Physics Teacher

 

FROM THE REVIEWS:

ELECTRONIC DESIGN NEWS"Even though this 296-page textbook targets sophomore EE students, it has a place in the libraries of experienced Electrical Engineers. It does a good job not only of teaching the underlying theory of radio, but also of entertaining readers."

CHOICE MAGAZINE"Intended as a companion for students familiar with college physics and calculus and studying electrical engineering using AM radio theory, Nahin's work takes a unique teaching approach.  The 21 chapters are divided into four sections, sprinkled with humorous cartoons to pique reader interest...The work contains many fascinating ideas...Upper-division undergraduate; faculty; professional."

THE PHYSICS TEACHER"The book is unorthodox in many ways, from its presentation of the sophisticated mathematics of radio within the general chronology of the discovery and advance of radio art and technology to the inclusion of problems at the end of the appendices (I'm not certain I've ever seen that before!)...He never talks down to the reader (an elegant vocabulary is used) and seldom will a reader be bored. The notes and problems at the end of each chapter are very helpful. There are many quotable passages...In the final analysis, the book is definitely worth owning...It is an extremely well written - but unusual - book that I highly recommend for all physicists."