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Principles of environmental physics (contemporary biology series)
I
Book
Reviews
PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSICS (Contemporary Biology Series), by John L. Monteith. 241 pages, diaLgrams, 5) x 84 in. New York, American Elsevier Publishing Co., 1973. Price, $20.00. Monteith’s book is well written, although the title is misleading. It is really a text on microclimatology intended mainly for biologists. It therefore presents first all the basic physics necessary to deal eventually with the microclimatology of crops, and it does this very well; in fact, many nonbiologists and even physicists and engineers will fmd this volume a convenient and concise introduction to the subject, as well ss a most useful reference. The rigor is adequate, the detlnitions are precise, and there is a great deal of useful empirical information. The topics covered include the gas laws, molecular transfer processes, radiation laws, solar radiation, terrestrial radiation balances, boundary layer problems, including momentum and heat transfer, es well as all kinds of numerical formulae and data which would be hard to find elsewhere. S. FRED SINGER Department of Environmental Servicea University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia
IDENTIFICATION OF SYSTEMS, by Daniel Graupe. 276 pages, diagrams, 6 x 9 in. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1972. Price, $14.85. This addition to the books already published on identification is largely directed at students and practicing control engineers. It presents in a comprehensive manner an introduction to most of the presently available system identification techniques. In the early chapters the concepts of controllability and observability and the relation between state space and transfer functions are developed and frequency, step and impulse response techniques
discussed. A useful chapter is devoted entirely to correlation techniques. Regression techniques receive adequate coverage (two chapters); and the stochastic approximation and sequential learning identification are combined in one chapter, the later aspect receives the fuller treatment. Three small chapters introduce the quasilinearization approach, invariant imbedding identification and heuristic identification; and provide an adequate introduction to these topics. Predictive techniques valid for linear and nonlinear systems are given a rigorous treatment and many useful modern references are included. The book concludes with an entire chapter dealing with the effects of identification errors. It illustrates the parameters where identification errors may result in large deviations of the true control performance from the expected performance computed on the basis of the identification, an area sometimes overlooked. Over 120 references on the numerous aspects of identification discussed are quoted and each chapter concludes by presenting problems. A useful feature is the inclusion of solutions to some selected problems. The book is well written and has much to recommend it to the students of identification. ROBERT J. SIMPSON Department of Electrical and Electron& Engineering Preston Polytechnic Preston, England SURVEY OF PROGRESSIN CHEMISTRY, Vol. 6, edited by Arthur F. Scott. 340 pages, diagrams, 6 x 9 in. New York and London, Academic Press Inc., 1973. Price, $29.50; U4.15. It is somewhat difficult to critically review, in the sense of expertise, a book that is made up of five specialized topics, not directly related to each other, each written by recognized experts in their
301
Book
Reviews
PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSICS (Contemporary Biology Series), by John L. Monteith. 241 pages, diaLgrams, 5) x 84 in. New York, American Elsevier Publishing Co., 1973. Price, $20.00. Monteith’s book is well written, although the title is misleading. It is really a text on microclimatology intended mainly for biologists. It therefore presents first all the basic physics necessary to deal eventually with the microclimatology of crops, and it does this very well; in fact, many nonbiologists and even physicists and engineers will fmd this volume a convenient and concise introduction to the subject, as well ss a most useful reference. The rigor is adequate, the detlnitions are precise, and there is a great deal of useful empirical information. The topics covered include the gas laws, molecular transfer processes, radiation laws, solar radiation, terrestrial radiation balances, boundary layer problems, including momentum and heat transfer, es well as all kinds of numerical formulae and data which would be hard to find elsewhere. S. FRED SINGER Department of Environmental Servicea University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia
IDENTIFICATION OF SYSTEMS, by Daniel Graupe. 276 pages, diagrams, 6 x 9 in. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1972. Price, $14.85. This addition to the books already published on identification is largely directed at students and practicing control engineers. It presents in a comprehensive manner an introduction to most of the presently available system identification techniques. In the early chapters the concepts of controllability and observability and the relation between state space and transfer functions are developed and frequency, step and impulse response techniques
discussed. A useful chapter is devoted entirely to correlation techniques. Regression techniques receive adequate coverage (two chapters); and the stochastic approximation and sequential learning identification are combined in one chapter, the later aspect receives the fuller treatment. Three small chapters introduce the quasilinearization approach, invariant imbedding identification and heuristic identification; and provide an adequate introduction to these topics. Predictive techniques valid for linear and nonlinear systems are given a rigorous treatment and many useful modern references are included. The book concludes with an entire chapter dealing with the effects of identification errors. It illustrates the parameters where identification errors may result in large deviations of the true control performance from the expected performance computed on the basis of the identification, an area sometimes overlooked. Over 120 references on the numerous aspects of identification discussed are quoted and each chapter concludes by presenting problems. A useful feature is the inclusion of solutions to some selected problems. The book is well written and has much to recommend it to the students of identification. ROBERT J. SIMPSON Department of Electrical and Electron& Engineering Preston Polytechnic Preston, England SURVEY OF PROGRESSIN CHEMISTRY, Vol. 6, edited by Arthur F. Scott. 340 pages, diagrams, 6 x 9 in. New York and London, Academic Press Inc., 1973. Price, $29.50; U4.15. It is somewhat difficult to critically review, in the sense of expertise, a book that is made up of five specialized topics, not directly related to each other, each written by recognized experts in their
301