Optical Measurements: Techniques and Applications, 2nd edn
Franz Mayinger and Oliver Feldmann · Measurement Science and Technology · 2002
Many students and researchers in the field of fluid mechanics or heat and mass transfer may already be familiar with the first edition of this book from 1994 under the editorship of Franz Mayinger. Keeping with its proven format, this new edition comprises the completely revised first edition and includes new chapters on the phase Doppler technique and on particle image velocimetry. Furthermore, a CD-ROM has been included, demonstrating the application of many of the techniques in the form of high-speed movies. These are all welcome additions to the book, which now covers the most commonplace techniques based on elastic and inelastic light scattering. The actual contents of the book are described well by the 16 chapter titles: Introduction, The Schlieren Technique, Fundamentals of Holography and Interferometry, Holographic Interferometry, Short Time Holography, Evaluation of Holograms by Digital Signal Processing, Light Scattering, Laser-Doppler Velocimetry, Phase Doppler Anemometry, Dynamic Light Scattering, Raman Scattering, Laser Induced Fluorescence, Absorption, Pyrometry and Thermography, Tomography, and Particle Image Velocimetry. The level at which each subject is covered varies somewhat, with a clear preference for holographic-based techniques. Several chapters on fundamentals, e.g. light scattering or absorption, greatly improve the readability of the book while maintaining detail where necessary. The rather large list of references will be very helpful for those readers requiring further information. A very distinctive feature of this book is its liberal use of application examples, not just on the CD-ROM. A large majority of these examples come from the fields of heat transfer or combustion, areas for which Professor Mayringer's institute in Munich is well known. The book should be of great interest for graduate students, engineers and researchers involved in these fields and in the general field of fluid mechanics. It is perhaps less appropriate as a textbook accompanying a lecture course, at least without supplemental background material. A total of 22 authors have contributed to the content. Unlike many similar attempts at collectively writing a book, a conscious effort has been made to include cross-references between chapters. The difficulty of inconsistent nomenclature has been solved by including a table of nomenclature for each individual chapter. Similarly, the citations, although numbered consecutively, are divided into chapter-related alphabetical lists. Indeed, the book makes a surprisingly homogeneous impression, despite the large author list. Perhaps the most distracting point is the rather poor English and grammar and it is disappointing that the publisher did not value this aspect of the production more highly. In summary, it is hard to imagine a laboratory in fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, combustion engineering or process engineering that would not benefit from having this book available in its library. Cam Tropea