Machine Head Inside The Machine

Over 17 years and eight albums, heavy metal band Machine Head have sold millions of units, earned a Grammy nomination and won personal awards from Metal Hammer and other magazines. The story is a classic rise, fall and rise again scenario -- they exploded onto the metal scene in 1994, enjoyed a successful string of albums and then lost their way in the nu-metal era. Now they are in the middle of one of metal's most acclaimed comebacks. Joel McIver has interviewed all the band-members several times and has a unique insight into their rollercoaster story, which includes alcohol addiction, inter-band brawls and therapy, sackings, near-splits and two decades of the heaviest music known to man, delivered all over the world.

This book tells us how nuclear power works, what it looks like, and why it is safe. It explains how nuclear fission works, how nuclear reactors are controlled, and how their safety systems reliably protect us. For those of us who have never visited a nuclear power station, the author provides detailed descriptions, drawings, and photographs. He addresses our concerns about radiation protection, the economy of CANDU reactors, the lifespan of nuclear plants, and plant decommissioning. This book provides an understanding of the use of nuclear power, with its potential to protect our environment and decrease global warming.-- Publisher.

'A gripping new drama in science ... if you want to understand how the concept of life is changing, read this' Professor Andrew Briggs, University of Oxford When Darwin set out to explain the origin of species, he made no attempt to answer the deeper question: what is life? For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of this fundamental question. Life really does look like magic: even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so dazzling that no human engineer can match it. And yet, huge advances in molecular biology over the past few decades have served only to deepen the mystery. So can life be explained by known physics and chemistry, or do we need something fundamentally new? In this penetrating and wide-ranging new analysis, world-renowned physicist and science communicator Paul Davies searches for answers in a field so new and fast-moving that it lacks a name, a domain where computing, chemistry, quantum physics and nanotechnology intersect. At the heart of these diverse fields, Davies explains, is the concept of information: a quantity with the power to unify biology with physics, transform technology and medicine, and even to illuminate the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe. From life's murky origins to the microscopic engines that run the cells of our bodies, The Demon in the Machine is a breath-taking journey across the landscape of physics, biology, logic and computing. Weaving together cancer and consciousness, two-headed worms and bird navigation, Davies reveals how biological organisms garner and process information to conjure order out of chaos, opening a window on the secret of life itself.

Machine tools are the main production factor for many industrial applications in many important sectors. Recent developments in new motion devices and numerical control have lead to considerable technological improvements in machine tools. The use of five-axis machining centers has also spread, resulting in reductions in set-up and lead times. As a consequence, feed rates, cutting speed and chip section increased, whilst accuracy and precision have improved as well. Additionally, new cutting tools have been developed, combining tough substrates, optimal geometries and wear resistant coatings. “Machine Tools for High Performance Machining” describes in depth several aspects of machine structures, machine elements and control, and application. The basics, models and functions of each aspect are explained by experts from both academia and industry. Postgraduates, researchers and end users will all find this book an essential reference.

"Beautifully written, eloquently reasoned…Mr. Buonomano takes us off and running on an edifying scientific journey." —Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal In Your Brain Is a Time Machine, leading neuroscientist Dean Buonomano embarks on an "immensely engaging" exploration of how time works inside the brain (Barbara Kiser, Nature). The human brain, he argues, is a complex system that not only tells time, but creates it; it constructs our sense of chronological movement and enables "mental time travel"—simulations of future and past events. These functions are essential not only to our daily lives but to the evolution of the human race: without the ability to anticipate the future, mankind would never have crafted tools or invented agriculture. This virtuosic work of popular science will lead you to a revelation as strange as it is true: your brain is, at its core, a time machine.

An authority on creativity introduces us to AI-powered computers that are creating art, literature, and music that may well surpass the creations of humans. Today's computers are composing music that sounds “more Bach than Bach,” turning photographs into paintings in the style of Van Gogh's Starry Night, and even writing screenplays. But are computers truly creative—or are they merely tools to be used by musicians, artists, and writers? In this book, Arthur I. Miller takes us on a tour of creativity in the age of machines. Miller, an authority on creativity, identifies the key factors essential to the creative process, from “the need for introspection” to “the ability to discover the key problem.” He talks to people on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence, encountering computers that mimic the brain and machines that have defeated champions in chess, Jeopardy!, and Go. In the central part of the book, Miller explores the riches of computer-created art, introducing us to artists and computer scientists who have, among much else, unleashed an artificial neural network to create a nightmarish, multi-eyed dog-cat; taught AI to imagine; developed a robot that paints; created algorithms for poetry; and produced the world's first computer-composed musical, Beyond the Fence, staged by Android Lloyd Webber and friends. But, Miller writes, in order to be truly creative, machines will need to step into the world. He probes the nature of consciousness and speaks to researchers trying to develop emotions and consciousness in computers. Miller argues that computers can already be as creative as humans—and someday will surpass us. But this is not a dystopian account; Miller celebrates the creative possibilities of artificial intelligence in art, music, and literature.