Modern Instrumentation

Book excerpt: Modern science and engineering relies heavily on understanding computer hardware and software in order to make effective use of these tools in the laboratory and industrial environments. The authors of Modern Instrumentation: A Computer Approach have succeeded in producing a highly readable source that will serve both newcomers to the field as well as experienced professionals. Including both fundamentals and applications, the book first describes the role of the computer in instrument systems and provides numerous practical examples. The second part of the book explores specific software packages and their capabilities for applications such as, instrument design and simulation, data acquisition, data processing, and the potential of artificial intelligence in instrument design. Because of the full integration of theory with practical applications of leading software packages, this book is an extremely useful reference for those who use computer-based instrument technology for data acquisition and who are involved with hardware or software development for laboratory and process control.