JEFF HECHT

This instructors guide is written to accompany to the fifth edition of Understanding Fiber Optics by Jeff Hecht, originally published by Pearson/Prentice-Hall in 2006 and later republished by Laser Light Press. It is being published now to help readers using the book in self-study of fiber optics, because nothing like it has been published since then. It includes answers to quiz questions and "questions to think about" in the book, and worked-out calculations for many of the problems in the book. It also include suggestions for teachers on how to present material in the book, an explanation of the structure of the book, and supplementary material including references and links available when the fifth edition of the book was published in 2006. The author has not tried to update links other than his own.

The whole story of laser weapons with a focus on its many interesting characters and sometimes bizarre schemes The laser--a milestone invention of the mid-twentieth century--quickly captured the imagination of the Pentagon as the key to the ultimate weapon. Veteran science writer Jeff Hecht tells the inside story of the adventures and misadventures of scientists and military strategists as they exerted Herculean though often futile efforts to adapt the laser for military uses. From the 1950s sci-fi vision of the "death ray," through the Reagan administrations "Star Wars" missile defense system, to more promising developments today, Hecht provides an entertaining history. As the author illustrates, there has always been a great deal of enthusiasm and false starts surrounding lasers. He describes a giant laser that filled a Boeing 747, lasers powered like rocket engines, plans for an orbiting fleet of robotic laser battle stations to destroy nuclear missiles, claims that nuclear bombs could produce intense X-ray laser beams, and a scheme to bounce laser beams off giant orbiting relay mirrors. Those far-out ideas remain science fiction. Meanwhile, in civilian sectors, the laser is already being successfully used in fiber optic cables, scanners, medical devices, and industrial cutting tools. Now those laser cutting tools are leading to a new generation of laser weapons that just might stop insurgent rockets. Replete with interesting characters, bizarre schemes, and wonderful inventions, this is a well-told tale about the evolution of technology and the reaches of human ambition.

Beam Weapons describes the roots of Ronald Reagans Star Wars quest for a strategic defense system to intercept and destroy nuclear ballistic missiles before they could reach their targets. The goal was to develop radically new beam weapons that destroyed nuclear missiles with directed energy laser beams or charged particles.The daring program was born at a time of intense technological optimism, when NASA talked of weekly space shuttle flights. Pentagon planners envisioned a fleet of orbiting laser battle stations that could blast thousands of nuclear missiles out of the sky. Critics dubbed the plan an impossible Star Wars fantasy. The controversy quickly grew heated.In Beam Weapons, Jeff Hecht focuses on the core technical issues. He tells how lasers and particle beams work, explains what is needed for effective missile defense, and carefully analyzes the feasibility of proposed systems. More than 30 years later, the Cold War is history, but the technology Reagan sought remains beyond the state of the art.Originally published as Beam Weapons: The Next Arms Race in 1984, the book has a new subtitle to reflect its historical import. A new epilogue recalls key events of the intervening decades, and describes the Pentagons new generation of more modest laser weapons.Science and technology writer Jeff Hecht is the author of Understanding Lasers, Beam: The Race To Make The Laser, Laser Pioneers, and Understanding Fiber Optics.

Adventures in Self-Republishing is a guide for authors who want to revive out of print books by republishing them in print or electronically. It focuses on authors with only printed copies, which must be scanned and run through OCR before starting self-republication. It describes options that depend on the format of the book, including whether or not it includes illustrations, how elaborate the type formatting is, and its use of reference citations. It explains the important differences among the major approaches to self-publishing: on paper using print on demand technology, and electronically using either PDF format or e-reader formats used by Kindle, Nook, and other e-book readers. It explains the advantages and disadvantages of each republishing format for various types of books. The author speaks from experience in having learned the hard way what works and what doesnt. He also describes the types of services available to help authors republish, and the trade-offs involved. Focuses largely on books with illustrations or complex formatting such as references, which pose problems when converting to e-reader format.