Understanding Virtual Reality arrives at a time when the technologies behind virtual reality have advanced to the point that it is possible to develop and deploy meaningful, productive virtual reality applications. The aim of this thorough, accessible exploration is to help you take advantage of this moment, equipping you with the understanding needed to identify and prepare for ways VR can be used in your field, whatever your field may be.

By approaching VR as a communications medium, the authors have created a resource that will remain relevant even as the underlying technologies evolve. You get a history of VR, along with a good look at systems currently in use. However, the focus remains squarely on the application of VR and the many issues that arise in the application design and implementation, including hardware requirements, system integration, interaction techniques, and usability. This book also counters both exaggerated claims for VR and the view that would reduce it to entertainment, citing dozens of real-world examples from many different fields and presenting (in a series of appendices) four in-depth application case studies.

* Substantive, illuminating coverage designed for technical and business readers and well-suited to the classroom.
* Examines VR's constituent technologies, drawn from visualization, representation, graphics, human-computer interaction, and other fields, and explains how they are being united in cohesive VR systems.
* Via a companion Web site, provides additional case studies, tutorials, instructional materials, and a link to an open-source VR programming system.

In this practical guide, globally recognized renewable energy researcher and professor Henrik Lund describes the modeling and simulation techniques that can be utilised to ensure at the outset of any renewable energy project that the resources available will meet supply demands. A clear, comprehensive methodology is set forth for comparing different energy systems' abilities to integrate fluctuating and intermittent renewable energy sources. Dr. Lund offers a freely available accompanying software tool, EnergyPLAN, that automates and simplifies the calculations supporting such detailed comparative analysis. The book further presents concrete design examples derived from a dozen successfully implemented renewable energy systems around the globe. It makes recommendations on the first steps of large-scale integration, focusing on the more immediate issue of conversion, rather than storage technologies.

The text also undertakes the socio-political realities governing the implementation of renewable energy systems. Dr. Lund makes clear that it is the work of professionals in the renewables field to raise awareness that alternatives DO exist and that it is indeed economically and technically viable to choose renewable energy systems. To aid readers in that task, the book presents key strategies on how to overcome the inherent lethargy of entrenched institutions that seek to reinforce the status quo when confronted with objectives implying the need for radical technological change. After all, knowing there IS a choice is half the battle.

• Provides an introduction to the technical design of renewable energy systems


• Demonstrates effective methodologies for analyzing the feasibility and efficiency of large-scale renewable energy systems to help implementers avoid costly trial and error


• Contextualizes renewable energy design efforts by addressing the socio-political challenge of implementing the shift to renewables


• Free companion analysis software empowers energy professionals to crunch data for their own projects


• Features a dozen extensive case studies from around the globe that provide successful real-world templates for new installations

In the dramatic few years when colonial Americans were galvanized to resist British rule, perhaps nothing did more to foment anti-British sentiment than the armed occupation of Boston. As If an Enemy's Country is Richard Archer's gripping narrative of those critical months between October 1, 1768 and the winter of 1770 when Boston was an occupied town.
Bringing colonial Boston to life, Archer deftly moves between the governor's mansion and cobblestoned back-alleys as he traces the origins of the colonists' conflict with Britain. He reveals the maneuvering of colonial political leaders such as Governor Francis Bernard, Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson, and James Otis Jr. as they responded to London's new policies, and he evokes the outrage many Bostonians felt towards Parliament and its local representatives.
Archer captures the popular mobilization under the leadership of John Hancock and Samuel Adams that met the oppressive imperial measures--most notably the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act--with demonstrations, Liberty Trees, violence, and non-importation agreements. When the British government decided to garrison Boston with troops, it posed a shocking challenge to the people of Massachusetts. The city was flooded with troops; almost immediately, tempers flared and violent conflicts broke out. Archer's vivid tale culminates in the swirling tragedy of the Boston Massacre and its aftermath, including the trial and exoneration of the British troops involved.
A thrilling and original work of history, As If an Enemy's Country tells the riveting story of what made the Boston townspeople, and with them other colonists, turn toward revolution.