By Phil Danielson
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By Phil Danielson
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Modern Vacuum Practice Nigel S. Harris This book is a prime example of an author who is refreshingly clear in his own mind about the book’s communication goals and target readership in terms of experience level and technical background. This book is for the beginner. The author not only knows that, but says so loud and clear with no pretensions or evasions. The experience garnered from years of teaching industrial vacuum training courses has allowed the author to distill the necessary communication concepts down into a non-daunting book that will be read, understood, and used. A good part of the author’s communication concept is to ignore the traditional “textbook” approach in which an author assumes that the reader needs to firmly grasp the behavior of gases in a mathematical fashion before getting into the rest of the technology. Instead, Harris starts with some basic information before launching into gauging and pumps. This approach shows a knowledge of the projected readership because he realizes that the beginner’s mind will first fasten on the components that will need to be operated. Only later is it necessary to understand the complexity of the system that’s made up of those components. Additionally, he is then able to slip in bits of information that enable beginners to grasp some basic knowledge just when they are ready for it. For example, the concept of conductance and how to calculate and use the concept is held back until the subject of systems and system design has prepared the reader's mind during the discussion of components. There is a tendency to want to cover the whole of vacuum technology with mathematical detail along with applications, but this is an almost impossible task. Harris, though, is focusing on a single slice of the readership to provide a book that will not only teach but be useful day-to-day during the early part of the total experience package a vacuum technologist will require as he gets deeper into the subject. At some point in this cycle, this book will begin to be left behind as more detailed knowledge in specific areas becomes important, but it will likely remain as a quick review source for the basics during that time. It is decidedly not intended to remain the major source of vacuum information during an entire career, but it does provide a readable and relatively understandable introduction that is often lacking in other books on vacuum technology. This book fills an extremely important niche in the pantheon of available vacuum books. It is obviously not written to impress anyone, but it is written to teach on a rational level. It will no doubt become a standard and useful introductory book if it is distributed widely enough. It is highly recommended to the beginner no matter what the background. |
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