Since the technology has moved strongly into a number of different areas a textbook of this sort could be used by a wide variety of academic departments including physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, aerospace engineering and bioengineering. To make the second edition as widely appealing as possible a series of significant upgrades were made. 1. The book is structured to support a variety of academic programs and it can also be used as a general reference by practicing engineers and scientists. 2. The introductory chapter has been revised to outline the new content of the second edition and provide a overview of the current