Bibliography
Here is some additional reading. These are books I've found
useful, or that have been recommended to me. It is generally
arranged with the best stuff at the top, and most esoteric
at the bottom.
Note: These are all rather large books with only
small relevent sections on coilgun topics.
You would be smart to review or check them out from the library
before you buy.
- "Feedback Loop Stability Analysis", by Walter S. Friauf,
McGraw-Hill, ©1998, ISBN 0-07-022844-2
Detailed
coverage of loop compensation techniques and pitfalls, intended for the
working engineer. This is a must-have for good design of a magnetic levitation
system. It presents a graphical technique for solving transfer problems which
is intuitive and useful for anyone, but a good understanding of frequency
domain mathematics is helpful to understand the theory.
- "Electrical Principles for Electronics" Third Edition,
by Angelo C. Gilli, McGraw-Hill, ©1978, ISBN 0-07-023293-8
Clear and organized explanations of all basic
electrical engineering concepts. Practical examples of common circuits. Each
section tells you what you will learn, and then teaches you exactly that.
- "The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz and Hill, Cambridge
University Press, ©1980, ISBN 0521231515
For the practicing engineer
doing circuit design, this book gives basic principles and definitions, then
builds up to a very wide variety of designs. It shows by example and
explanation what are good design versus bad designs. This is the best and
most comprehensive of all these books. It will be of most useful to those
with some EE background.
- "Practical Electricity, Part I" by Terrell Croft, McGraw-Hill,
©1923
An excellent book with practical advice
for people designing coils for magnetic machines. This was written in the
days when they didn't really know what
magnetism was, but knew exactly how it worked through endless
experimentation. They relate this hard-won knowledge in great
detail.
- "Practical Transformer Design Handbook"
by Eric Lowdon, Howard Sams & Co., ©1980, ISBN 0-672-21657-4
For anyone who is designing transformers
or inductors, you must get this book. It is written at
a level that almost anyone with a calculator can understand, and
yet is complete and very thorough.
- "Foundations of Electrical Engineering, Second Edition", by J. R. Cogdell,
Prentice Hall, ©1996, ISBN 0130927015
A textbook
intended to teach electrical engineering to non-majors. Well organized with
good explanations. Excellent basic facts and information on a variety of EE
topics, with emphasis on basic principles.
- "The ARRL Handbook
for Radio Amateurs", The American Radio Relay League
Buy any version printed in the last ten years. It has
very good design material for power supplies and power output stages, and a
lot of good background information on home electronics design. Lots of
practical circuits that have been proven over the years. Not much on
coilguns or solenoids, though.
- "Radio
Handbook" 20th Edition, by William
I. Orr, W6SAI, ©1975, ISBN 0672240327.
See section
2-4. Like the ARRL Handbook, the emphasis is on practical designs and
construction of a variety of communications equipment.
- "Elements of
Radio", by Marcus & Horton, Prentice Hall, ©1944. No ISBN
number and it's out of print.
An excellent reference,
published in 1943 and 1944 for "civilian pre-induction training"
for the War Department published by Prentice-Hall. It has no ISBN or Library
of Congress number, but if you can find a copy - it really has a very
detailed discussion of the math and physics involved in magnetic coils, and
it is worded in such a way that even officers in the military could
understand it (honest!). You might be able to find a copy of this book
through Prentice-Hall, or through a used bookstore.
- "Understanding
Magnetism, Magnets, Electromagnetics, and Superconducting Magnets"
by Robert Wood, ©1988 by Tab books (TAB #2772) ISBN 0830607722
This is a decent reference, but is meant as an
introductory text on the subject and does not go into a lot of
detail.
- "Linear Electric
Actuators and Generators", I. Boldea and Syed A. Nasar, Cambridge
University Press, © 1997, ISBN 0521480175
This is very
advanced, really a higher-level college textbook.
Last update May 7, 2007
by Barry Hansen
©1998-2007