William M. Murray - Böcker

Experimental stress analysis is an important tool in the overall design and development of machinery and structures. While analytical techniques and computer solutions are available during the design stage, the results are still dependent on many assumptions that must be made in order to adapt them to the problems at hand. One popular method of finding structural and design weaknesses is through the use of the electrical resistance strain gage. These devices are relatively low in cost, easily applied by a reasonably skilled technician, and require little investment in instrumentation (for the general user), yet they yield a wealth of information in a relatively short time period. The information and its validity is, of course, dependent on the training and knowledge of the engineer who plans the tests and reduces the data. In addition to serving as a reference for engineers, this practical, instructive book has a high potential as a textbook for senior and first-year graduate students in engineering and related fields, such as engineering physics and geology.

While we know a great deal about naval strategies in the classical Greek and later Roman periods, our understanding of the period in between--the Hellenistic Age--has never been as complete. However, thanks to new physical evidence discovered in the past half-century and the construction of Olympias, a full-scale working model of an Athenian trieres (trireme) by the Hellenic Navy during the 1980s, we now have new insights into the evolution of naval warfare following the death of Alexander the Great. In what has been described as an ancient naval arms race, the successors of Alexander produced the largest warships of antiquity, some as long as 400 feet carrying as many as 4000 rowers and 3000 marines. Vast, impressive, and elaborate, these warships "of larger form"--as described by Livy--were built not just to simply convey power but to secure specific strategic objectives. When these particular factors disappeared, this "Macedonian" model of naval power also faded away--that is, until Cleopatra and Mark Antony made one brief, extravagant attempt to reestablish it, an endeavor Octavian put an end to once and for all at the battle of Actium. Representing the fruits of more than thirty years of research, The Age of Titans provides the most vibrant account to date of Hellenistic naval warfare.