This volume takes a much needed multiphysical approach to the numerical and experimental evaluation of the mechanical properties of MEMS and NEMS. The contributed chapters present many of the most recent developments in fields ranging from microfluids and damping to structural analysis, topology optimization and nanoscale simulations. The book responds to a growing need emerging in academia and industry to merge different areas of expertise towards a unified design and analysis of MEMS and NEMS.

Ludwig Boltzmann arguably played the key role in establishing that submicroscopic structures underlie the ordinary world. He had a tremendous impact on late 19th-century and early 20th-century physics, and he anticipated many contemporary ideas, including Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions and recent theories of knowledge based on Darwinian principles. This book is the first accessible biography of this important figure. Without relying on equations, it provides a deep look at the full range of his scientific and philosophical ideas, discussing both their original context and their...