Bitcoin For Dummies

Peter Kent is author of numerous technology titles as well as his own cryptocurrency video course, Get Crypto Clear: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Made Simple.Tyler Bain is an engineer specializing in the electrical grid and keeping the lights on for all those Bitcoin miners, traders, and node runners. Peter and Tyler are also co-authors of Cryptocurrency Mining For Dummies.

• Preface xxxixAcknowledgments xliii1 Basic Optical Calculations 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Wave Propagation 21.3 CalculatingWave Propagation in Real Life 71.4 Detection 261.5 Coherent Detection 261.6 Interferometers 291.7 Photon Budgets and Operating Specifications 301.8 Signal Processing Strategy 362 Sources And Illuminators 412.1 Introduction 412.2 The Spectrum 412.3 Radiometry 432.4 Continuum Sources 432.5 Interlude: Coherence 462.6 More Sources 502.7 Incoherent Line Sources 552.9 Lasers 572.10 Gas Lasers 592.11 Solid-State Lasers 592 Diode Lasers 612.13 Laser Noise 693 Optical Detection 813.1 Introduction 813.2 Signal-to-Noise Ratios 823.3 Detector Figures of Merit 833.5 Photomultipliers 1003.6 Thermal Detectors 1143.7 Image Intensifiers 1153.9 How Do I Know Which Noise Source Dominates? 1243.10 Hacks 1294 Lenses, Prisms, and Mirrors 1374.1 Introduction 1374.2 Optical Materials 1374.4 Surface Quality 1414.5 Windows 1424.6 Pathologies of Optical Elements 1434.7 Fringes 1434.8 Mirrors 1474.10 Prism Pathologies 1534.11 Lenses 1542 Complex Lenses 1583 Other Lenslike Devices 1625 Coatings, Filters, and Surface Finishes 1655.1 Introduction 1655.2 Metal Mirrors 1655.4 Simple Coating Theory 1715.5 Moth-Eye Finishes 1795.6 Absorptive Filters 1805.7 Beam Dumps and Baffles 1825.8 White Surfaces and Diffusers 1866 Polarization 1916.1 Introduction 1916.2 Polarization of Light 1916.3 Interaction of Polarization with Materials 1936.4 Absorption Polarizers 1976.5 Brewster Polarizers 1976.6 Birefringent Polarizers 1986.7 Double-Refraction Polarizers 1996.8 TIR Polarizers 2026.9 Retarders 2036.10 Polarization Control 2067 Exotic Optical Components 211Introduction 211Gratings 211Grating Pathologies 214Types of Gratings 215Resolution of Grating Instruments 218Fine Points of Gratings 219Holographic Optical Elements 222Photonic Crystals and Metamaterials 223Retroreflective Materials 2247.10 Scanners 2257.11 Modulators 2318 FiberOptics2398.1 Introduction 2398.2 Fiber Characteristics 2398.3 Fiber Theory 2428.4 Fiber Types 2478.5 Other Fiber Properties 2518.6 Working with Fibers 2558.7 Fiber Devices 2608.8 Diode Lasers and Fiber Optics 2648.9 Fiber Optic Sensors 2648.10 Intensity Sensors 2658.11 Spectrally Encoded Sensors 2668.12 Polarimetric Sensors 2698.13 Fiber Interferometers 2708.14 Two-Beam Fiber Interferometers 2708.15 Multiple Beam Fiber Interferometers 2728.17 Multiplexing and Smart Structures 2768.18 Fiber Sensor Hype 2769 Optical Systems 2799.1 Introduction 2799.2 What, Exactly, Does a Lens Do? 2799.3 Diffraction 2889.4 Aberrations 3009.5 Representing Aberrations 3039.6 Optical Design Advice 3069.7 Practical Applications 3089.8 Illuminators 31110 Optical Measurements 31510.1 Introduction 31510.2 Grass on the Empire State Building 31510.3 Detection Issues: When Exactly Is Background Bad? 3181 Measure the Right Thing 32210.5 Getting More Signal Photons 32410.6 Reducing the Background Fluctuations 32610.7 Optically Zero-Background Measurements 32810.8 Spectrally Resolved Measurements 32910.9 Electronically Zero-Background Measurements 33310.10 Labeling Signal Photons 33610.11 Closure 34111 Designing Electro-Optical Systems 34311.1 Introduction 34311.2 Do You ReallyWant To Do This? 34311.3 Very Basic Marketing 35011.4 Classes of Measurement 35211.5 Technical Taste 35411.6 Instrument Design 35711.7 Guiding Principles 36111.8 Design for Alignment 36411.9 Turning a Prototype into a Product 36712 Building Optical Systems 37112.1 Introduction 37112.2 Construction Style 37112.3 Build What You Designed 37212.4 Assembling Lab Systems 37312.6 Collimating Beams 38112.7 Focusing 38312.8 Alignment and Testing 38512.9 Prototypes 38612.10 Aligning Beams with Other Beams 38712.11 Advanced Tweaking 39012.13 Adhesives 39712.14 Cleaning 40012.15 Environmental Considerations 40213 Signal Processing 40513.1 Introduction 40513.2 Analog Signal Processing Theory 40613.4 Amplifiers 41613.5 Departures From Linearity 41613.6 Noise and Interference 42013.7 Frequency Conversion 43513.8 Filtering 43813.9 Signal Detection 44713.10 Reducing Interference and Noise 45013.11 Data Acquisition and Control 45214 Electronic Building Blocks 45714.1 Introduction 45714.2 Resistors 45714.3 Capacitors 46014.4 Transmission Lines 47014.5 Transmission Line Devices 47614.6 Diodes 47714.7 Bipolar Junction Transistors 47914.8 Field-Effect Transistors (FETs) 48614.9 Heterojunction FETs 48714.10 Signal Processing Components 48814.11 Digitizers 49614.12 Analog Behavior of Digital Circuits 50515 Electronic Subsystem Design 50715.1 Introduction 50715.2 Design Approaches 50715.3 Perfection 51415.4 Feedback Loops 51615.5 Local Feedback 52215.6 Signal Detectors 52215.7 Phase-Locked Loops 53015.8 Calibration 53515.9 Filters 53715.10 Other Stuff 54015.11 More Advanced Feedback Techniques 54215.12 Hints 54415.13 Linearizing 54515.17 Bulletproofing 55315.18 Interference 55715.19 Reliable Designs 55816 Electronic Construction Techniques 55916.1 Introduction 55916.2 Circuit Strays 55916.3 Circuit Boards 56016.4 Stray Coupling 56316.5 Ground Plane Construction 56316.6 Technical Noise and Interference 56616.7 Product Construction 57216.8 Getting Ready 57416.9 Prototyping 57616.10 Surface Mount Prototypes 58216.11 Prototyping Filters 58516.12 Tuning, or, You Can’t Hit What You Can’t See 58717 Digital Signal Processing 59117.1 Introduction 59117.2 Elementary Operations 59217.3 Dead Time Correction 59517.4 Fourier Domain Techniques 59517.5 The Fast Fourier Transform 60217.6 Power Spectrum Estimation 60817.7 Digital Filtering 61217.8 Deconvolution 61517.9 Resampling 61717.10 Fixing Space-Variant Instrument Functions 61817.11 Finite Precision Effects 61917.12 Pulling Data Out of Noise 62018 Front Ends 62718.1 Introduction 62718.2 Photodiode Front Ends 62818.3 Key Idea: Reduce the Swing Across Cd 63018.4 Transimpedance Amplifiers 63118.5 External Input Stages 63518.6 How to Go Faster 64818.7 Advanced Photodiode Front Ends 65218.8 Other Types of Front End 65818.9 Hints 66019 Bringing Up the System 66519.1 Introduction 66519.2 Avoiding Catastrophe 66719.3 Debugging and Troubleshooting 67019.4 Getting Ready 67119.5 Indispensable Equipment 67319.6 Debugging Pickup and Interference Problems 67619.6.1 Test Setups 67619.7 Digital Troubleshooting 67719.8 Analog Electronic Troubleshooting 67819.9 Oscillations 68119.10 Other Common Problems 68319.11 Debugging and Troubleshooting Optical Subsystems 68519.12 Localizing the Problem 68820 Thermal Control 69520.1 Introduction 69520.2 Thermal Problems and Solutions 69620.3 Heat Flow 69920.4 Insulation 70520.7 Heat Sinks 71623 Local Feedback Loops 72320.9 Temperature Controllers 725Appendix A Good Books 735A.1 Why Books? 735A.2 Good Books for Instrument Builders 735Notation 743Physical Constants and Rules of Thumb 745Index 747