Ian Sinclair was born in 1932 in Tayport, Fife, and graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 1956. In that year, he joined the English Electric Valve Co. in Chelmsford, Essex, to work on the design of specialised cathode-ray tubes, and later on small transmitting valves and TV transmitting tubes. In 1966, he became an assistant lecturer at Hornchurch Technical College, and in 1967 joined the staff of Braintree College of F.E. as a lecturer. His first book, “Understanding Electronic Components” was published in 1972, and he has been writing ever since, particularly for the novice in Electronics or Computing. The interest in computing arose after seeing a Tandy TRS80 in San Francisco in 1977, and of his 204 published books, about half have been on computing topics, starting with a guide to Microsoft Basic on the TRS80 in 1979. He left teaching in 1984 to concentrate entirely on writing, and has also gained experience in computer typesetting, particularly for mathematical texts. He has recently visited Seattle to see Microsoft at work, and to remind them that he has been using Microsoft products longer than most Microsoft employees can remember. Ian Sinclair is the author of the following Made Simple books: Lotus 1-2-3- (2.4 DOS version) MS-DOS (up to version 6.22) PagePlus for Windows 3.1 Hard drives He is also the author of many other books published under our Newnes imprint.Visit Ian's website at http://website.lineone.net/~ian_sinclair

• 1. Strain and pressure2. Position, direction, distance and motion3. Light and associated radiation4. Temperature sensors and thermal transducers5. Sound, infrasound and ultrasound6. Solids, liquids and gases7. Environmental sensors8. Other sensing techniques9. Instrumentation techniques10. Non-signal switches11. Signal carrying switches

"There is a vast amount of information contained in the book, very well presented and explained, and with many diagrams and tables to help your understanding. It more than adequately meets its specified goal of proving useful to anyone who encounters sensors and transducers, whether from the point of view of specification, design, servicing or education." --Electronics Australia"...highly readable text which provides a unique introduction to the selection and application of sensors, transducers and switches, and a grounding in the practicalities of designing with these devices." --Electronic Servicing and Technology