02/26/2004 -
A User’s Guide to Vacuum Technology, Third Edition (2003)
by John F. O’Hanlon
ISBN 0-471-27052-0. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey. 2003. Hardcover. 516 pages. $95.
“This book sucks in a good way.”
Every practicing scientist and engineer will undoubtedly make use of vacuum technology at some point in their careers. However, many do not appreciate the contributions vacuum technologies make to our everyday lives. The common light bulb, automobiles, refrigerators, and the microelectronics in such high-end consumer products as personal computers all rely on vacuum technologies.
The book gives an interesting and concise description of the history and development of vacuum technology from the conceptual understanding of a mercury column in 1643 by Torricelli to the latest theories and technologies. The important concepts are covered for the full range of vacuum technologies, low to extreme ultrahigh. I found the chapter on materials, particularly in the context of ultra-high vacuums, especially informative.
The text is generally well structured and adequately covers the fundamental areas: vacuum technology, gas properties, flow dynamics, instrumentation, measurements, leak detection, and materials. However, coming from the biased position of a user of analytical instruments and processing equipment rather than a vacuum technology specialist, I would have liked more discussion on practical system design and performance. Vacuum systems are quite correctly classified in the book according to their pressure range; however, the addition of a chapter on generic system structures would complete the work. The book includes chapter problems, references, and is well indexed.
The third edition contains updates from the second edition, first published in 1989. In this iteration, John F. O’Hanlon of the University of Arizona, Tucson, seeks to minimize gaps in knowledge/training between the producer and average user of laboratory and industrial vacuum equipment. Since the second edition, there have been a number of significant advances in the field; pinning rotor gauges, dry mechanical pumps, magnetically levitated turbo pumps, and ultraclean system designs are well covered in the latest edition. These, along with improved cleaning and assembly techniques, have made commercial contamination-free manufacturing a reality, essential for the continued development of the world economy. O’Hanlon’s process-oriented treatment brings together diverse technologies, updated practices, and emphasizes topics not normally found in one complete volume.
Although I have not owned a copy of this book before, I am familiar with the previous edition and found it a valuable reference work on numerous occasions. Similarly, I can foresee that the third edition will never get dusty on my bookshelf. Although the text is certainly not coffee-table reading material, it will have a wide appeal for students, technicians, engineers, managers, and scientists in many sectors from microelectronics, thin films, optic, and analytical instruments, and materials scientists. It is particularly valuable as a reference for those who work practically with vacuum technologies and a must-buy for those who design them.
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