Book excerpt: Recent advances in power electronics greatly benefit the multidisciplinary field of modern ultrasonics. More powerful, compact, and versatile electronic chips and software enable new computer-based devices for real-time data capture, storage, analysis, and display and advance the science and technology employed in commercial systems and applications of ultrasound. Reviewing the scientific basis behind these improvements, Ultrasonics: Fundamentals, Technologies, and Applications, Third Edition discusses them in detail, with new and additional figures and references, offering a completely revised and expanded examination of the state of modern ultrasonics. This new edition of a bestselling industry reference discusses the full breadth of ultrasonics applications for industrial and medical use and provides the fundamentals and insights gathered over the authors’ collective 80 years in the field. It provides a unique and comprehensive treatment of the science and technology behind the latest advancements and applications in both low and high power implementations. Coverage combines fundamental physics, a review and analysis of sensors and transducers, and the systems required for the full spectrum of industrial, nondestructive testing and medical and biomedical uses. It includes citations of numerous references and covers both main stream and the more unusual and obscure applications of ultrasound. Ultrasonics is ubiquitous in its industrial applications for sensing, NDT, and process measurements, in high power forms for processing and sonochemistry, as well as in medical procedures where it is used for diagnosis, therapy and surgery. This book provides a complete overview of the field, presenting numerous applications, cutting-edge advancements and improvements, additional figures and references, and a look at future directions.