Fields, Flows and Waves
Subtitle: An Introduction to Continuum Models (Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series)
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: Springer
Published: April 8, 2003
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 270
ISBN-13: 9781852337087
Subjects: Applied mathematics; Calculus & mathematical analysis; Theoretical methods; Science/Mathematics; Mathematical Physics; Science; Waves & Wave Mechanics; Electromagnetism; Mechanics - General; Mathematics / Applied; continuum models; General; Continuum mechanics
First sentence: At the most elementary level, many collective phenomena involve large numbers of individual, but interacting, objects.
Description: This book, derived from an innovative course of lectures, is a first introduction to the mathematical description of fields, flows and waves. It shows students, early in their studies, how many of the topics they have encountered are useful in constructing, analysing and interpreting phenomena in the real world. Designed for second-year undergraduate students in mathematics, mathematical physics, and engineering, it presumes only a limited familiarity with several variable calculus and vector fields. It develops the concepts of flux, conservation law and boundary value problem through simple examples of heat flow, electric potentials and gravitational fields. The ideas are developed through worked examples, and a range of exercises (with solutions) is provided to test understanding. Chapters 1-7 contain ample material for an introductory lecture course, while later chapters on waves in fluids, solids and electromagnetism, and on bio-mathematics, show how the extension of earlier ideas leads to the description and explanation of important topics in modern technology and science.