Ebook: THE (UNFINISHED) PDE COFFEE TABLE BOOK

from https://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/trefethen/pdectb.html

During 2000-2001 a group project based in the Oxford University was begun to write this book. The vision was 100 2-page spreads, each one giving exactly the most useful possible starting information about a different partial differential equation, with beautiful color illustrations. Many people at Oxford and around the world contributed drafts, which were then extensively rewritten and edited to help bring about a uniform style and mathematical level. In the end, 34 of the pieces were brought into reasonably finished form.

Many people have asked since then about the status of the PDE Coffee Table Book. Unfortunately, we have had to tell them that the project is stalled, with no plans at present to complete it.

As people keep asking, it seems unreasonable not to make this easily available. Thus, with pride for what we finished and regret for what we didn't, here are the 34 finished pages. The numbers (which are not all distinct) give some idea of where each page might have ended up in the finished book. These may be used freely for educational purposes, but all publication rights are reserved. Copyright Lloyd N. Trefethen, 2011.