Ebook: Fields, Flows and Waves: An Introduction to Continuum Models

Many phenomena in the physical and biological sciences involve the collective behaviour of (very large) numbers of individual objects. For example, the be­ haviour of gases ultimately concerns the interacting motions of uncountably many atoms and molecules, but to understand flow in nozzles, around aircraft and in meteorology it is best to treat velocity and density as continuous func­ tions of position and time and then to analyse the associated flows. Although modern electronics involves ever smaller components, even the semiconduc­ tor devices used widely in electronic communications and in digital processing involve collective phenomena, such as electric currents and fields, which are continuously varying functions of position and time. Diffusion and reaction between various chemical constituents, the growth and spread of biological or­ ganisms and the flow of traffic on major highways are all phenomena which may be described and analysed in terms of fields and flows, while sound, light and various other electromagnetic phenomena involve both fields and waves. Treating these using a continuum model, which does not attempt to trace the motion and evolution of individual objects, often gives good predictions. The mathematical concepts and techniques which underlie such treatments are the subject of this book. This book is designed as a first introduction to the use of mathematical techniques, within continuum theories.

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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.

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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.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
The Continuum Description....Pages 1-15
Unsteady Heat Flow....Pages 17-34
Fields and Potentials....Pages 35-53
Laplace’s Equation and Poisson’s Equation....Pages 55-76
Motion of an Elastic String....Pages 77-99
Fluid Flow....Pages 101-131
Elastic Deformations....Pages 133-156
Vibrations and Waves....Pages 157-183
Electromagnetic Waves and Light....Pages 185-206
Chemical and Biological Models....Pages 207-235
Back Matter....Pages 237-270

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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.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
The Continuum Description....Pages 1-15
Unsteady Heat Flow....Pages 17-34
Fields and Potentials....Pages 35-53
Laplace’s Equation and Poisson’s Equation....Pages 55-76
Motion of an Elastic String....Pages 77-99
Fluid Flow....Pages 101-131
Elastic Deformations....Pages 133-156
Vibrations and Waves....Pages 157-183
Electromagnetic Waves and Light....Pages 185-206
Chemical and Biological Models....Pages 207-235
Back Matter....Pages 237-270
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