Linear and Nonlinear Waves / Edition 1

by G. B. Whitham

Overview

Now in an accessible paperback edition, this classic work is just as relevant as when it first appeared in 1974, due to the increased use of nonlinear waves. It covers the behavior of waves in two parts, with the first part addressing hyperbolic waves and the second addressing dispersive waves. The mathematical principles are presented along with examples of specific cases in communications and specific physical fields, including flood waves in rivers, waves in glaciers, traffic flow, sonic booms, blast waves, and ocean waves from storms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780471359425
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	07/01/1999
Series:	Pure and Applied Mathematics: A Wiley Series of Texts, Monographs and Tracts , #42
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	660
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Gerald Beresford Whitham was a British-born American applied mathematician and the Charles Lee Powell Professor of Applied Mathematics of Applied & Computational Mathematics at the California Institute of Technology.

Table of Contents

Introduction and General Outline.

HYPERBOLIC WAVES.

Waves and First Order Equations.

Specific Problems.

Burger's Equation.

Hyperbolic Systems.

Gas Dynamics.

The Wave Equation.

Shock Dynamics.

The Propagation of Weak Shocks.

Wave Hierarchies.

DISPERSIVE WAVES.

Linear Dispersive Waves.

Wave Patterns.

Water Waves.

Nonlinear Dispersion and the Variational Method.

Group Velocities, Instability, and Higher Order Dispersion.

Applications of the Nonlinear Theory.

Exact Solutions: Interacting Solitary Waves.

References.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

The re-issue of this excellent book on linear and nonlinear waves in paperback form is to be welcomed. (Zentralblatt Math, Volume 940, No 15, 2000)

From the Publisher

Reprint of the 1974 edition, with no additions or emendations. Intended for first- and second-year graduate students of applied mathematics, as well as engineering and physics students. Discusses hyperbolic waves, and related subjects such as Burgers' equation, gas and shock dynamics, and wave hierarchies; and dispersive waves and related subjects such as water waves and nonlinear dispersion. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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