Mechanics, mathematical physics and foundations of mathematics in the 18th and 19th Centuries

The Birth and Development of the Notion of Shock Wave in the 19th Century

speaker: Constantine Dafermos (Brown University)

abstract: The history of the inception and development of the notion of shock waves in gas dynamics, during the second half of the 19th Century, provides an interesting example of synergy between analysis, mechanics and the newly created science of thermodynamics. The lecture will recount the controversy raised by the theory and pose the question whether the lack of close communication between the early major contributors (Stokes, Riemann, Kelvin, Rayleigh, Rankine, Hugoniot, ...)may have had a beneficent effect in the development of the subject.

timetable:
Thu 10 Jul, 17:45 - 18:25, Aula Bianchi Scienze
<< Go back