Description

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First published in 1957, this is a classic monograph in the area of applied mathematics. It offers a connected account of the mathematical theory of wave motion in a liquid with a free surface and subjected to gravitational and other forces, together with applications to a wide variety of concrete physical problems. A never-surpassed text, it remains of permanent value to a wide range of scientists and engineers concerned with problems in fluid mechanics.
The four-part treatment begins with a presentation of the derivation of the basic hydrodynamic theory for non-viscous incompressible fluids and a description of the two principal approximate theories that form the basis for the rest of the book. The second section centers on the approximate theory that results from small-amplitude wave motions. A consideration of problems involving waves in shallow water follows, and the text concludes with a selection of problems solved in terms of the exact theory. Despite the diversity of its topics, this text offers a unified, readable, and largely self-contained treatment.

About the Author

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James Johnston Stoker (1905-92) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received his Ph.D. from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. The following year he became a member of the faculty of the Department of Mathematics at New York University. He later succeeded Richard Courant as Director of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU. In 1970 Stoker received the Timoshenko Medal in recognition of his contributions to the field of applied mechanics.