This introduction to dimensional analysis covers the methods, history and formalisation of the field, and provides physics and engineering applications. Covering topics from mechanics, hydro- and electrodynamics to thermal and quantum physics, it illustrates the possibilities and limitations of dimensional analysis. Introducing basic physics and fluid engineering topics through the mathematical methods of dimensional analysis, this book is perfect for students in physics, engineering and mathematics. Explaining potentially unfamiliar concepts such as viscosity and diffusivity, the text includes worked examples and end-of-chapter problems with answers provided in an accompanying appendix, which help make it ideal for self-study. Long-standing methodological problems arising in popular presentations of dimensional analysis are also identified and solved, making the book a useful text for advanced students and professionals.

This introduction to dimensional analysis covers the methods, history and formalisation of the field. Utilising topics including mechanics, hydro- and electrodynamics, and thermal and quantum physics, it illustrates the possibilities and limitations of dimensional analysis, making it perfect for students on introductory courses in physics, engineering and mathematics.

This text was born out of an advanced mathematical economics seminar at Caltech in 1989-90. We realized that the typical graduate student in mathematical economics has to be familiar with a vast amount of material that spans several traditional fields in mathematics. Much of the mate rial appears only in esoteric research monographs that are designed for specialists, not for the sort of generalist that our students need be. We hope that in a small way this text will make the material here accessible to a much broader audience. While our motivation is to present and orga nize the analytical foundations underlying modern economics and finance, this is a book of mathematics, not of economics. We mention applications to economics but present very few of them. They are there to convince economists that the material has so me relevance and to let mathematicians know that there are areas of application for these results. We feel that this text could be used for a course in analysis that would benefit math ematicians, engineers, and scientists. Most of the material we present is available elsewhere, but is scattered throughout a variety of sources and occasionally buried in obscurity. Some of our results are original (or more likely, independent rediscoveries). We have included some material that we cannot honestly say is neces sary to understand modern economic theory, but may yet prove useful in future research.

Derived from a course in fluid mechanics, this text for advanced undergraduates and graduate students employs symmetry arguments to illustrate the principles of dimensional analysis. 2006 edition.

An introduction to dimensional analysis, a method of scientific analysis used to investigate and simplify complex physical phenomena, demonstrated through a series of engaging examples. This book offers an introduction to dimensional analysis, a powerful method of scientific analysis used to investigate and simplify complex physical phenomena. The method enables bold approximations and the generation of testable hypotheses. The book explains these analyses through a series of entertaining applications; students will learn to analyze, for example, the limits of world-record weight lifters, the distance an electric submarine can travel, how an upside-down pendulum is similar to a running velociraptor, and the number of Olympic rowers required to double boat speed. The book introduces the approach through easy-to-follow, step-by-step methods that show how to identify the essential variables describing a complex problem; explore the dimensions of the problem and recast it to reduce complexity; leverage physical insights and experimental observations to further reduce complexity; form testable scientific hypotheses; combine experiments and analysis to solve a problem; and collapse and present experimental measurements in a compact form. Each chapter ends with a summary and problems for students to solve. Taken together, the analyses and examples demonstrate the value of dimensional analysis and provide guidance on how to combine and enhance dimensional analysis with physical insights. The book can be used by undergraduate students in physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, sports science, and astronomy.

Fourier transform theory is of central importance in a vast range of applications in physical science, engineering, and applied mathematics. This new edition of a successful student text provides a concise introduction to the theory and practice of Fourier transforms, using qualitative arguments wherever possible and avoiding unnecessary mathematics. After a brief description of the basic ideas and theorems, the power of the technique is then illustrated by referring to particular applications in optics, spectroscopy, electronics and telecommunications. The rarely discussed but important field of multi-dimensional Fourier theory is covered, including a description of computer-aided tomography (CAT-scanning). The final chapter discusses digital methods, with particular attention to the fast Fourier transform. Throughout, discussion of these applications is reinforced by the inclusion of worked examples. The book assumes no previous knowledge of the subject, and will be invaluable to students of physics, electrical and electronic engineering, and computer science.

This is the first book which systematically describes an integral approach on dimensional analysis. The amount of textbooks on dimensional analysis is huge, however most of the books start with the definition of the relevant variables. When the variables are given to the reader without prior knowledge on each problem it has serious consequences: the usefulness of dimensional analysis is not appreciated, is not possible to understand the real challenges of this subject and the result, which is a general relationship with dimensionless groups is useless. This book closes the hole in previous books because in addition to describe step by step how to reach the general relationship with dimensionless groups, which creates solid basis of different metallurgical problems to understand the role of the relevant variables. It provides a full description on how to obtain the experimental data and applies the experimental data to transform the general relationship in a particular solution. Once the reader learns how to design the experimental work and uses that information to define the particular solution, it is possible to asses if the selection of variables was adequate or not. The book is useful for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Gauss's law for electric fields, Gauss's law for magnetic fields, Faraday's law, and the Ampere–Maxwell law are four of the most influential equations in science. In this guide for students, each equation is the subject of an entire chapter, with detailed, plain-language explanations of the physical meaning of each symbol in the equation, for both the integral and differential forms. The final chapter shows how Maxwell's equations may be combined to produce the wave equation, the basis for the electromagnetic theory of light. This book is a wonderful resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in electromagnetism and electromagnetics. A website hosted by the author at www.cambridge.org/9780521701471 contains interactive solutions to every problem in the text as well as audio podcasts to walk students through each chapter.

For experiments, dimensional analysis enables the design, checks the validity, orders the procedure and synthesises the data. Additionally it can provide relationships between variables where standard analysis is not available. This widely valuable analysis for engineers and scientists is here presented to the student, the teacher and the researcher. It is the first complete modern text that covers developments over the last three decades while closing all outstanding logical gaps. Dimensional Analysis also lists the logical stages of the analysis, so showing clearly the care to be taken in its use while revealing the very few limitations of application. As the conclusion of that logic, it gives the author's original proof of the fundamental and only theorem. Unlike past texts, Dimensional Analysis includes examples for which the answer does not already exist from standard analysis. It also corrects the many errors present in the existing literature by including accurate solutions. Dimensional Analysis is written for all branches of engineering and science as a teaching book covering both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as a guide for the lecturer and as a reference volume for the researcher.

Dimensional analysis is the basis for the determination of laws that allow the experimental results obtained on a model to be transposed to the fluid system at full scale (a prototype). The similarity in fluid mechanics then allows for better redefinition of the analysis by removing dimensionless elements. This book deals with these two tools, with a focus on the Rayleigh method and the Vaschy-Buckingham method. It deals with the homogeneity of the equations and the conversion between the systems of units SI and CGS, and presents the dimensional analysis approach, before addressing the similarity of flows. Dimensional Analysis and Similarity in Fluid Mechanics proposes a scale model and presents numerous exercises combining these two methods. It is accessible to students from their first year of a bachelorÂs degree.