Elementary Applied Partial Differential Equations With Fourier Series and Boundary Value Problems (3rd Edition) [Hardcover]

Richard Haberman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 013263807X | ISBN-13: 978-0132638074 | Publication Date: July 29, 1997 | Edition: 3 Sub

Appropriate for an elementary undergraduate first course of varying lengths. Its in-depth elementary presentation is intended primarily for students in science, engineering, and applied mathematics.Emphasizing the physical interpretation of mathematical solutions, this book introduces applied mathematics while presenting partial differential equations

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This text is designed for engineers, scientists, and mathematicians with a background in elementary ordinary differential equations and calculus. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

Emphasizing physical interpretations of mathematical solutions, this book introduces applied mathematics and presents partial differential equations. Leading readers from simple exercises through increasingly powerful mathematical techniques, this book discusses hear flow and vibrating strings and membranes, for a better understand of the relationship between mathematics and physical problems. It also emphasizes problem solving and provides a thorough approach to solutions. The third edition of , Elementary Applied Partial Differential Equations; With Fourier Series and Boundary Value Problems has been revised to include a new chapter covering dispersive waves. It also includes new sections covering fluid flow past a circular cylinder; reflection and refraction of light and sound waves; the finite element method; partial differential equations with spherical geometry; eigenvalue problems with a continuous and discrete spectrum; and first-order nonlinear partial differential equations. An essential reference for any technical or mathematics professional.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 736 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 3 Sub edition (July 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013263807X
• ISBN-13: 978-0132638074
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, detailed, easy to read -- a good PDE text, February 11, 2004

By 

Zach Lin (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elementary Applied Partial Differential Equations With Fourier Series and Boundary Value Problems (3rd Edition) (Hardcover)

This PDE text by Haberman covers the ideas about separation of variables, Sturm-Liouville problem, finite difference numerical method, Green's function, Fourier transform, Laplace transform, and the method of characteristics. It presents the materials in quite plain, detailed manner. To me, the best part of this book relative to another books is that of Green's function. I've read Arfken, Farlow, and Strauss's texts, but have never got a satisfactory understanding.

The Strauss's one is the worst. To a beginner or non-mathematician, it is impossible to accept that kind of crazy things. The Farlow's one doesn't pay enough effort on this topic. It just goes through in a few pages. The Arfken's one (Mathematical Methods For Physicists) gives a concise presentation in quite physical way, but not for beginner. It is more like a summary.

Haberman introduces Green's function in his book with two chapters and in a quite different manner. He doesn't, like most physicists do, introduce it by Poisson's equation, but by heat equation and Fourier series; the ordinary definition of Green's function with delta function is given later. Though I think this is not a good idea and the presentation is not good, I do agree that it is much easier for beginners to understand. He makes no haste going into the three-dimensional case. Instead, he works on one-dimensional cases, then two and three-dimensional cases systematically. The point is, I think this won't make it too mathematical like the Strauss's one or too physical so that it is too constricted. In addition, he derives Green's functions in deductive way, instead of only taking a look at the physical suggestions. This makes the results convincible and gives readers a more comprehensive understanding.

Perhaps the most annoying thing of this book is that it is too wordy. However, this may be another advantage-the text is hard not to understand!

Someone says that Haberman hardly works on subjects other than heat equations. That kind of comment is misleading. He does work on wave and Laplace's equations. He just use heat equation as a main thread.

If you're learning PDE for physics or engineering or other applications, this book is quite suitable for self-studying. If you only want to study the most basic ideas about PDE, then Farlow's may be a light choice. If you want to study more, you can read Haberman's text.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars does the job!, December 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Elementary Applied Partial Differential Equations: With Fourier Series and Boundary Value Problems (Hardcover)

I am no mathematican or otherwise great spirit, so I'll simply tell you how it helped me in my first PDE class, or not. I found the book generally easy to read, and understand. In the beginning it is nice to have very simple examples fully worked out in the text. Unfortunately the worked through examples get rarer in the more advanced chapters. I also think the book is fairly well structured, and together with the good index I could find inormation easily. My major complaint is that there are not enough exercises with answers in the back. While in your usual calculus book every second problem has an answer, often only one out of say seven has an answer.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstandingly clear, although somewhat overly idealized., November 17, 2006

By 

Alexander C. Zorach "Alex Zorach" (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elementary Applied Partial Differential Equations With Fourier Series and Boundary Value Problems (3rd Edition) (Hardcover)

This is an amazingly clear book that makes the subject of Partial Differential Equations seem very easy; it does so by exploring idealized problems and their solutions in a context where the student can master the various techniques and methods. The result is that the field of PDE's seems more unified than it does in most presentations. There is rich and clear discussion, and the book thoroughly explores the motivation behind the various techniques. Its only possible flaw is that it doesn't prepare the student for the "real world", although it does provide a quick path towards obtaining the necessary background to read books that engage in more "ugly" mathematics.

This book seems oriented towards an undergraduate course in PDE's and would be excellent in that role. However, I still found it immensely useful in my graduate courses as a reference and as a place to quickly master techniques I had skipped or forgotten. This book is exceptionally well-suited to self-study, with a healthy dose of exercises with answers in the back. An advanced student will find this book very easy to move through, in stark contrast to other PDE texts like the Weinberger. This book is well-complemented by the "Applied Mathematics" book by Logan; where the books overlap, Logan's book provides a more practical and less idealized (although more difficult) approach and is a natural next step after this book. Students moving in a more theoretical direction might look to the book on PDE's by Evans as a logical next step.