Customer Reviews

Numerical Methods in Engineering and Applied Science: Numbers are Fun (Ellis Horwood Series in Mathematics & Its Applications)

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Bruce Irons' fascination with the application of computers to the to the solution of engineering problems is clearly evident in this publication. He demonstrates a deep understanding of numerical analysis and its application in engineering and applied science.

His had a rare combination of an excellent understanding of engineering analysis, rigorous programming skills and superb teaching ability. This comes through delightfully in this book, which should be a compulsory purchase for all engineering and applied science undergraduate students.

The book is aimed particularly at the "curious and thinking" student. Its relative brevity lends itself to be read quickly for a broad overview of the topic, but because of its conciseness, further readings are required to pick out the hidden subtleties of numerical analysis. The importance of fully understanding the nature and form of the engineering problem being solved is emphasised throughout the book, as is the importance of recognising the limitation of approximate numerical solutions. This awareness of the erroneous errors possible with the misapplication of numerical techniques is referred to again and again.

Finally, this book could also be read by the more "mature" researcher if only to remember that the primary reason she/he chose a career in problem solving is that "numbers are (and can still be) fun"