Overview

The first of its kind, this book is an in-depth history of hydrodynamics from its eighteenth-century foundations to its first major successes in twentieth-century hydraulics and aeronautics. It documents the foundational role of fluid mechanics in developing a new mathematical physics. It gives full and clear accounts of the conceptual breakthroughs of physicists and engineers who tried to meet challenges in the practical worlds of hydraulics, navigation, blood circulation, meteorology, and aeronautics, and it shows how hydrodynamics at last began to fulfill its early promise to unify the different worlds of flow. Richly illustrated, technically thorough, and sensitive to cross-cultural effects, this history should attract a broad range of historians, scientists, engineers, and philosophers and be a standard reference for anyone interested in fluid mechanics.

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9780198568438

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Reviews

`Ask your library to buy it, and share this pleasure with others. I found Olivier Darrigol's Worlds of Flow a very enjoyable book. Reading it will reward all those who care about the problems of fluid mechanics.' M.J. Cooker, Fluid Mechanics, Vol 573 - 2007 `This is another brilliant work by a distinguished historian of physics, a very important and substantial contribution.' Peter Harman, Professor of the History of Science, Lancaster University

A fascinating and well written book. Meccanica (2007) 42: 107 - 018 This is a book that all practising fluid dynamicists must read: I hope there will be a paperback edition soon, so that the strange history of the subject that Darrigol describes with such insight will become part of the intellectual legacy of interested students in engineering, mathematics and physics. Roddam Narasima, Jawaharlal Hehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, India. Nature, Vol. 422, 6, July 2006. The book is a valubale contribution to its subject and is likely to provide new and perhaps useful insights tot hose studying fluid dynamics. It is well written and produced. D.H. Peregrine, Mathematical Reviews ...by presenting in detail the interactions between many mathematicians and engineers, and by emphasizing the different styles characteristic of scientists in different countries, Darrigol has provided a fascinating insight into the development of hydrodynamics. J. Stewart Turner, Australian National University, Canberra, August 2006, Physics World 2006, p54 This book deserves a place in every university library, and it will surely be read with much interest, and some surprise, by many applied mathematicians. Alex D.D. Craik, University of St Andrews, The London Mathematical Society Newsletter, No. 350 July 2006.

Author Information

Olivier Darrigol is Research Director at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France.

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