Studies in Mathematics and Mechanics

Studies in Mathematics and Mechanics is a collection of studies presented to Professor Richard von Mises as a token of reverence and appreciation on the occasion of his seventieth birthday which occurred on April 19, 1953. von Mises' thought has been a stimulus in many seemingly unconnected fields of mathematics, science, and philosophy, to which he has contributed decisive results and new formulations of fundamental concepts. The book contains 42 chapters organized into five parts. Part I contains papers on algebra, number theory and geometry. These include a study of Poincaré's representation of a hyperbolic space on an Euclidean half-space and elementary estimates for the least primitive root. Part II on analysis includes papers on a generalization of Green's Formula and its application to the Cauchy problem for a hyperbolic equation, and the fundamental solutions of a singular Beltrami operator. Part III deals with theoretical mechanics and covers topics such as turbulent flow, axially symmetric flow, and oscillating wakes. The papers in Part IV focus on applied mechanics. These include studies on plastic flow under high stresses and the problem of inelastic thermal stresses. Part V presents studies on probability and statistics, including a finite frequency theory of probability and the problem of expansion of clusters of galaxies.