Waves

Waves are ubiquitous in nature. Waves: An Introduction for Physicists and Engineers focuses primarily on the classical fields of elasticity, fluid mechanics, and electrodynamics, also exploring waves in biology, chemistry, and modern physics, such as waves in quantum mechanics and general relativity. Common themes emerge which can lead to a cross-fertilisation of the sciences. Starting with Part I, the textbook provides an overview of the fundamental properties of wave propagation. This is followed by a discussion of elastic waves in or on solids, including seismic waves. Waves in fluids are then covered in Part III, which includes a detailed discussion of linear and nonlinear surface gravity waves, internal waves in rotating and stratified fluids, and acoustic waves. Electromagnetic waves are discussed in Part IV, where an overview of Maxwell's equations is followed by a detailed discussion of confined waves in transmission lines and waveguides, free-space waves in three dimensions, radiation from compact dipole sources, and radiation from relativistic charges. The book ends, in Part V, with an overview of more specialized wave types. The topics covered include gravitational waves in astrophysics, chemical waves, traffic waves, and waves in biology, including the propagation of nerve impulses along neurons and pulsatile blood flow. Throughout, Davidson seeks to combine a pedagogical development of theoretical ideas, and the physical insights which that brings, with a description and analysis of the many fascinating examples of waves found in nature.

P. A. Davidson is Emeritus Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Cambridge. He has authored over 100 publications in the fields of magnetohydrodynamics and turbulence including The Dynamics of Rotating Fluids (2024), Incompressible Fluid Dynamics (2021), and An Introduction to Electrodynamics (2019) published with OUP. He has worked as a research engineer in industry in both the UK and the US.