Download Free An Elementary Treatise On The Calculus Of Variations Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online An Elementary Treatise On The Calculus Of Variations and write the review.

From the Preface: The book consists of two parts. In the first part, I have made an attempt to simplify the presentation of the theory of partial differential equations to the first order so that its study will require little time and also be accessible to the average student of mathematics ? The second part, which contains the Calculus of Variations, can also be read independently if one refers back to earlier sections in Part I ? I have never lost sight of the fact that the Calculus of Variations, as it is presented in Part II, should above all be a servant of Mechanics. Therefore, I have in particular prepared everything from the very outset for treatment in multidimensional spaces. In this second English edition of Carath‚odory's famous work, the two volumes of the first edition have been combined into one (with a combination of the two indexes into a single index). There is a deep and fundamental relationship between the differential equations that occur in the calculus of variations and partial differential equations of the first order: in particular, to each such partial differential equation there correspond variational problems. This basic fact forms the rationale for Carath‚odory's masterpiece.
The development of the calculus of variations has, from the beginning, been interlaced with that of the differential and integral calculus. Without any knowledge of the calculus, one can readily understand at least the geometrical or mechanical statements of many of the problems of the calculus of variations and the character of their solutions. The discovery and justification of the results in this book, apart from their simple statements, do require, however, acquaintance with the principles of the calculus, and it is assumed that the reader has such an acquaintance. Calculus of Variations begins by studying special problems rather than the general theory. The first chapter of the book describes the historical setting out of which the theory of the calculus of variations grew and the character of some of the simpler problems. The next three chapters are devoted to the development, in detail, of the then known results for three special problems (shortest distances, brachistochrone, and surfaces of revolution of minimum area) which illustrate in excellent fashion the essential characteristics of the general theory contained in Chapter V with which the book concludes.
Reprint of the original, first published in 1861.
This two-volume treatise is a standard reference in the field. It pays special attention to the historical aspects and the origins partly in applied problems—such as those of geometric optics—of parts of the theory. It contains an introduction to each chapter, section, and subsection and an overview of the relevant literature in the footnotes and bibliography. It also includes an index of the examples used throughout the book.
This book by two of the foremost researchers and writers in the field is the first part of a treatise that covers the subject in breadth and depth, paying special attention to the historical origins of the theory. Both individually and collectively these volumes have already become standard references.