George Gabriel Stokes: Life, Science and Faith

by Mark McCartney (Editor), Andrew Whitaker (Editor), Alastair Wood (Editor)

Overview

George Gabriel Stokes was one of the most important mathematical physicists of the 19th century. During his lifetime he made a wide range of contributions, notably in continuum mechanics, optics and mathematical analysis. His name is known to generations of scientists and engineers through the various physical laws and mathematical formulae named after him, such as the Navier-Stokes equations in fluid dynamics. Born in Ireland into a family of academics, clergymen and physicians, he became the longest serving Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge.

Impressive as his own scientific achievements were, he made an equally important contribution as a sounding board for his contemporaries, providing good judgement and mathematical rigour in his wide correspondence and during his 31 years as Secretary of the Royal Society where he played a major role in the direction of British science. Outside his own area he was a distinguished public servant and MP for Cambridge University. He was keenly interested in the relation between science and religion and wrote at length on their interaction. Stokes was a remarkable scientist who lived in an equally remarkable age of discovery and innovation.

This edited collection of essays brings together experts in mathematics, physics and the history of science to cover the many facets of Stokes's life in a scholarly but accessible way to mark the bicentenary of his birth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198822868
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/27/2019
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	9.70(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Mark McCartney, Senior lecturer in mathematics, Ulster University,Andrew Whitaker, Visiting Professor, Queen's University Belfast,Alastair Wood, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Dublin City University

Mark McCartney studied mathematics and physics at The Queen's University, Belfast, graduating with a PhD in 1993. He is currently employed as senior lecturer in mathematics at Ulster University His research in applied mathematics is centred around nonlinear dynamics, while his work in the history of mathematics and natural philosophy focuses on the nineteenth century. He is President (2018-2020) of the British Society for the History of Mathematics.


Andrew Whitaker did his first degree at Oxford University, and his doctorate at the University of Nottingham, where he worked on nuclear magnetic resonance with Peter Mansfield, later Sir Peter and a Nobel Laureate in Medicine for his part in the invention of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). He lectured in Northern Ireland from 1970, initially in the University of Ulster, and from 1989 at Queen's University of Belfast, where he became Professor in 2002. In later years most of his research has been in the foundations of quantum theory, especially the work of John Bell, and more recently he has become involved in historical aspects of physics, in particular quantum physics.


Alastair Wood is a graduate of St.Andrews University and held Lectureships in the Universities of Manchester and Cranfield prior to becoming Wescan Professor of Applied Mathematics in Dublin City University, serving 9 years as Dean of Faculty. His main research areas of Asymptotic Analvsis and Differential Equations, where Stokes made major contributions, led him to a deeper appreciation of the man and his works. He was a plenary speaker at the 2003 Commemorations of the centenary of Stokes's death held in the Isaac Newton Institute and the Royal Irish Academy. With Michael Berry he organised the 1998 to 2004 Summer Schools at Stokes's birthplace in Co.Sligo.

Table of Contents

1. Introductory biography, Alistair Wood2. The Stokes family in Ireland and Cambridge, Michael Sandford3. "Stokes of Pembroke S.W. & a very good one" - The Mathematical Education of George Gabriel Stokes, June Barrow-Green4. Stokes's optics I : Waves in lumeniferous ether, Oliver Darrigol5. Stokes's optics II : Other phenomena in light, Oliver Darrigol6. Stokes's fundamental contributions to fluid dynamics., Peter Lynch7. Stokes's Mathematical work, Richard Paris8. George Gabriel Stokes and the Royal Society, Sloan Evans Despeaux9. Stokes and engineering: The analysis of the structure of railway bridges and their collapse, Andrew Whitaker10. Faith and thought: Stokes as a religious man of science, Stuart Mathieson11. The Scientific legacy of George Gabriel Stokes, Andrew Fowler

Editorial Reviews

"This book provided me with many insights into Stokes' life, science and faith and so amply fulfilled the promise of its title. Perhaps my background makes me somewhat biased, but I found it fascinating to read and would thoroughly recommend it as a way to learn about one of the less well known Victorian scientists who also had a clear Christian faith." — Meric Srokosz, Science & Christian Belief

"This book is a welcome addition to the growing series of studies in mathematical history, and I recommend it to anyone interested the history of mathematics or curious to learn more about the man whose name appears in so many mathematical contexts." — Keith Hannabuss, Emeritus Lecturer in the Mathematical Institute, Oxford, LMS Newsletter

"Reading this celebration of the life and works of Stokes is enlightening and pleasurable at the same time. The book can be read with benefit by everyone interested either in Stokes, his character and his life, or in some of his areas of research." — Thomas Sonar, zbMath

From the Publisher