LE MÉHAUTÉ, B. 1976. An introduction to hydrodynamics and water waves. Springer‐Verlag, New York, viii + 323 p. $24.80.

Abstract

These notes accompany a course in hydrodynamics taught in Bonn to Master's students. The course has been designed for students who have completed an undergraduate degree in physics and are familiar with the basics of thermodynamics and vector calculus. As the vast majority of undergraduate courses do not include fluid mechanics, no prior knowledge of the subject is assumed. Also not assumed is any knowledge of astrophysics, so that this course is accessible to students studying for a Master's degree in physics. However there is a definite bias towards applications in astrophysics and geophysics, as opposed to applications in engineering – in practice this means that topics given much attention elsewhere, such as boundary layers, pipe flow, and aerodynamics are mentioned only relatively briefly in this course. Many of the principles are illustrated using examples from everyday experience, as in this way the student can develop an intuitive understanding which can then be applied in other contexts. For instance, reference is made to the hydraulic shock formed as water from a tap spreads out across the surface of a wash basin as a connection to the phenomenon of astrophysical shocks. Phenomena in atmospheric physics are also used as a bridge between terrestrial intuition and the astrophysical context. In fact, atmospheric fluid mechanics has a longer history than astrophysical fluids and can be considered more 'advanced'; astrophysicists are well advised to learn from this neighbouring field to avoid reinventing the wheel. At the moment these notes contain little or no material on shocks, convection or turbulence. At present, these topics are taught as a part of this course in two lectures by M. Cantiello. The last quarter of the course (the last two chapters of these notes) concerns magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), essentially an extension of hydrodynamics to electrically conducting fluids; here we cannot draw on terrestrial intuition and must rely purely on theory. These chapters are 'stand alone' in that they can be read without the rest of the notes.