The Analytical Theory of Heat
by Joseph Fourier · Théorie analytique de la chaleur
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1822
- Language
- French
- Length
- Long · 470 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Formidable5 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Analytical Theory of Heat, translated by Alexander FreemanDover PublicationsThe 1878 Cambridge translation, reprinted cheaply and still the only complete English version.
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Fourier's treatise, begun in a prize memoir of 1807 and published in 1822, works out how heat diffuses through solid bodies. He states a law that the flow of heat across a surface is proportional to the temperature gradient, derives the partial differential equation that governs conduction, and then solves it for rings, bars, spheres, cubes and the earth itself under prescribed boundary conditions. The mathematical tool he invents to do it, the expansion of an arbitrary function in a series of sines and cosines, outlived the physics and forced mathematicians to rethink what a function and a convergent series are.
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The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Analytical Theory of Heat are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
