Final Remarks

Abstract

The first manuscript of the present book was completed in 1951. Since then various developments have taken place and some new methods have appeared. The book on transonic flow by Guderley{su1}, the book on Southwell’s method by Shaw{su2}, the aerodynamic encyclopedia published by Princeton{su3}, and its counterpart in Great Britain{su4}, etc., should be mentioned in any bibliography. There are many other methods available at the present time, both exact and approximate, as well as reviews and résumés of the available methods. But strange as it may seem, these books and encyclopedias neither accurately describe nor properly use Bergman’s method. This may be partly due to the fact that an acquaintance with this method requires slightly more mathematical knowledge then is usually assumed. Thus the present book may well serve the purpose of making the theory of compressible flow more comprehensible from a physical point of view by the use of the appropriate mathematical techniques.

The author wishes to express his deepest thanks to Dr. E. F. Trombley, Cincinnati, Ohio, U. S. A., for many valuable comments and remarks referring to this section.