Abstract
This introductory chapter explains the scope and structure of this book and why it may be useful for the reader. Some basic notions and concepts of continuum theory are introduced. As a motivation for studying continuum theory several engineering problems are presented, which will eventually be solved in the following chapters.
Relations between pure and applied mathematicians
are based on trust and understanding.
Namely, pure mathematicians do not trust applied mathematicians,
and applied mathematicians do not understand pure mathematicians.
Albert Einstein
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- 1.
The adjective “specific” refers to a quantity per unit mass. An example for a specific force is the well-known gravitational acceleration, g.
- 2.
Second order tensors are sometimes underlined twice
- 3.
A more careful investigation shows that this assumption is reasonable up to a fiber volume of 40 %.
References
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Serbena FC, Zanotto ED (2012) Internal residual stresses in glass-ceramics: a review. J Non-Cryst Solids 358(6–7):975–984
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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Müller, W.H. (2014). Prologue. In: An Expedition to Continuum Theory. Solid Mechanics and Its Applications, vol 210. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7799-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7799-6_1
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