Sinposis

IN THE PRESENT EDITION I HAVE INCLUDED "SUPPLEMENTS AND PROBLEMS" LOCATED AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER. THIS WAS DONE WITH THE AIM OF ILLUSTRATING THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE METHODS CONTAINED IN THE BOOK, AS WELL AS WITH THE DESIRE TO MAKE GOOD ON WHAT I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DO OVER THE COURSE OF MANY YEARS FOR MY STUDENTS-TO AWAKEN THEIR CREATIVITY, PROVIDING TOPICS FOR INDEPENDENT WORK. THE SOURCE OF MY OWN INITIAL RESEARCH WAS THE FAMOUS TWO-VOLUME BOOK METHODS OF MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS BY D. HILBERT AND R. COURANT, AND A SERIES OF ORIGINAL ARTICLES AND SURVEYS ON PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS TO PROBLEMS IN THEORETICAL MECHANICS AND PHYSICS