Publisher's Synopsis
Continuum mechanics is a theory of the kinematics and dynamics of material bodies in the limit in which matter can be assumed to be infinitely subdividable. Scientists have long struggled with the question as to whether matter consisted ultimately of an aggregate of indivisible ''atoms'', or whether any small parcel of material could be subdivided indefinitely into smaller and smaller pieces. As we all now realize, ordinary matter does indeed consist of atoms. However, far from being indivisible, these atoms split into a staggering array of other particles under sufficient application of energy -- indeed, much of modern physics is the study of the structure of atoms and their constituent particles. Previous to the advent of quantum mechanics and the associated experimental techniques for studying atoms, physicists tried to understand every aspect of the behavior of matter and energy in terms of continuum mechanics. Continuum Mechanics is based on the continuum hypothesis: Matter is continuously distributed throughout the space occupied by the matter. Regardless of how small volume elements the matter is subdivided into, every element will contain matter. The basis for the hypothesis is how we directly experience matter and its macroscopic properties, and furthermore on how physical quantities we use, as for example pressure, temperature, and velocity, are measured macroscopically. Continuum Mechanics and Theory of Materials deals with concepts such as elasticity, plasticity, viscoelasticity and viscoplasticity in nonlinear materials. The aim of a general theory of material behavior is to provide a classified range of possibilities from which a user can select the constitutive model that applies best. It develops the subject of continuum mechanics from the point of view of an applied physicist with interests in geophysics and astrophysics. The subject of continuum mechanics is a vast one, and the above interests have guided the selection of material. However, the basic subjects covered, i. e., elastic bodies and Newtonian fluids, transcend the author's particular interests, and are central to the full spectrum of applications of continuum mechanics. This book will be valuable to graduate students of materials science in engineering and in physics.
