The Analytical Theory of Heat

First published in 1878, The Analytical Theory of Heat is Alexander Freeman's English translation of French mathematician Joseph Fourier's Théorie Analytique de la Chaleur, originally published in French in 1822. In this groundbreaking study, arguing that previous theories of mechanics advanced by such scientific greats as Archimedes, Galileo, Newton and their successors did not explain the laws of heat, Fourier set out to study the mathematical laws governing heat diffusion and proposed that an infinite mathematical series may be used to analyse the conduction of heat in solids. Known in scientific circles as the 'Fourier Series', this work paved the way for modern mathematical physics. This translation, now reissued, contains footnotes that cross-reference other writings by Fourier and his contemporaries, along with 20 figures and an extensive bibliography. This book will be especially useful for mathematicians who are interested in trigonometric series and their applications.

Preface; Preliminary discourse; 1. Introduction; 2. Equation of the movement of heat; 3. Propagation of heat in an infinite rectangular solid; 5. Of the propagation of heat in a solid sphere; 6. Of the movement of heat in a solid cylinder; 7. Propagation of heat in rectangular prism; 8. Of the movement of heat in a solid cube; 9. Of the diffusion of heat.

Translated by Alexander Freeman in 1878, with additional footnotes, 20 figures and an extensive bibliography, this book presents Fourier's theories of the mathematical laws governing the diffusion of heat in solids. Originally published in French in 1822, Fourier's work changed the way scientists perceived mathematical functions.