Physics of Continuous Matter: Exotic and Everyday Phenomena in the Macroscopic World

Offering a modern approach to this most classical of subjects, Physics of Continuous Matter is first and foremost an introduction to the basic concepts and phenomenology of continuous systems, and the derivations of the equations of continuum mechanics from Newtonian mechanics. Although many examples, particularly in the earlier chapters, are taken from geophysics and astrophysics, the author places the emphasis frimly on generic methods and applications. Each chapter begins with a ‘soft’ introduction, placing the discussion within an everyday context, and the level of difficulty then rises steadily, a pattern which is reflected throughout the text as a whole. The necessary mathematical tools are developed in parallel with the physics on a ‘need-to-know’ basis, an approach that avoids lengthy mathematical preliminaries.

... this book satisfies with great style. Although it starts from the very beginning of the subject, it also reaches advanced topics, but without discontinuities along the way. ... A good introductory course could be based on this material. ...The emphasis is on understanding the problems and obtaining analytical solutions, but there are two chapters on computational methods, for static elasticity and for fluid dynamics. ... This is an excellent text, which ought to inspire students and teachers alike with the richness of behaviour that is contained within a few continuum equations – equations that are easy to derive but often far from easy to solve. The subject may have its roots in the nineteenth century, but this book shows that it is still alive, relevant and challenging in the twenty-first.
―Tony Harker, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Physical Sciences Educational Reviews, Vol. 7, Issue 1, May 2006

...a superb text on continuum theory and applications with absolutely outstanding graphics. The graphs and figures in the side panels I expect will be extremely helpful...The book is at the same time introductory and advanced, and the range of topics is exceptionally wide.
―Professor Richard Lovelace, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

...perhaps the only modern advanced undergraduate introduction to the subject...put together very elegantly and intelligently, illustrated by many examples from geophysics, astrophysics and other fields...a pleasure to teach. For a student who has already encountered solid and fluid mechanics, the text offers rigor and breadth; nothing is asserted, everything is derived.
―Predrag Cvitanovic, Glen P. Robinson Chair in Nonlinear Sciences, School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology