Operational MethodsIn Mathematical Physics

by Harold Jeffreys

Master the tools and techniques of mathematical physics with this comprehensive guide. Jeffrey's clear explanations and worked examples make even the most abstract concepts accessible to students and researchers alike. Topics covered include wave equations, asymptotic methods, and non-linear dynamics. Whether you're new to the subject or a seasoned practitioner, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the fascinating field of mathematical physics. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

116 pages, Paperback

Published July 18, 2023

About the author

Sir Harold Jeffreys, FRS (22 April 1891 – 18 March 1989) was an English mathematician, statistician, geophysicist, and astronomer. His book Theory of Probability, which first appeared in 1939, played an important role in the revival of the Bayesian view of probability.

Jeffreys was born in Fatfield, Washington, County Durham, England. He studied at Armstrong College in Newcastle upon Tyne, then part of the University of Durham, and with the University of London External Programme.

At the University of Cambridge he taught mathematics, then geophysics and finally became the Plumian Professor of Astronomy.

He married another mathematician and physicist, Bertha Swirles (1903–1999), in 1940 and together they wrote Methods of Mathematical Physics.

One of his major contributions was on the Bayesian approach to probability (also see Jeffreys prior), as well as the idea that the Earth's planetary core was liquid. He was knighted in 1953.

By 1924 Jeffreys had developed a general method of approximating solutions to linear, second-order differential equations, including the Schrödinger equation. Although the Schrödinger equation was developed two years later, Wentzel, Kramers, and Brillouin were apparently unaware of this earlier work, so Jeffreys is often neglected when credit is given for the WKB approximation.

Jeffreys received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1937, the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1960, and the Royal Statistical Society's Guy Medal in Gold in 1962. In 1948, Jeffreys received the Prix Charles Lagrange from the Académie royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique.

From 1939 to 1952 he was established as Director of the International Seismological Summary further known as International Seismological Centre.

The textbook Probability Theory: The Logic of Science, written by the physicist and probability theorist Edwin T. Jaynes, is dedicated to Jeffreys. The dedication reads, "Dedicated to the memory of Sir Harold Jeffreys, who saw the truth and preserved it."

It is only through an appendix to the third edition of Jeffreys' book Scientific Inference that we know about Mary Cartwright's method of proving that the number π is irrational.

Honors/awards:

Fellow, Royal Society, 1925
Adams Prize, 1927 (Constitution of the Earth)
Gold Medal, Royal Astronomical Society, 1937
Buchan Prize, Royal Meteorological Society, 1929
Murchison Medal of Geological Society (Great Britain) 1939
Victoria Medal, Royal Geographical Society, 1941
Lagrange Prize, Brussels Academy, 1948
Royal Medal, 1948
William Bowie Medal, American Geophysical Union, 1952
Knighted, 1953
Copley Medal, Royal Society, 1961
Vetlesen Prize, 1962