Rheology: An Historical Perspective

by R.I. Tanner, K. Walters

Overview

The science of rheology remains a mystery to most people, even to some scientists. Some respectable dictionaries have been quite cavalier in their attitude to the science, the small Collins Gem dictionary, for example, being quite happy to inform us that a Rhea is an three-toed South American ostrich, whilst at the same time offering no definition of rheology. This maybe due to the fact that the science is interdisciplinary and does not fit well into any one of the historical disciplines.

This book contains an in-depth study of the history of rheology, beginning with the statements of Heraclitus, Confucius and the prophetess Deborah. It also emphasises the distinctive contributions of Newton, Hooke, Boltzmann, Maxwell, Kelvin and others, and culminates in the flourishing activity in the second half of this century.

Features of this book:

• Is the only book on the subject

• Prevents the rediscovery of results already made

• Will educate newcomers to the field to the rich heritage in even a relatively recent science like rheology.

The book will be invaluable for science and scientific history libraries and will also be of interest to rheologists, and scientists working in the polymer processing, food, lubrication, detergent and similar industries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780444829467
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	02/17/1999
Series:	Rheology Series , #7
Pages:	254
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Preface 1. Introduction: The Ground is Prepared. 2. The Growing Years Before 1945. 3. Interlude: Rheology Becomes an Independent Science: Societies, Congresses and Journals. 4. Constitutive Equations. 5. From Continuum Theory to Microstructure (and Vice Versa). 6. Rheometry Beyond Viscosity. 7. Some Distinctive Rheological Concepts and Phenomena. 8. Computational Rheology. Appendices. Appendix 1. Rheometrical functions (notation). Appendix 2. Society of Rheology Bingham Medal Recipients. Appendix 3. British Society of Rheology Awards. References. Author Index. Subject Index.

Editorial Reviews

According to the introduction, rheology<-->the science of deformation and flow of materials<-->"predates the formal introduction of the term in 1929 by centuries, if not millennia." This history describes the scope of the science, its roots in the past, the evolution of the discipline, and its major innovators and innovations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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