Introduction

In this Section we discuss briefly some of the most important PDEs that arise in various branches of science and engineering. We shall see that some equations can be used to describe a variety of different situations.

Prerequisites

• have a knowledge of partial differentiation

Learning Outcomes

• recognise the heat conduction equation and the wave equation and have some knowledge of their applicability

Key Point 4 by no means exhausts the types of PDE which are important in applications. In this Section we will discuss those three PDEs in Key Point 4 in more detail and briefly discuss other PDEs over a wide range of applications. We will omit detailed derivations.