More than fifty years ago, Professor R. S. Rivlin pioneered developments in both the theory and experiments of rubber elasticity. These together with his other fundamental studies contributed to a revitalization of the theory of finite elasticity, which had been dormant, since the basic understanding was completed in the nineteenth century. This book with chapters on foundation, models, universal results, wave propagation, qualitative theory and phase transitions, indicates that the subject he reinvigorated has remainded remarkably vibran and has continued to present significant deep mathematical and experimental challenges.

First organized in 1981, the WASCOM conference to bring together researchers and scientists from all over the world to discuss problems, promote collaborations and shape future directions for research in the field of stability and wave propagation in continuous media. This book constitutes the proceedings of the 11th edition of the conference, the first of the third millennium. The main topics are: (1) Linear and nonlinear hyperbolic equations, conservation laws and specific aspects of wave propagation; (2) stability of systems of PDEs, with particular reference to those of fluid and solid mechanics; (3) extended thermodynamics and passage from microscopic to macroscopic description of the medium for systems characterized also by inelastic interactions at the kinetic scale. The proceedings have been selected for coverage in: • Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings) Contents:Recovering the Potential in the Schrödinger Equation from the N-D Map (S Avdonin et al.)Space Homogeneous Solutions of the Linear Boltzmann Equation for Semiconductors: A Semigroup Approach (J Banasiak et al.)Grad's Closure in the Kinetic Theory of a Chemically Reacting Gas (M Bisi et al.)Characteristic Shocks in Exceptional Directions (G Boillat & A Muracchini)Continuum Mechanics and Dynamical Permutations (Y Brenier)Continuum Equations for Rarefied Gases (X Chen & E A Spiegel)Decay and Other Properties of Cross-Sectional Measures in Elasticity (J N Flavin)Dynamics of Lines in the Spreading of Liquids on Solid Surfaces (H Gouin)Integration and Segregation in a Population — A Short Account of Socio-Thermodynamics (I Müller)Second Sound Propagation in Superfluid Helium via Extended Thermodynamics (A Muracchini et al.)An H-Theorem in a Simple Model of Chemically Reactive Dense Gases (J Polewczak)Modelling of Dissipative Processes (K R Rajagopal)On the Geometry of Spatial Hydrodynamic Motions. Solitonic Connections (C Rogers)Thermodynamics and Balance Laws for Processes of Inelastic Deformations (E I Romenski)Kinetic and Fluidynamic Approaches to Four-Wave-Mixing and Thermal Acoustic Phenomena in Quantum Optics (F Schürrer er al.)Unconditional Nonlinear Stability Via the Energy Method (B Straughan)Entropy Methods for the Asymptotic Behaviour of Fourth-order Nonlinear Diffusion Equations (G Toscani)and other papers Readership: Academics, researchers and graduate students in mathematical modeling, mathematical physics, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. Keywords:Discontinuity and Shock Waves;Hyperbolic Systems;Stability in Fluid Dynamics;Small Parameter Problems;Kinetic Theories towards Continuum Models;Non Equilibrium Thermodynamics;Extended Thermodynamics;Chemically Reacting Mixtures;Mathematical Models of Biology;Numerical Methods of Fluid Dynamics

First organized in 1981, the WASCOM conference to bring together researchers and scientists from all over the world to discuss problems, promote collaborations and shape future directions for research in the field of stability and wave propagation in continuous media.This book constitutes the proceedings of the 11th edition of the conference, the first of the third millennium. The main topics are: (1) Linear and nonlinear hyperbolic equations, conservation laws and specific aspects of wave propagation; (2) stability of systems of PDEs, with particular reference to those of fluid and solid mechanics; (3) extended thermodynamics and passage from microscopic to macroscopic description of the medium for systems characterized also by inelastic interactions at the kinetic scale.The proceedings have been selected for coverage in: ? Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)

A translation of the text by Roberto Tenenbaum (originally published in Portuguese).