The present book treats the science of heat conduction to an extent to
which it can be taught in the specialized departments of Mechanical,
Chemical or Electrical Engineering at a German Engineering University.
No special prerequisites are assumed, and the mathematical methods
employed draw, essentially, on the content of a normal curriculum in the
depart- ments mentioned above. The book is intended for adoption in
conjunction with a standard lecture course or as an aid to review before
examinations. It should also be found helpful to a practicing engineer
in solving problems in heat conduction. As far as the readers are
concerned, the book should, above all, show that exact and approximate
solutions to answer questions which arise in a very large number of
important, practical applications are at their disposal. Further, the
book will show that in many cases it is possible to perform first
estimates in a very elementary manner before engaging in the derivation
of complicated analytic solutions. It is in this way that we utilize the
past results of the great mathematicians of earlier generations who have
bequeathed to us a considerable stock of methods and solutions. The
application of such methods is illustrated in this book with the aid of
examples drawn from various branches of science and technology. In this
manner, the wide field of applicability of heat transfer will be made
clear.