Ralph Palmer Agnew

Ralph Palmer Agnew (December 29, 1900 – October 16, 1986) was an American mathematician.

Agnew was born in Poland, Ohio, and did his undergraduate studies at Allegheny College. After completing a master's degree at Iowa State College he moved to Cornell University, where he received a Ph.D. in 1930. He was appointed to the Cornell faculty in 1931. He chaired the mathematics department at Cornell from 1940 to 1950, and was responsible for bringing William Feller and Mark Kac to Cornell.[1][2]

His research concerned summability of series; he also wrote textbooks on calculus and differential equations. One well-known example for dealing with a system of elementary differential equations attributed to Agnew is the "snow plow problem", which is stated as:[3]

It starts snowing in the morning and continues heavily and steadily throughout the day. A snow-plow starts plowing at noon and plows 2 miles in the first hour, and 1 mile in the second. What time did it start snowing?

The problem is deceptive for its paucity of information, and requires several common sense assumptions such as the instantaneous velocity of the plow is proportional to the depth of snow immediately in front of it, and there is no maximum or limiting velocity. These are arbitrary, but bear a particular relationship to each other. In the end, they cancel out of the equation and do not appear in the solution, which is a fixed time of day.[4]

His textbook on differential equations also contains a rather humorous note on the difficulty of converting a Laplace equation directly from Rectangular (Cartesian) coordinates to Spherical coordinates:

Doing this can make you forget your troubles the next time you have a toothache at an airport and are informed that your plane is 3 hours late.[5]

References

  1. ^ Ralph Palmer Agnew at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  2. ^ Livesay, G. Roger; Nerode, Anil; Fuchs, Wolfgang H. "Ralph Palmer Agnew" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-09.
  3. ^ "Snow plow problem" (PDF). sites.science.oregonstate.edu. Oregon State University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-10-24.
  4. ^ Differential Equations, McGraw-Hill, 1942, pp. 30–32 (pp. 39-40 in the 1960, 2nd edition).
  5. ^ Differential Equations, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, 1960, p. 148.


Flag of United StatesScientist icon

This article about an American mathematician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Read other articles:

Perodua MyVi

Perodua MyviInformasiProdusenPeroduaJuga disebutDaihatsu Sirion (Indonesia)[1]Masa produksiMei 2005 – SekarangBodi & rangkaKelasSubcompact/Supermini (B)Bentuk kerangka5-door hatchbackTata letakFront-engine, front-wheel-drive Perodua Myvi adalah mobil subkompak / supermini ( segmen-B ) yang diproduksi oleh pabrikan Malaysia Perodua sejak 2005. Berdasarkan Daihatsu Boon (juga bermerek Daihatsu Sirion, Toyota Passo, dan Subaru Justy ), Myvi adalah hasil kolaborasi Perodua...

 

羅生門 (電影)

本條目存在以下問題，請協助改善本條目或在討論頁針對議題發表看法。 此條目需要补充更多来源。 (2018年3月17日)请协助補充多方面可靠来源以改善这篇条目，无法查证的内容可能會因為异议提出而被移除。致使用者：请搜索一下条目的标题（来源搜索：羅生門 (電影) — 网页、新闻、书籍、学术、图像），以检查网络上是否存在该主题的更多可靠来源（判定指引）。 �...

 

Rajungan bintang

Rajungan bintang Portunus sanguinolentus TaksonomiKerajaanAnimaliaFilumArthropodaKelasMalacostracaOrdoDecapodaFamiliPortunidaeGenusPortunusSpesiesPortunus sanguinolentus Tata namaSinonim takson Cancer raihoae Curtiss, 1938 Lupa sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783) lbs Portunus sanguinolentus, rajungan bintang, rajungan bintik darah atau rajungan bintik merah, [1] adalah kepiting besar yang ditemukan di seluruh muara negara Samudra Hindia dan Pasifik Barat. Keterangan Kepiting besar dengan 15...

Rusa sika

Rusa sika Cervus nippon Rekaman Status konservasiRisiko rendahIUCN41788 TaksonomiKerajaanAnimaliaFilumChordataKelasMammaliaOrdoArtiodactylaFamiliCervidaeTribusCerviniGenusCervusSpesiesCervus nippon Temminck, 1836 SubspeciesC. n. dybowskii C. n. grassianus C. n. hortulorum C. n. keramae C. n. kopschi C. n. mandarinus C. n. nippon C. n. taioanus C. n. yesoensisDistribusi lbs Rusa sika (Cervus nippon) adalah jenis rusa dari keluarga Cervidae yang menempati wilayah Asia Timur. Rusa sika mendiami ...

 

Bandar Udara Internasional Shuangliu Chengdu

Chengdu ShuangliuInternational Airport成都双流国际机场Chéngdū Shuāngliú Guójì JīchǎngIATA: CTUICAO: ZUUUInformasiJenisPublicPengelolaSichuan Province Airport Group Co.,LtdMelayaniChengduLokasiShuangliu CountyMaskapai penghubungAir ChinaChengdu AirlinesSichuan AirlinesKetinggian dpl495 mdplSitus webwww.cdairport.comPetaCTULocation in SichuanLandasan pacu Arah Panjang Permukaan m kaki 02L/20R 3,600×45 11,181 Aspal/Beton 02R/20L 3,600×60 11,181 Beton Statistik (2011)P...

 

John Welsh (diplomat)

American diplomat John Welsh John Welsh (November 9, 1805 – April 19, 1886) was an American merchant and diplomat who served as US Minister to the Court of St. James. Biography His ancestors were among the early Swedish and English settlers in America. His father, also named John Welsh, moved from the state of Delaware to Philadelphia in 1786, and soon became a prominent merchant in that city.[1] His father trained John and his brothers Samuel and William to mercantile life, and...

Ternant-les-Eaux

Cet article est une ébauche concernant une commune du Puy-de-Dôme. Vous pouvez partager vos connaissances en l’améliorant (comment ?). Le bandeau {{ébauche}} peut être enlevé et l’article évalué comme étant au stade « Bon début » quand il comporte assez de renseignements encyclopédiques concernant la commune. Si vous avez un doute, l’atelier de lecture du projet Communes de France est à votre disposition pour vous aider. Consultez également la page d’aid...

 

Carnage (2002 film)

2002 film CarnageFilm posterDirected byDelphine GleizeWritten byDelphine GleizeProduced byAntonio BazagaDenis DelcampeJérôme DopfferStarringChiara MastroianniCinematographyCrystel FournierEdited byFrançois QuiqueréMusic byÉric Neveux Jérôme RebotierDavid HadjadjDistributed byDiaphana FilmsRelease dates 17 May 2002 (2002-05-17) (Cannes) 13 November 2002 (2002-11-13) (France) Running time130 minutesCountryFranceLanguageFrenchBudget€3.4 million[...

 

Kingdom of Sussex

Kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England Kingdom of the South SaxonsOld English: Sūþseaxna rīċeLatin: Regnum Sussaxonumc. 477–860Britain around AD 800StatusIndependent kingdom (477–686, 715–771, 796–827)Client state of Wessex (686–715, 827–860)Client state of Mercia (771–796)Official languagesOld EnglishReligion Paganism (before 7th century)Christianity (after 7th century)GovernmentMonarchyMonarchs (see full list) • 477–491 or later Ælle• fl. c. 660...

Miguel de Cervantes

Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright (1547–1616) Cervantes redirects here. For other uses, see Cervantes (disambiguation). Miguel Cervantes redirects here. For the American actor and singer, see Miguel Cervantes (actor). Miguel de CervantesThis portrait, attributed to Juan de Jáuregui,[a] is unauthenticated. No authenticated image of Cervantes exists.[1][2]Born29 September 1547 (assumed)Alcalá de Henares, Crown of CastileDied22 April 1616(1616-04-22) (aged 6...

 

Miniature pig

Small breeds of pig Miniature pigAn adult Göttingen MinipigConservation statusDOMTraitsPigSus domesticus Miniature pigs, also called mini pig are small breeds of domestic pig. All domesticated pigs are descended from the European or Asian wild boar.[1] They reach sexual maturity at four to eight months and must be castrated if they are kept together with the opposite sex. They reach their full height at four years of age. Depending on the breed, they reach up to 50 cm at the shoulder...

 

Punta de Anaga Lighthouse

Lighthouse on Tenerife, Spain LighthousePunta de Anaga Lighthouse LocationAnaga TenerifeCanary IslandsSpainCoordinates28°34′53″N 16°08′24″W / 28.581328°N 16.140019°W / 28.581328; -16.140019TowerConstructed1864Constructionstone towerHeight12 metres (39 ft)Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to 1-storey keeper's houseMarkingsunpainted tower, white lanternPower sourcesolar power LightFocal height247 metres (810 ft)Lensor...

Odawara Station

Railway station in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan This article is about the railway station in Kanagawa Prefecture. For the railway station in Miyagi Prefecture, see Ōgawara Station. For the railway station in Kyoto Prefecture, see Ōkawara Station. JT16 Odawara Station小田原駅Odawara Station in December 2016General informationLocation1 Sakaechō, Odawara City, Kanagawa PrefectureJapanCoordinates35°15′23″N 139°09′18″E / 35.25639°N 139.15500°E / 35...

 

乌克兰总理

 烏克蘭總理Прем'єр-міністр України烏克蘭國徽現任杰尼斯·什米加尔自2020年3月4日任命者烏克蘭總統任期總統任命首任維托爾德·福金设立1991年11月后继职位無网站www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/（英文） 乌克兰 乌克兰政府与政治系列条目 宪法 政府 总统 弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基 總統辦公室 国家安全与国防事务委员会 总统代表（英语：Representatives of the President of Ukraine） 总...

 

アプリケーションソフトウェア

「アプリケーション」はこの項目へ転送されています。英語の意味については「wikt:応用」、「wikt:application」をご覧ください。 この記事には複数の問題があります。改善やノートページでの議論にご協力ください。 出典がまったく示されていないか不十分です。内容に関する文献や情報源が必要です。（2018年4月） 古い情報を更新する必要があります。（2021年3月）出...

España en la Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 1934

España5.º lugar Oficial Alternativo Asociación RFEF Participación 1a Mejor resultado Campeón: 2010 Ranking histórico 6.º lugar Entrenador Amadeo García de Salazar Luco España fue una de las 16 selecciones participantes de la Copa Mundial de Fútbol de Italia 1934, siendo esta su primera participación en un mundial de fútbol. Clasificación Véase también: clasificación para la Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 1934 11 de marzo de 1934 España ESP 9–0 POR Portugal Estadio de...

 

Cucina salentina

Voce principale: Salento. La cucina salentina è la cucina tipica del Salento, comprendente le tre province di Lecce, Brindisi e Taranto. È una cucina, per molti versi, legata alla cultura contadina ma, come d'altronde facile da immaginare per un territorio circondato da 3 lati dal mare, fortemente legata alla tradizione marinara. Gli ingredienti usati partono dalla farina, quasi sempre di grano duro e poco raffinata oppure dalla farina di orzo per andare verso una quantità notevole di ver...

 

Saab 35 Draken

1955 Swedish fighter aircraft Saab 35 Draken Swedish Air Force Saab 35F Draken Role Fighter-interceptorType of aircraft National origin Sweden Manufacturer Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB) First flight 25 October 1955 Introduction 8 March 1960[1] (frontline service) Retired 2005 (Austria) Status Retired from military service Primary users Swedish Air ForceAustrian Air ForceFinnish Air ForceRoyal Danish Air Force Produced 1955–1974 Number built 651[2] Developed from Saab 210 S...

Busch Stadium

Baseball stadium in St. Louis, Missouri This article is about the current sports venue in St. Louis, Missouri, that opened in 2006. For the stadium in St. Louis that operated from 1966 to 2005, see Busch Memorial Stadium. For the ballpark known as Busch Stadium from 1953 to 1966, see Sportsman's Park. Not to be confused with Bush Stadium. Busch StadiumBusch Stadium IIIBaseball HeavenBusch Stadium in 2022Busch StadiumLocation in MissouriShow map of MissouriBusch StadiumLocation in the United S...

 

5th century in Lebanon

Events from the 5th century in Lebanon 5th century in Lebanon Key event(s): Christianization of Lebanon Icon of Maron, whose followers, after his death, founded a religious Christian movement that became known as the Maronite Church, Chronology: ← 4th century 5th century 6th century → Part of a series on the History of Lebanon Timeline Ancient Prehistory Canaan/Phoenicia (2500–333 BC) Egyptian rule (1550–1077 BC) Hittite rule (1600–1178 BC) Assyrian rule (883–605 BC) Babylonian ru...