B. Lautrup is a professor in theoretical physics at the Niels Bohr International Academy in the Niels Bohr Institute under the University of Copenhagen. He is also chairman of the Center for the Philosophy of Nature and Science Studies at the University of Copenhagen. His research interests include complex systems, fluid mechanics, and network theory.

"With its elegant presentation and comprehensive treatment of the subject, Physics of Continuous Matter does a fantastic job of illustrating how the physics of the classical world around us is profound, beautiful, and often counterintuitive."—Sujit S. Datta, Pure and Applied Geophysics, 170 (2013)"I completely agree with the reviewer of the first edition that this book provides an excellent, modern introduction to the field of continuum mechanics. The second edition has been streamlined, and the structure of the presentation has been improved. … on its best way to become a classic text in the field. The text is exceptionally clear and well structured, and the breadth of the fields from which the author chooses his illustrating examples is impressive. … I can warmly recommend this book to everyone with an interest in continuum mechanics, lecturers and students alike. Lecturers will find various historical anecdotes, innumerable examples and applications, and a modern account of almost all basic aspects of continuum mechanics that will provide an excellent foundation for a lecture course on this subject. Students can benefit from the author’s deep physical insight into many difficult problems as well as his mastery of mathematical analysis."—Thomas Peters, Contemporary Physics, January 2013Praise for the First Edition:"… this book satisfies with great style. Although it starts from the very beginning of the subject, it also reaches advanced topics, but without discontinuities along the way. … A good introductory course could be based on this material. …The emphasis is on understanding the problems and obtaining analytical solutions, but there are two chapters on computational methods, for static elasticity and for fluid dynamics. … This is an excellent text, which ought to inspire students and teachers alike with the richness of behaviour that is contained within a few continuum equations – equations that are easy to derive but often far from easy to solve. The subject may have its roots in the nineteenth century, but this book shows that it is still alive, relevant and challenging in the twenty-first." —Tony Harker, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Physical Sciences Educational Reviews, Vol. 7, Issue 1, May 2006 "…a superb text on continuum theory and applications with absolutely outstanding graphics. The graphs and figures in the side panels I expect will be extremely helpful…The book is at the same time introductory and advanced, and the range of topics is exceptionally wide." —Professor Richard Lovelace, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA"…perhaps the only modern advanced undergraduate introduction to the subject…put together very elegantly and intelligently, illustrated by many examples from geophysics, astrophysics and other fields…a pleasure to teach. For a student who has already encountered solid and fluid mechanics, the text offers rigor and breadth; nothing is asserted, everything is derived." —Predrag Cvitanovic, Glen P. Robinson Chair in Nonlinear Sciences, School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology

• Continuous Matter. FLUIDS AT REST: Pressure. Buoyancy and Stability. Hydrostatic Shapes. Surface Tension. SOLIDS AT REST: Stress. Strain. Hooke’s Law. Basic Elastostatics. Slender Rods. Computational Elastostatics. FLUIDS IN MOTION: Continuum Dynamics. Nearly Ideal Flow. Compressible Flow. Viscosity. Channels and Pipes. Creeping Flow. Rotating Fluids. Computational Fluid Dynamics. BALANCE AND CONSERVATION: Mechanical Balances. Action and Reaction. Energy. Entropy. SELECTED TOPICS: Elastic Vibrations. Gravity Waves. Jumps and Shocks. Whirls and Vortices. Boundary Layers. Subsonic Flight. Convection. Turbulence. APPENDICES: Newtonian Mechanics. Cartesian Coordinates. Field Calculus. Curvilinear Coordinates. Thermodynamics of Ideal Gases. Answers to Problems. References. Index.

B. Lautrup is a professor in theoretical physics at the Niels Bohr International Academy in the Niels Bohr Institute under the University of Copenhagen. He is also chairman of the Center for the Philosophy of Nature and Science Studies at the University of Copenhagen. His research interests include complex systems, fluid mechanics, and network theory.

"With its elegant presentation and comprehensive treatment of the subject, Physics of Continuous Matter does a fantastic job of illustrating how the physics of the classical world around us is profound, beautiful, and often counterintuitive."—Sujit S. Datta, Pure and Applied Geophysics, 170 (2013)"I completely agree with the reviewer of the first edition that this book provides an excellent, modern introduction to the field of continuum mechanics. The second edition has been streamlined, and the structure of the presentation has been improved. … on its best way to become a classic text in the field. The text is exceptionally clear and well structured, and the breadth of the fields from which the author chooses his illustrating examples is impressive. … I can warmly recommend this book to everyone with an interest in continuum mechanics, lecturers and students alike. Lecturers will find various historical anecdotes, innumerable examples and applications, and a modern account of almost all basic aspects of continuum mechanics that will provide an excellent foundation for a lecture course on this subject. Students can benefit from the author’s deep physical insight into many difficult problems as well as his mastery of mathematical analysis."—Thomas Peters, Contemporary Physics, January 2013Praise for the First Edition:"… this book satisfies with great style. Although it starts from the very beginning of the subject, it also reaches advanced topics, but without discontinuities along the way. … A good introductory course could be based on this material. …The emphasis is on understanding the problems and obtaining analytical solutions, but there are two chapters on computational methods, for static elasticity and for fluid dynamics. … This is an excellent text, which ought to inspire students and teachers alike with the richness of behaviour that is contained within a few continuum equations – equations that are easy to derive but often far from easy to solve. The subject may have its roots in the nineteenth century, but this book shows that it is still alive, relevant and challenging in the twenty-first." —Tony Harker, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Physical Sciences Educational Reviews, Vol. 7, Issue 1, May 2006 "…a superb text on continuum theory and applications with absolutely outstanding graphics. The graphs and figures in the side panels I expect will be extremely helpful…The book is at the same time introductory and advanced, and the range of topics is exceptionally wide." —Professor Richard Lovelace, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA"…perhaps the only modern advanced undergraduate introduction to the subject…put together very elegantly and intelligently, illustrated by many examples from geophysics, astrophysics and other fields…a pleasure to teach. For a student who has already encountered solid and fluid mechanics, the text offers rigor and breadth; nothing is asserted, everything is derived." —Predrag Cvitanovic, Glen P. Robinson Chair in Nonlinear Sciences, School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology

• Continuous Matter. FLUIDS AT REST: Pressure. Buoyancy and Stability. Hydrostatic Shapes. Surface Tension. SOLIDS AT REST: Stress. Strain. Hooke’s Law. Basic Elastostatics. Slender Rods. Computational Elastostatics. FLUIDS IN MOTION: Continuum Dynamics. Nearly Ideal Flow. Compressible Flow. Viscosity. Channels and Pipes. Creeping Flow. Rotating Fluids. Computational Fluid Dynamics. BALANCE AND CONSERVATION: Mechanical Balances. Action and Reaction. Energy. Entropy. SELECTED TOPICS: Elastic Vibrations. Gravity Waves. Jumps and Shocks. Whirls and Vortices. Boundary Layers. Subsonic Flight. Convection. Turbulence. APPENDICES: Newtonian Mechanics. Cartesian Coordinates. Field Calculus. Curvilinear Coordinates. Thermodynamics of Ideal Gases. Answers to Problems. References. Index.