PDE Textbooks for Undergraduates

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The discussion centers on recommendations for undergraduate textbooks on partial differential equations (PDEs). Participants suggest several titles, emphasizing the need for a second source beyond the instructor's textbook. Notable recommendations include the book used at one participant's school, Boyce and DiPrima's work, and Strauss's "Linear PDEs," which is acknowledged for its thoroughness but noted for its challenging writing style. Farlow's book is mentioned as a lighter alternative. There is also a suggestion to explore Peter Olver's online resources for additional learning. Some participants express concerns about the cost of textbooks, particularly Strauss, while others highlight the importance of having a solid foundation in analysis to better understand the material.
Parmenides
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Hello all,

I will be enrolled in an undergraduate course on partial differential equations. I was hoping a few of you might be able to recommend, in your opinions, the best textbook for the subject at an undergraduate level since I'd like to have a second source outside of my instructor's textbook. I'd appreciate it!
 
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Parmenides said:
Hello all,

I will be enrolled in an undergraduate course on partial differential equations. I was hoping a few of you might be able to recommend, in your opinions, the best textbook for the subject at an undergraduate level since I'd like to have a second source outside of my instructor's textbook. I'd appreciate it!

This is the book we use at our school:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470054565/?tag=pfamazon01-20 Here is a good one from dover: ( this one is a little more advanced, in the sense that more mathematical maturity is probably needed )

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486414507/?tag=pfamazon01-20
 
Boyce and Diprima: ODE's, intro to PDE's. I liked it very much
Strauss: Linear PDE's, intro to nonlinear PDE's. Very thorough book.

For additional reading, check out Peter Olver's website:
http://www.math.umn.edu/~olver/
He has an online introduction to PDE's:

http://www.math.umn.edu/~olver/pdn.html
 
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The posts above mentioned Strauss. That is a good book but it is very difficult to grasp due to the authors writing style and, though it is not required, analysis would help a bit for that book.

A lighter PDE book is Farlow's.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/048667620X/?tag=pfamazon01-20
 
I'm in a similar situation. My prof. recommended Strauss, but I'm broke... I can't find it for less than $60 used. My prof. gives really good notes, but I may get Strauss's book for longevity.

Are there any other books similar to Strauss's? Boyce & Diprima seems to be an ODE book with maybe some PDE. If Strauss is the best (I'm a double major physics and math so I don't mind a lot of talk about sets and open balls), I'll save up for it.
 
The book is fascinating. If your education includes a typical math degree curriculum, with Lebesgue integration, functional analysis, etc, it teaches QFT with only a passing acquaintance of ordinary QM you would get at HS. However, I would read Lenny Susskind's book on QM first. Purchased a copy straight away, but it will not arrive until the end of December; however, Scribd has a PDF I am now studying. The first part introduces distribution theory (and other related concepts), which...
I've gone through the Standard turbulence textbooks such as Pope's Turbulent Flows and Wilcox' Turbulent modelling for CFD which mostly Covers RANS and the closure models. I want to jump more into DNS but most of the work i've been able to come across is too "practical" and not much explanation of the theory behind it. I wonder if there is a book that takes a theoretical approach to Turbulence starting from the full Navier Stokes Equations and developing from there, instead of jumping from...

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