astronomy

George F. Carrier

George F. Carrier is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand George F. Carrier rather than just read about it. In short: George Francis Carrier (May 4, 1918 – March 8, 2002) was an engineer and physicist, and the T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Applied Mathematics Emeritus of Harvard University.

Key takeaways

George F. Carrier belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect George F. Carrier to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of George F. Carrier from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

George Francis Carrier (May 4, 1918 – March 8, 2002) was an engineer and physicist, and the T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Applied Mathematics Emeritus of Harvard University. He was particularly noted for his ability to intuitively model a physical system and then deduce an analytical solution. He worked especially in the modeling of fluid mechanics, combustion, and tsunamis. Born in Millinocket, Maine, he received a master's in engineering degree in 1939 and a Ph.D. in 1944 from Cornell University with a dissertation in applied mechanics entitled Investigations in the Field of Aeolotropic Elasticity and the Bending of the Sectorial-Plate under the supervision of J. Norman Goodier. He was co-author of a number of mathematical textbooks and over 100 journal papers. Carrier was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1953, the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1967, and the American Philosophical Society in 1976. In 1990, he received the National Medal of Science, the United States' highest scientific award, presented by President Bush, for his contributions to the natural sciences. He died from esophageal cancer on March 8, 2002.

Carrier's Rule Carrier is known for "Carrier's Rule", a humorous explanation of why divergent asymptotic series often yield good approximations if the first few terms are taken even when the expansion parameter is of order one, while in the case of a convergent series many terms are needed to get a good approximation: “Divergent series converge faster than convergent series because they don't have to converge.”

References

Notes

Other Abernathy, Frederick; Fendell, Francis (June 3, 2002), Obituaries: George Francis Carrier, SIAM News, retrieved January 20, 2012 Abernathy, Frederick H.; Bryson, Arthur E. (2007), "George F. Carrier", Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, vol. 11, The National Academies Press, pp. 46–51, ISBN 978-0-309-10337-4

Sources The Harvard Gazette Online

External links Obituary at www.news.harvard.edu George F. Carrier at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with George F. Carrier

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what George F. Carrier claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to George F. Carrier before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about George F. Carrier ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of George F. Carrier

In research: George F. Carrier appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses George F. Carrier in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: George F. Carrier is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1918 births, 2002 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for George F. Carrier outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study George F. Carrier in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what George F. Carrier means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain George F. Carrier out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is George F. Carrier in simple terms?

George Francis Carrier (May 4, 1918 – March 8, 2002) was an engineer and physicist, and the T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Applied Mathematics Emeritus of Harvard University.

Why does George F. Carrier matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study George F. Carrier?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on George F. Carrier.