mathematics

Gustav de Vries

Gustav de Vries is a mathematics 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 Gustav de Vries rather than just read about it. In short: Gustav de Vries (22 January 1866 – 16 December 1934) was a Dutch mathematician, who is best remembered for his work on the Korteweg–de Vries equation with Diederik Korteweg. He was born on 22 January 1866 in Amsterdam, and studied at the University of Amsterdam with the distinguished physical chemist Johannes van der Waals and with Korteweg.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Gustav de Vries (22 January 1866 – 16 December 1934) was a Dutch mathematician, who is best remembered for his work on the Korteweg–de Vries equation with Diederik Korteweg. He was born on 22 January 1866 in Amsterdam, and studied at the University of Amsterdam with the distinguished physical chemist Johannes van der Waals and with Korteweg. While doing his doctoral research De Vries supported himself by teaching at the Royal Military Academy in Breda (1892-1893) and at the "cadettenschool" in Alkmaar (1893-1894). Under Korteweg's supervision De Vries completed his doctoral dissertation: Bijdrage tot de kennis der lange golven, (Contributions to the knowledge of long waves) Acad. proefschrift, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 1894, 95 pp, Loosjes, Haarlem. The following year Korteweg and De Vries published the research paper On the Change of Form of Long Waves advancing in a Rectangular Canal and on a New Type of Long Stationary Waves, Philosophical Magazine, 5th series, 39, 1895, pp. 422–443. In 1894 De Vries worked as a high school teacher at the "HBS en Handelsschool" in Haarlem, where he remained until his retirement in 1931. He died in Haarlem on 16 December 1934. The Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics is named after him.

See also Cnoidal wave Korteweg–de Vries equation

Further reading Bastiaan Willink, The collaboration between Korteweg and de Vries — An enquiry into personalities, History of Physics, 16 p., October 2007 (arXiv.org).

External links O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Gustav de Vries", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews Gustav de Vries at the Mathematics Genealogy Project

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gustav de Vries

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gustav de Vries claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, 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 Gustav de Vries 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 Gustav de Vries 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 Gustav de Vries

In research: Gustav de Vries appears in mathematics 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 Gustav de Vries 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: Gustav de Vries is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1866 births, 1934 deaths, 19th-century Dutch mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gustav de Vries 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 Gustav de Vries in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gustav de Vries 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 Gustav de Vries out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gustav de Vries in simple terms?

Why does Gustav de Vries matter?

Because it connects several mathematics 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 Gustav de Vries?

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 Gustav de Vries.