astronomy

John Henry Michell

John Henry Michell 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 John Henry Michell rather than just read about it. In short: John Henry Michell (26 October 1863 – 3 February 1940) was an Australian mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Melbourne. Early life Michell was the son of John Michell (pronounced Mitchell), a miner, and his wife Grace (née Rowse), and was born in Maldon, Victoria.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

John Henry Michell (26 October 1863 – 3 February 1940) was an Australian mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Melbourne.

Early life Michell was the son of John Michell (pronounced Mitchell), a miner, and his wife Grace (née Rowse), and was born in Maldon, Victoria. His parents had migrated from Devonshire in 1854.

Legacy During a relatively short research career, Michell published 23 scientific papers that are some of the most important contributions ever made by an Australian mathematician. A mini-symposium was held at the 3rd Biennial Engineering Mathematics and Applications Conference (EMAC '98) celebrating the centenary of the publication of Michell's famous 1898 paper on ship hydrodynamics, "The wave resistance of a ship", Phil. Mag. (5) 45 (1898) 106-123. Since 1999, The JH Michell Medal has been awarded by ANZIAM in his honor.

Publications of J.H. Michell The small deformation of curves and surfaces with applications to the vibrations of a helix and a circular ring, Messeng. Math. 19, (1890) 68-82. On the exhaustion of Neumann's mode of solution for the motion of solids of revolution in liquids, and similar problems, Messeng. Math. 19 (1890) 83-86. Vibrations of a string stretched on a surface, Messeng. Math. 19 (1890) 87-88. On the stability of a bent and twisted wire, Messeng. Math. 19 (1890) 181-184. On the theory of free stream lines, Phil. Trans. A. 181 (1890) 389-431. On a property of algebraic curves, Australasian Assoc. Adv. Sci. Report (1892) 257. On the bulging of flat plates, Australasian Assoc. Adv. Sci. Report (1892) 258. The highest waves in water, Phil. Mag. (5) 36 (1893) 430-437. A map of the complex Z-function: a condenser problem, Messeng. Math. 23 (1894) 72-78. The wave resistance of a ship, Phil. Mag. (5) 45 (1898) 106-123. On the direct determination of stress in an elastic solid, with application to the theory of plates, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 31 (1899) 100-124. The stress in a rotating lamina, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 31 (1899) 124-130. The uniform torsion and flexure of incomplete tores, with application to helical springs, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 31 (1899) 130-146. The transmission of stress across a plane of discontinuity in an isotropic elastic solid, and the potential solutions for a plane boundary, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 31 (1899) 183-192. Some elementary distributions of stress in three dimensions, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 32 (1900) 23-35. Elementary distributions of plane stress, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 32 (1900) 35-61. The stress in an aeolotropic elastic solid with an infinite plane boundary, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 32 (1900) 247-258. The stress in the web of a plate girder, Quart. J. Pure Appl. Math. 31 (1900) 377-382. The theory of uniformly loaded beams, Quart. J. Pure Appl. Math. 32 (1900) 28-42. The determination of the stress in an isotropic elastic sphere by means of intrinsic equations, Messeng. Math. n.s. 350 (1900) 16-25. The uniplanar stability of a rigid body, Messeng. Math. n.s. 351 (1900) 35-40. The inversion of plane stress, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 34 (1902) 134-142. The flexure of a circular plate, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. 34 (1902) 223-228. (with M.H. Belz) The elements of mathematical analysis (2 vols) Macmillan 1937.

References

Further reading E.O. Tuck, "The wave resistance formula of J.H. Michell (1898) and its significance to recent research in ship hydrodynamics", J. Austral. Math. Soc. Series B 30 (989) 365-377; A. Goriely, "Twisted elastic rings and the rediscoveries of Michell's instability", J. Elasticity 84, 281–299. (2006)

Illustrations

John Henry Michell: Australian mathematician and professor John Henry Michell — Australian mathematician and professor John Henry Michell

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Henry Michell

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Henry Michell 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 John Henry Michell 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 John Henry Michell 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 John Henry Michell

In research: John Henry Michell 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 John Henry Michell 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: John Henry Michell is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1863 births, 1940 deaths, Academic staff of the University of Melbourne, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Henry Michell 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.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study John Henry Michell in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is John Henry Michell in simple terms?

John Henry Michell (26 October 1863 – 3 February 1940) was an Australian mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Melbourne. Early life Michell was the son of John Michell (pronounced Mitchell), a miner, and his wife Grace (née Rowse), and was born in Maldon, Victoria.

Why does John Henry Michell 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 John Henry Michell?

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 John Henry Michell.