mathematics

Louis Napoleon George Filon

Louis Napoleon George Filon 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 Louis Napoleon George Filon rather than just read about it. In short: Louis Napoleon George Filon, FRS (22 November 1875 – 29 December 1937) was an English applied mathematician, famous for his research on classical mechanics and particularly the theory of elasticity and the mechanics of continuous media. He also developed a method for the numerical quadrature of oscillatory integrals, now known as Filon quadrature.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Louis Napoleon George Filon, FRS (22 November 1875 – 29 December 1937) was an English applied mathematician, famous for his research on classical mechanics and particularly the theory of elasticity and the mechanics of continuous media. He also developed a method for the numerical quadrature of oscillatory integrals, now known as Filon quadrature. He was Vice Chancellor of the University of London from 1933 to 1935.

Early life He was born at Saint-Cloud, near Paris, as the only child of Augustin Filon, the French littérateur who was appointed as the official tutor to the Prince Imperial. Accompanying the Prince Imperial in his exile, the Filon family came to England in 1878 and lived at Margate. He was educated at Herne House School in Margate.

Career In 1894 Filon became a student at University College London and received his BA in 1896 with a gold medal in Greek. He was appointed in the college as demonstrator in applied mathematics under the supervision of Karl Pearson. He spotted a mistake in Pearson's lectures and the correction was incorporated into a joint publication with Pearson. This important paper was Filon's only publication in statistics. In 1898 Filon went to King's College, Cambridge on an 1851 Exhibition Research Fellowship for advanced study. In July 1902 he earned a doctorate in mixed mathematics from University College, London, and in 1903 he became there a lecturer in pure mathematics under M J M Hill. In 1910 Filon was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. In 1912, upon Pearson's retirement, Filon was appointed to the Goldsmid Chair of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics at University College, London. Except for an academic leave during his military service in the First World War, he occupied this chair until his death in 1937. Filon was also director of the University of London Observatory from 1929 to 1937. He was the author of over 50 papers and three books (one as co-author with E. G. Coker). He was a member of the University of London Senate (1920) and the court, dean of the Faculty of Science, chairman of the Academic Council (1924–33) and vice-chancellor (1933–35). During his term of office, the foundation stone was laid for the university's Bloomsbury headquarters.

Personal life In 1904 he married Anne, eldest daughter of Professor Philippe Godet, of the University of Neuchâtel and had a son and two daughters. He died in Croydon during the Croydon typhoid outbreak of 1937.

Works Treatise on Photoelasticity (1931) – with E G Coker A Manual of Photoelasticity for Engineers (1936)

See also List of Vice-Chancellors of the University of London List of British university chancellors and vice-chancellors Photoelasticity Biharmonic equation

References

External links Filon's Integration Formula – from Wolfram MathWorld University College, London mathematics department prizes (Filon prize)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Louis Napoleon George Filon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Louis Napoleon George Filon 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 Louis Napoleon George Filon 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 Louis Napoleon George Filon 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 Louis Napoleon George Filon

In research: Louis Napoleon George Filon 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 Louis Napoleon George Filon 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: Louis Napoleon George Filon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1875 births, 1937 deaths, 19th-century English mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Louis Napoleon George Filon 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 Louis Napoleon George Filon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Louis Napoleon George Filon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Louis Napoleon George Filon in simple terms?

Why does Louis Napoleon George Filon 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 Louis Napoleon George Filon?

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 Louis Napoleon George Filon.