mathematics

Ronald Rivlin

Ronald Rivlin 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 Ronald Rivlin rather than just read about it. In short: Ronald Samuel Rivlin (6 May 1915 in London – 4 October 2005) was a British-American physicist, mathematician, rheologist and a noted expert on rubber. Life Rivlin was born in London in 1915.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Ronald Samuel Rivlin (6 May 1915 in London – 4 October 2005) was a British-American physicist, mathematician, rheologist and a noted expert on rubber.

Life Rivlin was born in London in 1915. He studied physics and mathematics at St John's College, Cambridge, being awarded a BA in 1937 and a ScD in 1952. He worked for the General Electric Company, then the UK Ministry of Aircraft Production, then the British Rubber Producers Research Association, to which he was recruited to at the suggestion of L. R. G. Treloar by John Wilson, over a “lavish meal” and game of pool. This included one sabbatical year at the National Bureau of Standards, USA. His post at the BRPRA was the start of his interest in rubber. In 1953 he took up the post of Professor of Applied Mathematics at Brown University, moving to Lehigh University in 1967 to become director of the Center for the Application of Mathematics until his retirement in 1980. He married Violet LoRusso in 1948 (they had a son, John) and became an American citizen in 1955.

Work His work began with his 1944 observation that "although very little force is required to detach Scotch tape from an adherend, the work expended in doing so is very large". This is from the elastic effects of the adhesive, on which he commented even if "one idealized the adhesive as a perfectly elastic material there appeared to be no body of mathematical theory which would provide a basis for calculations". Existing theories were only on very small deformations, so from 1945 to 1951, Rivlin was one of the creators of the modern theory of large elastic deformations, including theory of Neo-Hookean solids and Mooney-Rivlin solids. He also made major contributions to the theory of non-Newtonian fluid flow, including in the Rivlin-Ericksen expansion.

Honours and awards Bingham Medal of the Society of Rheology in 1958. Timoshenko Medal of the ASME in 1987 Charles Goodyear Medal of the American Chemical Society's Rubber Division in 1992. von Karman Medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1993 Member of the National Academy of Engineering Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences President of the Society of Rheology Chairman of the Society for Natural Philosophy Chairman of the US National Committee for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Chairman, Applied Mechanics Division, ASME Rivlin was invited to speak in 1972 at the induction of Melvin Mooney into the International Rubber Science Hall of Fame. At first he understood that he was to be inducted, but when he was told that candidates had to be deceased, he said "That's too great a price to pay". It was in 2008 that Rivlin was inducted into the International Rubber Science Hall of Fame (IRSHF) by the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society.

References

Tomas Carlsson & Frank Matthews Leslie (1999) "The development of theory for flow and dynamic effects for nematic liquid crystals", Liquid Crystals 26(9):1267–80.

External links Ronald Rivlin at the Mathematics Genealogy Project Rivlin's contribution to Fracture Mechanics in Rubber An early photograph of Ronald Rivlin from AIP photograph of Rivlin from IRSHF ACS Rubber Division Interview with Ronald Rivlin

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ronald Rivlin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ronald Rivlin 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 Ronald Rivlin 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 Ronald Rivlin 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 Ronald Rivlin

In research: Ronald Rivlin 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 Ronald Rivlin 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: Ronald Rivlin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1915 births, 2005 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ronald Rivlin 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 Ronald Rivlin in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Ronald Rivlin in simple terms?

Ronald Samuel Rivlin (6 May 1915 in London – 4 October 2005) was a British-American physicist, mathematician, rheologist and a noted expert on rubber. Life Rivlin was born in London in 1915.

Why does Ronald Rivlin 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 Ronald Rivlin?

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 Ronald Rivlin.