Philip Thompson died on March 23, 2001 at the age of 72 after a decade of
being progressively debilitated by Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Philip was the
author of Compressible Fluid Dynamics, a unique text that emphasized the
general nature of compressible flow. Phil was on the faculty at Rensselear
Polytechnic Institute from 1960 until his retirement in 1993. Philip had a
special interest in thermodynamics and compressible flow which he explored with
his students and collaborators in research at RPI and the Max-Planck-Institut
für Strömungsforschung at Göttingen in the 1970s and 1980s. The emphasis in
these studies was the importance of thermodynamic state and real fluid
properties on compressible flow phenomena such as nozzle flows, shock and
expansion waves. He was among the first to realize the significance of the
fundamental gasdynamic derivative to the existence of expansion shocks in real
fluids and also the importance of retrograde behavior in fluids with large
specific heats. Philip's major scientific achievement is arguably the
demonstration of the richness of compressible flow with phase changes,
exemplified by his discovery of partial and complete liquefaction shocks.
His obituary from the Troy record is reprinted here.
Compressible-Fluid Dynamics by Philip A. Thompson
The book has been reprinted professionally as a hardbound edition. You can
purchase individual volumes and place bulk orders for classroom use through
the RPI Bookstore. The price (as of 02.04.01) for a single volume is $53.50
plus $8.95 for handling (UPS ground). Price is prepaid, credit cards are accepted. To
order, contact:
Bookstore, Rensselaer Union
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th St
Troy, NY 12180-3590
TEL 518 276 6555
FAX 518 276 3198
More information and corrections to the previous editions are
given in this PDF document.
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