Ordinary Differential Equations and Applied Dynamics Commons^™

An Analysis Of Unsolvable Linear Partial Differential Equations Of Order One, Laura J. Fields

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

It is difficult to underestimate the importance of differential equations in understanding the physical world. These equations, involving not just simple variables like temperature, speed or mass, but also the derivatives, i.e. the rate of change of these variables, are found in nearly every branch of science. Until the mid 20th century, all such equations were thought to be solvable. This was based on the discovery by Leonard Euler that certain differential equations, called ordinary differential equations (ODEs), are indeed always solvable. While ODEs deal with simple conditions, under which some quantity changes with some other quantity and its derivatives, …