Is this pure or applied maths?

Ok so I need to know once and for all if it's me whose crazy or my supervisor.
I'm currently writing my dissertation for my MSc and for various reasons I have been finding it very frustrating with my supervisor.
So I'm writing about analytic solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations (equations that model fluid flow) for various flows. That's the main point of what I'm doing, I will also be deriving the Navier-Stokes equations before this.
Could you just tell me whether this sounds like pure or applied maths please.
Thank you

Sorry if this is the wrong area

Applied.

Applied.

Pure maths is very abstract and concerned with things like topology, group theory, etc. Even if it's theoretical, if the purpose of the equations is to model fluid flow then it's applied.

Reply 3

webbers

OP

4

Thanks for the reassurance.

I'm going to ask for a new supervisor tomorrow.

Reply 4

Zacken

22

Original post by webbers

Thanks for the reassurance.

I'm going to ask for a new supervisor tomorrow.

Good luck!

Reply 5

Gregorius

14

Original post by webbers

Ok so I need to know once and for all if it's me whose crazy or my supervisor.
I'm currently writing my dissertation for my MSc and for various reasons I have been finding it very frustrating with my supervisor.
So I'm writing about analytic solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations (equations that model fluid flow) for various flows. That's the main point of what I'm doing, I will also be deriving the Navier-Stokes equations before this.
Could you just tell me whether this sounds like pure or applied maths please.
Thank you

Sorry if this is the wrong area

I'm a bit late to this, but it should be pointed out that the Navier-Stokes equation is one that is of great interest in both applied maths (for obvious reasons) but also in pure mathematics (because the question of the existence and uniqueness of solutions is very hard). Indeed, the existence/uniqueness problem is one of the Clay Millennium Problems

So whether what you are doing should be considered pure or applied does depend critically on what you're doing.

Reply 6

webbers

OP

4

Original post by Gregorius

I'm a bit late to this, but it should be pointed out that the Navier-Stokes equation is one that is of great interest in both applied maths (for obvious reasons) but also in pure mathematics (because the question of the existence and uniqueness of solutions is very hard). Indeed, the existence/uniqueness problem is one of the Clay Millennium Problems

So whether what you are doing should be considered pure or applied does depend critically on what you're doing.

I'm looking at flows where assumptions can be made that allow an exact solution to be found. So to me I'm just using calculus basically and I really don't know where he's coming from saying it's pure and I don't get the relevance of anything he says to what I'm doing.

Reply 7

monkyvirus

13

Original post by webbers

I'm looking at flows where assumptions can be made that allow an exact solution to be found. So to me I'm just using calculus basically and I really don't know where he's coming from saying it's pure and I don't get the relevance of anything he says to what I'm doing.

So your supervisor is saying it's pure? Interesting...

I would focus on discussing the relevance of his comments to your project. Debating whether it's pure or applied is pretty irrelevant when it comes to your work (it's not like you have to announce it's one or the other at any point). If what he's saying seems irrelevant I would definitely discuss that with him and ask if he could clarify a bit more.

Reply 8

Tedward

11

Original post by webbers

I'm looking at flows where assumptions can be made that allow an exact solution to be found. So to me I'm just using calculus basically and I really don't know where he's coming from saying it's pure and I don't get the relevance of anything he says to what I'm doing.

I don't really know enough to say for sure, but finding exact solutions and what conditions allow for exact solutions does sound rather pure to me. If you are applying these exact solutions to anything, that's applied, but just investigating what assumptions allow for an exact solution seems pure, and depending on your techniques could be very pure!

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Reply 9

webbers

OP

4

Original post by Tedward

I don't really know enough to say for sure, but finding exact solutions and what conditions allow for exact solutions does sound rather pure to me. If you are applying these exact solutions to anything, that's applied, but just investigating what assumptions allow for an exact solution seems pure, and depending on your techniques could be very pure!

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'm not investigating what conditions allow for exact solutions. I'm just taking a flow, simplifying the equations based on that flow and finding a solution. I'm just starting from flows I know you can get an exact solution to.
The main problem is he keeps going in about theorems and proofs etc. and to me I just don't understand how that fits in. I'll have one or two like Reynold's transport theorem, but from my point of view I'm mainly just going to be doing calculus.
He sent me a graph theory thesis to show how I should lay it out and well that is pure, it makes sense there's lots of theorems and proofs, but I really don't understand how I can write mine that way.
It's left me feeling very confused.

Is this pure or applied maths?

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