Navier’s study of incompressible fluids: An investigation into the origins of Vector Analysis

Abstract

This investigation aims to examine how Claude-Louis Navier was able to develop a series of equations that describe the motion of fluid substances at a relatively early stage in the history of vector analysis. By studying the seventeenth and eighteenth century perceptions of analysis and fluid dynamics, we hope to acquire a greater understanding of how the Navier-Stokes came to be. Navier's paper "Mémoire sur les lois du mouvement des fluides" is a notable illustration of the revolution mathematics and physics underwent in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.