Description:In creating mathematical models of real processes, scientists, engineers and students frequently encounter differential equations whose exact solutions are necessarily complicated and are normally solvable only by computer or through complex formal mathematics. This practical book demonstrates how approximate methods may be used to minimise these mathematical difficulties, giving the reader physical understanding both of the solution process and the final result. Intended for undergraduates and graduate students, teachers of physics, engineering and other applied sciences, professional and applied scientists and engineers.