Piola's contribution to continuum mechanics (Q2457854)

Gabrio Piola (1794--1850) is usually relegated to footnotes in the history of mechanics if he appears at all. The present paper reflects the work that has only recently been undertaken to evaluate Piola's work not only from a historical point of view but also from a modern scientific one. A brief account of his life is followed here by an analysis of Piola's work in continuum mechanics that appeared between 1833 and 1848. It is shown how closely his work relates to that of A.-L. Cauchy, with whom he was in correspondence, as well as to that of J.-L. Lagrange and S.-D. Poisson. The last part of the paper focuses on the results for which he is best known today, including the Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensors, and how they have been treated in the historical and scientific literature to date.