> Fourier argued that the distribution of heat through the rod could be written as a sum of simple waves.
How do you even begin to think of such things? Some people are wired differently.
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How do you even begin to think of such things? Some people are wired differently.
Other mathematicians before Fourier had used trigonometric series to study waves, and physicists already understood harmonic superposition on eg a vibrating string. I don't have the source but I believe Gauss even noted that trigonometric series were a solution to the heat equation. Fourier's contribution was discovering that almost any function, including the general solution to the heat equation, could be modelled this way, and he provided machinery that let mathematicians apply the idea to an enormous range of problems.