Matrix Theory of Photoelasticity

Photoelasticity as an experimental method for analyzing stress fields in mechanics was developed in the early thirties by the pioneering works of Mesnager in France and Coker and Filon in England. Almost concurrently, Föppl, Mesmer, and Oppel in Germany contributed significantly to what turned out to be an amazing development. Indeed, in the fifties and sixties a tremendous number of scientific pa...