ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the wave-dielectric interaction problem in one space dimension; and begins with the problem of trying to delineate a set of conditions under which solutions of the governing initial-boundary value problem, which are of class C1 in space and time, break down in finite time. It deals with a survey of some of the more relevant earlier work on the problem of shock formation for wave-dielectric interactions in one-space dimension. The chapter offers a brief discussion of some ideas related to the problem of shock development in multidimensional wave-dielectric interactions. The most often cited example used to illustrate the formation of shock discontinuities in an initial-value problem, for a single hyperbolic conservation law in one-space dimension, is that of the Burger’s equation.
