George Green is the Ramanujan of physics. Born to a miller in Nottingham, Green himself took up the trade and was largely self-educated. At 35, he rented out his mill and penned "An Essay on the Application of Mathematical Analysis to the Theories of Electricity and Magnetism." In this work, he introduced what are now known as Green's formula, the Green function, and potential, laying the groundwork for potential theory. He self-published this essay as a small booklet, with the financial support of friends. Only after this accomplishment did he attend Cambridge to obtain a formal education. There, he authored a few more papers on mathematical physics, though his initial work remains his most renowned. Tragically, he passed away at 48.
乔治-格林是物理学界的拉马努金。格林出生于诺丁汉的一个磨坊主家庭，他本人也从事磨坊行业，并主要靠自学成才。35 岁时，他将磨坊出租，并撰写了 "关于数学分析在电学和磁学理论中的应用的论文"。在这篇论文中，他介绍了格林公式、格林函数和电势，为电势理论奠定了基础。在朋友的资助下，他以小册子的形式自行出版了这篇论文。取得这一成就后，他才进入剑桥大学接受正规教育。在那里，他又撰写了几篇数学物理学论文，但他最初的作品仍是他最著名的作品。不幸的是，他在 48 岁时去世。