A German mathematician whose work combined numerical analysis with spectroscopy. He studied numerical solution of equations and the measured wavelengths of elemental spectral lines, rather than treating mathematical computation as separate from experimental questions.
His name is attached to the Runge-Kutta method for approximating ordinary differential equations, alongside Martin Kutta. Such methods replace a continuous evolution by a succession of computed time steps. His work on spectral regularities similarly sought structure in numerical measurements. These two interests make him an example of the exchange between practical calculation and mathematical models of physical observations. [ref]
https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Runge/. University of St Andrews historical biography, mathematical work and career
Portrait of Carl Runge
. Unknown photographer; reproduced in Constance Reid, Hilbert (1970), p. 234. Commons public-domain claim for life-plus-70 jurisdictions; US basis not supplied, via Wikimedia Commons. Source.
Carl Runge (1856-1927) was a prominent German mathematician and physicist known for his contributions to numerical analysis and differential equations. He is most famous for the Runge-Kutta methods, which are a family of iterative methods used for solving ordinary differential equations. These methods are widely used due to their effectiveness and simplicity. In addition to numerical analysis, Runge also worked in various areas of applied mathematics and made contributions to fields such as mathematical physics and approximation theory.
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