Comments on the historical bases of the Rayleigh and Ritz methods

Abstract

In a recent article entitled “The historical bases of the Rayleigh and Ritz methods”, Professor Leissa raised the issue of using two different names, “The Rayleigh-Ritz Method” and “The Ritz Method” for the same procedure. While the discusser shares Professor Leissa's view that the success of the method can be attributed to the way in which it was applied by Ritz, he does not endorse the position that it should not be referred to as the Rayleigh-Ritz method for the reasons given below.