Full Description
This textbook provides an introduction to classical mechanics at a level intermediate between the typical undergraduate and advanced graduate level. This text describes the background and tools for use in the fields of modern physics, such as quantum mechanics, astrophysics, particle physics, and relativity. Students who have had basic undergraduate classical mechanics or who have a good understanding of the mathematical methods of physics will benefit from this book.
Contents
Elementary Newtonian mechanics.- Principle of virtual work and Lagrange's equations.- Hamilton's principle and action integrals.- Central force problems.- Scattering.- Rigid body kinematics.- Rigid body dynamics.- Small oscillations.- Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations for continuous systems and fields.- Special relativity.- A Vector calculus.- B Differential forms.- C Calculus of variations.- D Linear algebra.- E Special functions.
