Classical Mechanics

This upper-level undergraduate and beginning graduate textbook primarily covers the theory and application of Newtonian and Lagrangian, but also of Hamiltonian mechanics. Numerous examples illustrate the material and often present alternative approaches.

This upper-level undergraduate and beginning graduate textbook primarily covers the theory and application of Newtonian and Lagrangian, but also of Hamiltonian mechanics. In addition, included are elements of continuum mechanics and the accompanying classical field theory, wherein four-vector notation is introduced without explicit reference to special relativity. The author's writing style attempts to ease students through the primary and secondary results, thus building a solid foundation for understanding applications. So the text is thus structured around developments of the main ideas, explicit proofs, and numerous clarifications, comments and applications. Numerous examples illustrate the material and often present alternative approaches to the final results. Frequent references are made linking mechanics to other fields of physics. These lecture notes have been used frequently by students to prepare for written and/or oral examinations.

The Newtonian Mechanics of Point-Mass Systems: General Properties.- Newtonian Mechanics: First Applications.- Lagrangian Mechanics.- Harmonic Vibrations.- Central Potentials and the Kepler Problem.- Collision and Scattering Problems.- Moving Reference Frames.- Dynamics of a Rigid Body.- Hamiltonian Dynamics.- Mechanics of Continua.