Product Description
Classical Mechanics with MATLAB Applications is an essential resource for the advanced undergraduate taking introduction to classical mechanics. Filled with comprehensive examples and thorough descriptions, this text guides students through the complex topics of rigid body motion, moving coordinate systems, Lagrange's equations, small vibrations, the Euler algorithm, and much more. Step-by-step illustrations, examples and computational physics tools further enhance learning and understanding by demonstrating accessible ways of obtaining mathematical solutions. In addition to the numerous examples throughout, each chapter contains a section of MATLAB code to introduce the topic of programming scripts and their modification for the reproduction of graphs and simulations. ... Read more

Product Description
Simple and mechanical systems are the fouundation of Science: a particle sliding on a two-dimensional surface in mathematics, the solar system in astronomy, the hydrogen and the helium atoms in physics, and small molecules in chemistry. Although elementary and deterministic, their motions look almost random over long time intervals, and cannot be explained by the traditional approaches. This book describes the apparent chaos in these systems for an audience at the level of beginning graduate students, developing the relevant ideas of the last two decades with the help of geometric intutition rather than algebraic manipulation. The main focus is on seeking the connection between classical and quantum mechanics: classical chaos is rough and fractal, whereas quantum chaos is smooth and elusive; and yet the former should be the limit of the latter as Planck's quantum becomes small. The historical and cultural background is mentioned, and the text discusses realistic examples in some detail thereby providing readers a new perspective and preparing them to tackle new problems in this rich field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A good start - but you will need more
Gutzwiller is the master and one of the main contributors of quantum chaos. His writing is expansive and insightful. However this books doesn't serve as a textbook by its own, as it is overly concise, short of mathematical rigor and overlooking a lot of aspects in the classical chaos (which I think is fair).

Chatty and fun, but not to be used as the basis for anything but a reading course
There are all kinds of physics books. There are books for didactics; nobody actually uses, say, Jackson's book on Classical Electrodynamics for anything but didactics. You can tell the books that are useful for teaching in a classroom by the presence of extensive problem sets. This book has none. So, with this, let me dispose of the notion that you should be able to teach a 'quantum chaos' course based on this book. There are also books which explain in great technical detail all about a given small subject area; Fritz Haake's book on 'Quantum Signatures of Chaos' is a good example of this (though it's really about Random Matrix theory, which is but one quantum signature of chaos; a whole book on just one small area of this subject -covered in a few pages in Gutzwiller's book). Then there are books which are reviews of a subject. Gutzwiller wrote a book which is a review of a subject. It's a very good one.

One could actually go through this, read it, know about the existence of many things, and read up on them as is appropriate for one's research. That is how I used the book. Gutzwiller writes very well, and communicates his enthusiasm for the subject matter. The bibliography is extensive, and you could indeed learn all about anything you needed to by going through the bibliographic references for the details. An actual review which takes you from knowing about Hamilton Jacobi theory and the WKB approximation and covering all the material he presented in every detail needed to understand the whole mess .... I doubt as any such book exists. It would be an encyclopedia. If you simply want to understand the Gutzwiller trace formula starting at that level, there are books which do it reasonably well (Cvitanovic's is a great effort in that direction). This is not such a book; this is a review. A review of a very important body of work. That is this book's purpose, and it serves it admirably well.

As for why Gutzwiller is important; if you think the correspondence principle is interesting, the Gutzwiller trace formula is the main useful way we know of thinking about it in detail. Most physicists think about the area where quantum mechanics becomes classical as a sort of intellectual blur. This is a mistake. This is arguably a much more interesting place to think about than, say, what happened in the first 10^-35 seconds of the big bang. For example, one can actually do experiments in the semiclassical regime. Experiments which only involve optics. There's gold in them there hills, and nobody is looking there. Mesoscopic physics as applied to device physics may eventually force people to think about these issues in detail, but I somehow doubt the device guys are going to reinvent quantum mechanics. Gutzwiller thought about these issues in the 1960s while working on practical problems for IBM. These are thefundamental mysteries, folks: if you're an ambitious young physicist who wants to make a real contribution to science; leave the noodle theory alone, and look into this stuff. Following the herd will get you a nice career, but immortality belongs to the one who plays Einstein or Poincare to Gutzwiller's Minkowski.

Close to Useless
I am used to reading graduate texts where I have to fill in extensive portions of the logic.However, this book does not even begin to explain the results contained in it.It is simply a collection of results, with references to other texts with little explanation (although he does a good job motivating the results).

As I was writing this review, I opened the book to a random page (279) and found the following: "Zaslavski (1977) also starts from the trace formula; he gets a rather explicit expression for the spacing probability P(x) which involves the Kolmogorov entropy..."How did he do this?Well, if you want to know then you have to go read Zaslavski to find out.The entire book is this way.

Maybe this is a great reference for the researcher who already understands the field, but for someone trying to learn it from this book it's worthless.

We need more books on the subject
While the question of connecting quantum theory to classical
mechanics, ODEs, PDEs, etc is a very deep one, and the
author is a main contributor in the subject, the books
lacks of narrative momentum... Readers of, say, QFT a la
Itzkinson-Zuber will be accostumed to this, but I feel a
more focused work on the subject is still to be written.

The Father of the Quasiclassical Approach to Quantum Chaos
Today the Gutzwiller trace formula is the standard quasiclassical approach to studies of the spectrum in quantum chaos research.
The most striking property of classics chaos is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions such that neighboring trajectories in phase space separate at an exponential rate. As result the long time behavior of the system is unpredictable. Instead of looking for exponential sensitivity, the main stream of quantum chaos research is currently concentrated on identifying the fingerprints of classical chaos in quantum systems. If one were to identify unique fingerprints of classical chaos in quantum mechanics, one could use these to define quantum chaos.
The starting point for the Gutzwiller quasiclassical analysis is the path integral formulation of the propagator. From this quantum expression one can deduce a formula that contains a sum over all classical periodic orbits. This is the main contribution of Gutzwiller.
Excellent Book! ... Read more

Product Description
Featuring state-of-the-art computer based technology throughout, this comprehensive book on classical mechanics bridges the gap between introductory physics and quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics and optics—giving readers a strong basis for their work in applied and pure sciences.Introduces Mathcad, using it in to do mathematical calculations, solve problems, make plots and graphs, and generally provide more in-depth coverage and a better understanding of physics. Pays special attention to such topics of modern interest as nonlinear oscillators, central force motion, collisions in CMCS, and horizontal wind circulation. For physicists and astronomers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Former Student of Arya
This book is a great introduction to "theoretical mechanics" suitable for undergraduates.The book covers the standard range of topics presented in other standard "mechanics" books but also provides quite a few more example problems and useful exercises.I took "theoretical mechanics" from Arya as an undergraduate physics major at WVU.Arya was tough and expected a lot from his students, so we learned a lot of good physics from the course.I later used this book in preparing for graduate qualifying exams and the book helped in covering a lot of the standard types of problems.If you are ready to get out the pencil and paper and start working problems, this is a fantastic book.

Many mistakes.Flee.
I wrote the "mathematical bolus" review below and thought I might clarify.

Of the five bad reviews, at least one was written by another guy in my class, but I have only written this one and my older one.The other bad reviews could have been other NCSU students.I have no eye deer.

The big trouble here is that the book is full of mistakes...solving a second-order differential using the "division by 2" method, for example, and the aforementioned self-damping crosswind.

If you've got good math skills, lots of patience, and a pre-existing thorough familiarity with analytical mechanics, this might be a pretty good text.If not, get the Thornton book.It's better.

I liked it.
I"ve used an older library edition of this text for self study.And it is a good readable book.The subject was developed thoroughly.The other reviewers (probably the same guy reviewing over and over again) are pretty harsh.I did not spot out too many typos, and I've read the entire thing (all but the last couple of chapters, which I'm working on now).It's a good solid book, that I'm looking to buy now for my shelf.

Good book!!
This is a very good book. Understand that there are many typos. However, there is one person from Holland who has edited a list of printing error from ch1~14,e-mail frenken@phys.leidenuniv.nl. Or, you can do a Google search to find the website. Don't think it is that mathematical. For those who found difficulty reading it, I will suggest spend some time on "div,grad,curl and all that,3/e" by h.m.schey. Then, you will have better understanding regarding what is force, field and most of it ,the vector calculus.

GOOD BOOK
It is very mathematical book. I have trouble reading it but I liked it at the end when I understood everything in it. ... Read more

Product Description
The material for these volumes has been selected from the pasttwenty years' examination questions for graduate students at theUniversity of California (Berkeley), Columbia University, theUniversity of Chicago, MIT, State University of New York at Buffalo,Princeton University and the University of Wisconsin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

My new bibles
All of these books titled "Problems and Solutions on (subject): Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions" are invaluable tools for a physics graduate student, in my experience.When doing homework assignments, studying for exams or the qualifying exam itself, most graduate students should be elated to have an arsenal of solved problems at their disposal.I have purchased nearly every one of these books and I use them often.The biggest books (mechanics, quantum, and E&M) are fantastic resources for qualifier problems and examples. When I show these books to my fellow students, they immediately ask me where they can get a copy of their own.

One criticism: The index is sparse.It seems as though many problems are not listed under obvious key words.However, I have a suggestion for those that are also frustrated by this. Whenever I encounter an interesting problem, I go into the index and look under all of the obvious key words. If the problem is not listed, I add the problem number to the index in that spot.In all of my copies of these books, I am creating a comprehensive index.It takes time, but it is almost instructive to do this editing for it makes one more familiar with the book.

One other thing:I haven't found many errors, but I have found a few. Usually they are not apparent until one is working through the little details of a problem.

If you are a student in physics, I suggest that you get your hands on these books.

Studying for your exams???Buy this book!
Work and understand all of the problems in this book and you will pass your Physics Ph.D. qualifying exam in Mechanics.I did it!

Way to Go..
This is by far, in my opinion, the best book for Mechanics. I was looking for a cheap, good book. And what I got, is simply THE BEST! There were alot of examples...explanations, etc.. And best of all, written by 27 Physicists?? How's that for a personal tutor who charges app. [...]???

AWESOME!!!
This mechanics book is awesome.The problems on Hamiltonian and Lagrangian dynamics are clear and excellent in preparing students for exams.Also, for undergrads, this book provides great tutoring in angularmomentum and special relativity. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides an introduction to geometric algebra as aunified language for physics and mathematics. It contains extensiveapplications to classical mechanics in a textbook format suitable forcourses at an intermediate level. The text is supported by more than200 diagrams to help develop geometrical and physical intuition.Besides covering the standard material for a course on the mechanicsof particles and rigid bodies, the book introduces new,coordinate-free methods for rotational dynamics and orbital mechanics,developing these subjects to a level well beyond that of othertextbooks. These methods have been widely applied in recent years tobiomechanics and robotics, to computer vision and geometric design, toorbital mechanics in government and industrial space programs, as wellas to other branches of physics. The book applies them to the majorperturbations in the solar system, including the planetaryperturbations of Mercury's perihelion.
Geometric algebra integrates conventional vector algebra (along withits established notations) into a system with all the advantages ofquaternions and spinors. Thus, it increases the power of themathematical language of classical mechanics while bringing it closerto the language of quantum mechanics. This book systematicallydevelops purely mathematical applications of geometric algebra usefulin physics, including extensive applications to linear algebra andtransformation groups. It contains sufficient material for a course onmathematical topics alone.
The second edition has been expanded by nearly a hundred pages onrelativistic mechanics. The treatment is unique in its exclusive useof geometric algebra and in its detailed treatment of spacetime maps,collisions, motion in uniform fields and relativistic precession. Itconforms with Einstein's view that the Special Theory of Relativity isthe culmination of developments in classical mechanics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

More rigour is required...
This is surely one of the best introductory books to start from, learning the Geometric Algebra (Clifford Algebra). The author is generous in exposing his phlosophical views, especially on the meaning of number concept and how to extend it. This is surely very valuable, though nobody can get %100 percent of what another one is trying to convey in written form. Ofcourse this also, and perhaps mostly, depends on the conformity between theways of thinking and orientations of the two brains: Those of the author and reader. In this respect I am fully indebted to him in that I have gained new points of view. For example the multiplication of two real numbers, and spacially that of a real number (scalar) and a vector, is no more a pre-given external operation to the Geometric Algebra since both the scalars and vectors are members of this same set and thus their multiplication is nothing different than that of other elements of this algebra. May be not for some body else, but for me, this is a new and profound approach. Also many thanks are due to the historical insights and highlighting, again quite generously, provided in the text.

Yet the axiomatic development of the subjext given Chapter 1 is unfortunately rather sloppy. But it should be obvious that axiomatization, by definition, if not carried out rigorously may become quite confusing, if not annoying. This should be the same, whether the treatment is introductory or not. For example, yet just at the start of the axiomatization process, the algabre being defined is expressed to consist of the sums of all k-blades (Eq.7.1). Whether this is a loose definition or the result of something following is by no means clear. Only upon very carefully studying and striving, it is understood that the a.m expression, although very loosely introducing the terms of k-blade and k-vector, is not a definition. It might well be an insightful theorem which could be given a recursive-constructive proof. But alas! No explanation and not a single word on this. Being axiomatic is, obviously, not the equivalent of dryness but rather of rigour. Thus it should not, by no means, exclude presenting explanation where danger of confusion is clear. The same confused style of presentation unfortunatly pervades and continues untill the end of this chapter, where the axiomatic foundations are laid. What should actually be recursive definitions of k-vectors are given asaxioms in Eq. 7.13a and 13b. Without the slightest explanation on the meaning of equality of two members in this algebra, the reader is put face to face with an unnecessary puzzle in exercise 7.1, which the author qualifies as some logical fine point.

Any body looking for some rigour surely shall need a companion text, of which the best, as far as I
know, is "Clifford Algebra to Geometric Calculus" which the same author co-authors. Finally and for the sake of fairness, I should make it explicit that this book I am reviewing is quite better than the much praised "Gepmetric Algebra for Physicists " by Chris Doran-Anthony Lasenby in respect of all above criticisms.

Can Geometric Algebra be Taught in High School?

Although New Foundations for Classical Mechanics (NFCM) is primarily a physics book, it's also intended to demonstrate the usefulness of geometric algebra (GA) in solving any sort of problem whose data and unknowns can be formulated as vectors.

Several previous reviewers were more qualified than I to discuss the advanced aspects of this book. I review it from the viewpoint of someone who was considering Hestenes' advice, expressed elsewhere, to employ geometric algebra in high-school classes. Of course I didn't expect that New Foundations would be suitable for high schoolers. Instead, I wanted to decide whether GA might save students enough time in college to be worth introducing in high school. To that end, I worked many of the problems in the first 3-1/2 chapters, then skipped to chapter 5, where I have worked on only the first section. I also attempted, with mixed results, to solve classic geometry problems via GA, especially those involving construction of circles tangent to other objects.

That amount of experience is probably necessary to decide about trying GA in high schools. My own decision is a cautious "yes", with some caveats regarding both GA itself, and this book.

First, NFCM is definitely not a stand-alone textbook. Although Hestenes' explanations of many topics are not only lucid, but genuinely thought-provoking, few people who tackle NFCM on their own will find it easy. But then, Hestenes never said it would be. As he noted on p. 39 of his Oersted Medal paper (see first comment, below, for all references in this review),

"... I had to design [New Foundations] as a multipurpose book, including a general introduction to GA and material of interest to researchers, as well as problem sets for students. It is not what I would have written to be a mechanics textbook alone. Most students need judicious guidance by the instructor to get through it."

By the way, anyone who's considering teaching GA anywhere should read that paper to learn from Hestenes' own travails.

Since I had no instructor to give me judicious guidance, I read several papers on GA by Hestenes and others. The lectures and problem sets from Cambridge University were helpful up to the point where they became too advanced for me. Another good reference was Ramon Gonález Calvet's "Treatise of Plane Geometry through Geometric Algebra". The chapters from the previous edition of NFCM that Hestenes maintains online offered many valuable perspectives.

However, all of those resources couldn't make up for the lack of a good solutions manual, with plenty of additional worked-out examples. If I could make just one suggestion to Hestenes for facilitating adoption of GA, this would be it. Ideally, the manual would also show how to explore GA using computer software such as GAViewer, or even CaRMetal (which I plunked along with). I suspect Hestenes would agree with all of these recommendations.


IN SUMMARY
This is a good book for learning to use GA, if used as Hestenes intended. I'm convinced that GA is worth trying to teach at the high school level. I don't expect that it would be any easier to teach than the geometry and trig that it would replace, but it should pay off better down the road.

Please note that Hestenes and his colleagues have also done extensive research on teaching physics. The "Modeling Instruction in Physics" method they developed has given good results. (See links.)

One of the best maths/physics textbooks ever written
This is the perfect example of what I humbly believe every mathematics textbook should aspire to be like.Written in a highly motivational style, and with problems that are difficult but just hard enough to make sure you really "got" the material, it is by far one of the most enjoyable and rewarding books I've ever worked through.

There are very few, if any, instances common in other texts where a problem is set without giving the reader enough previous grounding, making it an ideal self-study book (which is what I used it for).If you can't do a problem, then you can be sure you didn't absorb the previous material well enough.

And if you don't know just how cool geometric algebra is when you start, you're in for a series of startling surprises!

New?
Despite its name, I've seen no "new foundations" at all.Perhaps "new methods" would be better, but are they actually new?I learnt many concepts given in this book from a German book on engineering published at the beginning of the 20th century (including the "magical" i).The notation has been improved (dramatically, indeed), but I can understand why this formalism failed to succeed long ago, since most of the explanations in this book can be done more easily and intuitively with vectors and dyads--even Hestenes uses "tradicional" vectorial tools like cross product and pseudo-vectors very often. He is fond as well of topics we can find in old books on Mechanics, like ballistics and hodographs.Still, this is a valuable book for those who want to learn geometric algebra or to see Mechanics from a different point of view, even if, IMO, it is essentially a notational and computational trick.
Update: After re-reading it I would lower the rating to two stars: Lagrangianformalism is elementary and minimal, there is nothing on continuum mechanics, and it has some mistakes.

A problem with relativistic mechanics...
David Hestenes is a forerunner of the modern development of Clifford algebra. His current research activities can be followed in the site http://modelingnts.la.asu.edu/GC_R&D.html. Probably his most important book until now (written with Garret Sobczyk) was "Clifford Algebra to Geometric Calculus: A Unified Language for Mathematics and Physics" (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1984) also available at Amazon.com. This book on the new foundations for classical mechanics (second edition) was written as an introduction to geometric algebra. The term "geometric algebra" was coined to stress that this formulation of Clifford algebra is a unified language for physics and mathematics; it is not a matrix algebra (as used in quantum mechanics in the disguised forms of Pauli and Dirac matrices) as it uses a new property, the contraction, which makes it different from other associative algebras. A recent book on geometric algebra is "Geometric Algebra for Physicists" by Chris Doran and Anthony Lasenby (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003) - see the site http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/~clifford/.

Geometric algebra is a graded algebra based on the geometric product of vectors which reduces to the inner product (a scalar) when the two vectors are parallel and to the outer product (a bivector) when the two vectors are orthogonal. The geometric product is associative and can be used in spaces with any dimension (as opposed to the cross product of vectors which is not associative and can only be used in three or seven dimensions). Therefore, the geometric product is able to generate several graded algebras: (i) in two dimensions we recover the complex numbers as elements of a real algebra, not as elements of a field; (ii) in three dimensions we get a geometric algebra that is far better than the Gibbsian approach mainly due to the geometric role of rotors is reflections and rotations; (iii) in four dimensions we obtain the so-called spacetime algebra which is perfect for Minkowski spacetime within the context of special relativity - see the paper from Hestenes in American Journal of Physics (vol. 71, pp. 691-714, June 2003). Hamilton's quaternions are properly understood. Even as a new gauge theory of gravity on flat spacetime Hestenes' geometric algebra plays a very important role - see the paper from Hestenes in Foundations of Physics (vol. 25, pp. 903-970, June 2005). The clear and insightful approach that geometric algebra can bring to the Dirac equation is also remarkable.

My only problem with this book is due to Chapter 9 on relativistic mechanics. In this chapter Hestenes takes the usual approach that can be found in traditional four-vectors, by representing an event as a paravector, i.e., as a sum of a scalar and a three-dimensional vector (in Euclidean space). This kind of approach doesn't take advantage of geometric algebra (as in his article on spacetime algebra for Am. J. Phys.) because spatial vectors are not directly linked to an observer (and to its proper time) as they are in spacetime algebra where the so-called space-time split clearly leads to an invariant and proper formulation of physics. In Chapter 9, indeed, these paravectors induce a relativistic approach and not a proper approach. Nevertheless, apart from this remark, my overall comment on this book is very positive. ... Read more

Product Description
Classical Mechanics provides a clear introduction to the subject, combining a user-friendly style with an authoritative approach, whilst requiring minimal prerequisite mathematics - only elementary calculus and simple vectors are presumed. The text starts with a careful look at Newton's Laws, before applying them in one dimension to oscillations and collisions. More advanced applications - including gravitational orbits, rigid body dynamics and mechanics in rotating frames – are deferred until after the limitations of Newton's inertial frames have been highlighted through an exposition of Einstein's Special Relativity.

• Comprehensive yet concise introduction to classical mechanics and relativity.
• Emphasize real life examples.
• Includes many interesting problems and a key revision notes chapter.
• Presented in a style that assumes a minimum of mathematical knowledge.
• Contains new chapter on computational dynamics.
• Unique mixture of classical mechanics with relativity.
• Supplementary web link and solutions manual.

Product Description
Detailed treatment of topics in statics, friction,kinematics, dynamics, energy relations, impulse and momentum,systems of particles, variable mass systems, and three-dimensionalrigid body analysis.Among the advanced topics are moving coordinateframes, special relativity, vibrations, deformable media, and variationalmethods. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Mechanics Problem Solver by REA
This is an excellent book replete with simple engineering
diagrams depicting distributed loads, the analysis of shear,
centroids, inertia, particle kinetics, Newtonian gravitation,
rigid body kinetics, torque , forced vibration and other
engineering topics .The presentation is clear with many
diagrams and numerical examples depicting the most advanced
concepts.

This book covers the Newtonian laws, specialized distributed
loads/beams, concepts of inertia, elastic and inelastic
collisions, torque, rigid body kinetics, angular momentum,
matrix algebraic applications and advanced topics in vibration
analysis. The presentation is replete with simple diagrams
and easy-to-read explanations. For instance, in forced
vibrations, the author begins with the simple equations of
motion, differentiation of these equations and a step-by-step
presentation until the roots have been derived. At the end, he
presents graphs depicting in phase and out-of-phase motion.
This step-by-step analysis helps students understand the theory
behind the formula presentations. This is helpful for the
EIT exam because candidates require an analytic and intuitive
knowledge of this subject matter.

ogden and Fogel's Mechanics Problems Solvers
This and the 1995 similar book by Fogel are full of a wealth of worked out problems and should bea must for physics and engineering students.Many of the problems resemble non-worked-out problems in textbooks, so studentscan learn methods applicable to their own school texts.Sometimes problemsof the same category are scattered in different chapters, so be sure toconsult the index under many variations of the same theme and differentwords in the same topic.The usual cautions about putting the essence ofthe problems on flash cards need to be made (not more than 2 ordinaryhandwritten lines on front and back of a 3x5 card, etc.), and the studentshould not use this book before learning exactly what the theorems anddefinitions say (also to be put on flash cards and learned before doing theproblems), since there is almost no way to remember or even recognize theprofusion of problems for an examination without some organization,condensation, summarization, and learning of the basic ideas behind them. ... Read more

Product Description

The interaction between mathematics and mechanics is a never ending source of new developments. This present textbook includes a wide –ranging spectrum of topics from the three body problem and gyroscope theory to bifurcation theory, optimization, control and continuum mechanics of elastic bodies and fluids. For each of the covered topics the reader can practice mathematical experiments by using a large assortment of Matlab-programs which are available on the author’s homepage. The self-contained and clear presentation including Matlab is often useful to teach technical details by the program itself (learning by doing), which was not possible by just presenting the formula in the past. The reader will be able to produce each picture or diagram from the book by themselves and to arbitrarily alter the data or algorithms.

Recent Review of the German edition

"This book introduces the engineering-oriented reader to all the mathematical tools necessary for solving complex problems in the field of mechanics. The mathematics- oriented reader will find various applications of mathematical and numerical methods for modelling comprehensive mechanical-technical practical problems. Therefore this book will be interesting not only for students of various fields but also for practitioners, development engineers or mathematicians" (Hans Bufler, in: Zentralblatt MATH, 2007, Vol. 1100, Issue 2)

Product Description
This textbook describes in detail the classical theory of dynamics, a subject fundamental to the physical sciences, which has a large number of important applications. The author's aim is to describe the essential content of the theory, the general way in which it is used, and the basic concepts that are involved. No deep understanding can be obtained simply by examining theoretical considerations, so Dr Griffiths has included throughout many examples and exercises. This then is an ideal textbook for an undergraduate course for physicists or mathematicians who are familiar with vector analysis. ... Read more

Product Description

The aim of this work is to bridge the gap between the well-known Newtonian mechanics and the studies on chaos, ordinarily reserved to experts. Several topics are treated: Lagrangian, Hamiltonian and Jacobi formalisms, studies of integrable and quasi-integrable systems. The chapter devoted to chaos also enables a simple presentation of the KAM theorem. All the important notions are recalled in summaries of the lectures. They are illustrated by many original problems, stemming from real-life situations, the solutions of which are worked out in great detail for the benefit of the reader.

This book will be of interest to undergraduate students as well as others whose work involves mechanics, physics and engineering in general.

Product Description
This book takes the student from the Newtonian mechanics typically taught in the first and the second year to the areas of recent research. The discussion of topics such as invariance, Hamiltonian Jacobi theory, and action-angle variables is especially complete; the last includes a discussion of the Hannay angle, not found in other texts. The final chapter is an introduction to the dynamics of nonlinear nondissipative systems. Connections with other areas of physics which the student is likely to be studying at the same time, such as electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, are made where possible. There is thus a discussion of electromagnetic field momentum and mechanical "hidden"; momentum in the quasi-static interaction of an electric charge and a magnet. This discussion, among other things explains the "(e/c)A"; term in the canonical momentum of a charged particle in an electromagnetic field. There is also a brief introduction to path integrals and their connection with Hamilton's principle, and the relation between the Hamilton Jacobi equation of mechanics, the eikonal equation of optics, and the Schrödinger equation of quantum mechanics. The text contains 115 exercises. This text is suitable for a course in classical mechanics at the advanced undergraduate level. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good and short: really good on field momentum.
I read physics books in my spare time, and what I've found are the best ones are short, good books: if they're short you stand a chance of getting through them, and then if they're good you can pick up the essentials of the subject quickly.

This book is both. If you're looking for a primary textbook, you might be looking for something different, but for a reference to the concepts it's short and sweet: eg. what are canonical transformations, why are they defined the way they are and what is their importance.

What's particularly mind-blowing is the 5 page discussion of field momentum. That's the qA term in the hamiltonian for a charge q in a magnetic field (vector potential A). This form of the hamiltonian always puzzled me: Calkin explains the meaning of the qA term beautifully. The book is worth getting for this alone.

Very Brief
We are using this book in a third-year undergraduate course in classical mechanics. I find it alright for an in-class course, but I would definetely not recommend it to anyone planning to study by him/herself. The text simply is not made for that.
Judging by what I see in other books, this text has a fairly thorough coverage.
It is written VERY short and you want to have a pen and paper ready to understand the analysis. Once you do that, it should be alright.
The problems are of the very-short-but-sometimes-algebraically-intense kind, the class record being at 52 (!) hand written pages for three problems in chapter 6. But they are possible and, aside from the algrebra, not all that difficult. ... Read more

Product Description
This best-selling classical mechanics text, written for the advanced undergraduate one- or two-semester course, provides a complete account of the classical mechanics of particles, systems of particles, and rigid bodies. Vector calculus is used extensively to explore topics.The Lagrangian formulation of mechanics is introduced early to show its powerful problem solving ability.. Modern notation and terminology are used throughout in support of the text's objective: to facilitate students' transition to advanced physics and the mathematical formalism needed for the quantum theory of physics. CLASSICAL DYNAMICS OF PARTICLES AND SYSTEMS can easily be used for a one- or two-semester course, depending on the instructor's choice of topics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (57)

Pedagogical Nightmare
This book would probably be good if you already knew the material...the authors' explanations are often extremely poor. They skip many steps in derivations using phrases like the dreaded "it can be seen that" when the logical steps involved are not at all obvious, and often try to introduce subjects using excessively formal mathematical notation that bogs down the physical insight. Sometimes their examples are decent, but this is the exception rather than the rule. If you have a bad teacher for your upper level classical mechanics course and are forced to rely on your textbook for self study and this is the one you're stuck with, you will be in trouble.

excellent semester coming up!
This book is for a course I'm taking in spring.The textbook promises a great semester.The layout is very clean, the many examples are clearly set off from the rest of the text, the font is easy on the eyes, and figures are well labeled and explained in the text.

We probably need a new area of physics to explain how a book can be so bad
Usually a physics book will have some redeeming qualities. Not this one. The examples are often convoluted and the topic discussions are anything but clear. Even if you're an A student, this book will leave you scratching your head. Some parts just skip over necessary detail when building to a conclusion. Other parts give the detail but in such a way that you have to read it over and over. The first law of of texts should match the Hippocratic oath - do no harm. This book does just that.

If you have some spare money, get a used copy of Taylor's mechanics book. It is by far one of the best written. It may save your semester. And just hope to heck that a bad book was forced upon your good teacher.Bad book + bad teacher = very bad physics learning.If you just need to muddle through for a passing grade, you may be ok. If this is your major or if you need to learn mechanics thoroughly, be careful. Bottom line, this book won't help and may even hurt your efforts.

Excellent Intermediate book
This is an excellent mechanics book for the intermediate step between introductory mechanics like Haliday and Resnick or Young and advanced mechanics like Goldstein. It introduces mechanics with an excellent chapter, which is extremely useful, on matrices, vectors, coordinate systems. The book is excellent for self study as it follows a line of reasoning and the chapters are arranged in a logical order. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics is well discussed. Finally there are a lot of exercises for practice

Solid Introduction to Classical Mechanics
This is a very solid introduction to classical mechanics.Starting from a simple review of Newtonian Mechanics, it covers many of the more advanced topics which would become useful in future studies: Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, rigid body problems, center of mass formulations, vibrations and waves, central force problems including planetary motions, and a little introduction to special relativity.The general coverage is solid, and the book is easy to follow.In particular, the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian sections are probably the easist to read amongst alternatives.However, it does suffer from a few things: (a) pages of detailed calculations which are usually not particularly elegant, or illuminating, I have seen some of the problems get much more elegant mathematical treatment elsewhere, (b) some of the links with other branches of physics could be a little more illuminating, such as the Hamiltonian section could mention some applications in optics which will enhance understanding.Overall, a good book to learn classical mechanics from. ... Read more

Product Description
This textbook introduces the tools and language of modern geometric mechanics to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematics, physics and engineering. It treats the dynamics of ray optics, resonant oscillators and the elastic spherical pendulum from a unified geometric viewpoint, by formulating their solutions using reduction by Lie-group symmetries. The only prerequisites are linear algebra, calculus and some familiarity with the Euler Lagrange variational principles and canonical Poisson brackets in classical mechanics at the beginning undergraduate level.

The ideas and concepts of geometric mechanics are explained in the context of explicit examples. Through these examples, the student develops skills in performing computational manipulations, starting from Fermat's principle, working through the theory of differential forms on manifolds and transferring these ideas to the applications of reduction by symmetry to reveal Lie Poisson Hamiltonian formulations and momentum maps in physical applications.

The many Exercises and Worked Answers aid the student to grasp the essential aspects of the subject. In addition, the modern language and application of differential forms is explained in the context of geometric mechanics, so that the importance of Lie derivatives and their flows is clear. All theorems are stated and proved explicitly.

The book's many worked exercises make it ideal for both classroom use and self-study. In particular, a substantial appendix containing both introductory examples and enhanced coursework problems with worked answers is included to help the student develop proficiency in using the powerful methods of geometric mechanics.

Contents: Fermat s Ray Optics; Newton Lagrange, Hamilton; Differential Forms; Resonances and S1 Reduction; Elastic Spherical Pendulum; Maxwell Bloch Equations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Discovery in Geometric Mechanics Part I
This book is a page-turner. Reading it doesn't feel like text-book learning. Instead, the book conveys a sense of story-telling and discovery. The story of each example is told efficiently, but lovingly. And each example reveals yet another interesting facet of geometric mechanics.

The first chapter spends 80 pages telling the thrilling story of Fermat's Principle (FP) for ray optics. Along the way, it reveals the essentials of geometric mechanics without missing a beat. The first page defines light rays via FP. The second page uses it to explain mirages. The third page derives the eikonal equation from FP and a moment later the Euler-Lagrange equations appear. Huygens wavelets are explained by complementarity with light rays, and presto the scalar Hamilton-Jacobi equation appears. We get this far in only 9 pages, but everything is complete and interwoven, with no gaps. The remainder of Chapter 1 develops the key concepts of geometric mechanics flowing naturally from FP. Of course, geodesic flows appear and the laws of refraction discovered by Ibn-Sahl (984) and rediscovered much later by Snell (1621). However, did you know that ray optics has a geometric phase? Did you know that it has two different kinds of momentum maps, one of which was known to Lagrange? You might have guessed its Poisson bracket. But what about its Nambu bracket?

Armed with most of the essential concepts of geometric mechanics by the FP example in the first chapter, the rest of the book gets to the modern concepts just as quickly and efficiently, through a series of illuminating examples. These examples include: the free rigid body; ideal fluid dynamics; resonantly-coupled nonlinear oscillators; bifurcation sequences of nonlinear optical traveling-wave pulses; the remarkable step-wise precession of the swing plane of the elastic spherical pendulum; and the many geometric reductions of the Maxwell-Bloch equations for self-induced transparency in laser-matter interaction.

Review of Geometric Mechanics (Part I: dynamics and symmetry)
Although Chapter 1 is a gentle entry point for anyone who has completed a first year mechanics course, it introduces a great deal of essential concepts. Using the ray optics example, this Chapter introduces Hamilton's principle in canonical variables, the canonical Poisson Bracket, the Hamiltonian optics equations, momentum maps and the conserved skewness. The exercises instill intuition and help develop an understanding of why the skewness is conserved in addition to helping the student get to grips with the material. At this stage, no knowledge of linear algebra, differential geometry or group theory is required - so the first three Sections really set the reader up with a solid intuition and command of the basics in preparation for the more technical material that follows.

I particularly felt at ease with the 'hands-on' approach that is often lacking in graduate applied mathematics texts. By referring to the index, I was quickly able to structure my understanding through the recurring themes of the book, which time after time revealed fundamental concepts, such as geometric phase, in simple examples of reduction.

The following four Sections prepare the reader with the language of modern geometric mechanics and take us from canonical phase space to phase planes for radial position and momentum. In the axisymmetric invariant coordinates, Section 1.4 and 1.5 introduce the reader to orbit manifolds and flows on Hamiltonian vector fields. At this point, I think that readers will really start to appreciate the simplicity of the example in getting to grips with the geometry of the solution as many interesting properties are revealed just from the S^1 symmetries. The reader is exposed to the actions defined by the canonical Poisson brackets associated with various phase space functions which is conveniently written in matrix form. The next Sections fit together effortlessly. In Section 1.6, we learn that the matrices giving the finite transformations are symplectic. Not only that, but we are introduced to Lie transformation groups through the symplectic group and before long we are given all the machinery to understand the non-canonical R^3 Poisson bracket for ray optics and how it relates to the canonical one. Staying with the symplectic group, we are introduced to arguably the most fundamental concept in the Chapter - momentum maps.

I found the summary of the properties of momentum maps a useful motivation for getting to grips with the material. I also found myself returning to the earlier material in the Section and asking myself how the canonical flow and properties such as 'Skewness' are mapped to the reduced phase space through the momentum map. This is really where the text starts to pay off - I found that I quickly had obtained a sounder understanding of how the various concepts fit together than ever before.
I also found the final Section on 'ten geometrical features of ray optics' very helpful in assimilating the various concepts introduced in the Chapter. So overall, a very workable and tightly interwoven sequence of Sections with plenty of milestones and examples to retreat to if the material doesn't stick on a first read.

Chapter 2 turns to particle mechanics - the first few Sections prepare the reader for describing geodesic motion on Riemannian manifolds. In doing so, the rigid body motion that follows is perfectly set up. We see the role of the inertia matrix as a metric and familiarize ourselves with the notion of a Lie group as a smooth manifold. The remaining Sections of the Chapter provide an opportunity to take models studied in standard mechanics classes and cast them into the geometric framework. I found the comparison essential, as this is where the reader can test how well they understand the concepts in the first Chapter. The spherical pendulum is a useful starting point for the material on the elastic spherical pendulum in Chapter 5 and the bead-on-the-hoop model is helpful in understanding the optical traveling wave model in Chapter 4.

I found all the material in the first part of Chapter 3 clear enough to be able to jump straight into Section 3.5 on Euler's fluid equations. The material presented in this Chapter should be familiar to anyone whose taken courses on the mathematical description of fluid dynamics or who has a fluid mechanics background. The material in Section 3.5 is especially fundamental and sits along side the few other great texts on topological fluid dynamics and the mathematical description of fluid dynamics. It's especially useful to anyone interested in geophysical fluids. We are also taken right to the forefront of geometric fluid dynamics - inconclusive issues are indicated and modern techniques for determining stability of equilibria such as the Energy-Casimir method are applied to the non-trivial Euler-Boussinesq equations. Through the combined coverage of the Euler and the Euler-Boussinesq methods we learn the geometric effect of the additional buoyancy term. We also learn under what conditions the exterior derivative of the Euler Fluid equation gives a Stokes theorem and the role that helicity plays in the geometric description of Euler flows. The first few Sections on differential forms and exterior calculus comprise an excellent reference in their own right.

I was glad to finally see a unified treatment of resonances appearing in a geometric mechanics textbook. It's also apparent for the range of applications presented, just how widespread geometric mechanics has become. Admittedly, I read Chapter 4 before 3 as it's more accessible than the material on ideal fluid dynamics in Chapter 3, which requires familiarity with differential forms. This Chapter also makes some essential references to the first Chapter which really helps the reader to relate the material such as the correspondence of orbit manifolds, quotient maps, Poincare spheres, Nambu and R^3 bracket for 1:1 and then n:m resonances to the material in Chapter 1 on optical ray transmission. Many of these properties follow effortlessly having worked hard on Chapter 1 - so I found this material to serve as an excellent example of the power of geometric mechanics. The remainder of the Chapter considers optical traveling-wave pulses and shows us how to reduce the dynamics to the Poincare sphere. In doing so we are reminded of the similarity of the reduced traveling-wave equations with the bead on the hoop model in Chapter 2. The Chapter ends with analysis of the bifurcation of the
reduced dynamics (for a non-parity invariant material). Like all the visualizations in this book, I found that the visualization of the bifurcation choreography served to develop my intuition on the qualitative features of the reduced dynamics and motivate independent enquiries.

In Chapter 5 we learn how to craft models for describing multi-scale wave propagation phenomena by approximating the Lagrangian for small excitations and then averaging over its oscillating phases. I was pleased to find material on three-wave interaction and precession of the swing plane as these are rarely presented in a mathematical context in graduate texts. In Chapter 6, we are led through another application of the Averaged Lagrangian method in deriving phase-averaged equations of motion, referred to here as the Maxwell-Schrodinger envelope (MSE) equations. The example serves to remind us that by studying a seemingly over-simplified model, geometric mechanics reveals the understanding necessary to describe challenging scientific problems. We are swiftly shown that the three-wave equations for the 1:1:2 resonance of the elastic spherical pendulum are identical to the MSE equations for describing self-induced transparency of an optical laser pulse. The remaining material treats the reduced dynamics of the MSE equations by presenting the Lie-Poisson system and systematically dealing with different classes of Casimir functions, each one revealing unique and entirely different classes of level sets. This material demonstrates the power of the geometric approach in systematically reducing a challenging problem into a series of more workable ones.



Overall this book equips an advanced undergraduate or graduate student in applied mathematics, physics or engineering with both the mathematical tools and orientation to be able to confidently undertake research in the field of modern geometric mechanics. The Sections in the first Chapter are cleverly woven together so that the less mathematically advanced student can concentrate on understanding the principles rather than wrestle with the technicalities. The examples serve as portals from standard classical mechanics to modern geometric mechanic and help the reader become acquainted with the language and various more advanced aspects of geometric mechanics. They quickly prove the merits of geometric mechanics over its classical counterpart by revealing beautiful phase portraits and stability properties which develop a qualitative intuition for the geometric description. Some of these examples, despite their simplicity, bear all the essential material with which to tackle many challenging modern engineering and physics problems. For example, the Chapter on the elastic spherical pendulum is a very useful entry point for describing the powerful concept of averaged Lagrangians, a critical step in understanding the dynamics of three-wave interactions. Time and time again, we see throughout the book fundamental concepts revealed through recurring themes which the index is set up to help the reader pursue.


At the same time this book is even more compelling through its demonstration of geometric mechanics as a framework to solve challenging problems by linking different subjects in applied mathematics such as dynamical systems, fluid dynamics and the linear and non-linear theory of waves. We are shown throughout the book how the geometric description is a central tenet of discoveries in fluid stability, fluid conservation laws, bifurcation analysis and wave interaction. Throughout the book we see how often dispensing of unnecessary coordinate systems, degrees of freedom and approximations and instead adopting the geometric approach provides a systematic basis for classifying and simplifying problems to reveal hidden mysteries.
... Read more

Product Description
Devoted to the foundation of mechanics, namely classical Newtonian mechanics, the subject is based mainly on Galileo's principle of relativity and Hamilton's principle of least action.The exposition is simple and leads to the most complete direct means of solving problems in mechanics.

The final sections on adiabatic invariants have been revised and augmented.In addition a short biography of L D Landau has been inserted.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

DAU_Vol.1
The volume 1, Mechanics, (of the Series in Theoretical Physics by Landau, Lifshitz and collaborators) is a classic of the classics: extremely clear and to the point. Every student and researcher should read it and have it in his/her library. I already had a copy from the time I was a student, on the other hand this new edition has a small biography of Landau written by his student, friend and collaborator Lifshitz. That is the reason I got this third edition, the biography reflects the unique feeling students in general had for Landau and the greatness of Lifshitz that for all his life remained sensibly attach to his supervisor. We all treasure and learn from this book.

Always good bedtime reading.
I like to read this book before bed. That does NOT mean that it is boring! It's rather dense; you might spend 30 minutes reading one page. You'll have to think about every sentence in the book because he's explaining some important insight. You need to have a good background in calculus of variations to even begin to read the book. Could have done a better job at canonical transformations but overall far superior to other books on the subject. Definitely not for undergraduates.

A Theoretical Physics Classic
One of the most significant moments in my Physics education came during my sophomore year in college. I decided to pick up a copy of "Mechanics" by Landau and Lifshitz that was on reserve in the library for the mechanics class that I was taking. This is the first volume in the internationally renowned series of textbooks on theoretical Physics, the series that has a reputation for its sparse and difficult writing style, as well as the undoubted difficulty and brilliance of the material presented. This is probably the reason why until that point I didn't even bother looking at these books, but for whatever reason that fateful night I decided to take a look at this particular volume. To my surprise, the book was actually pretty readable and the first few chapters revealed an entirely new way of looking at Physics. Until that point I was used to thinking about Physics as a set of laws and equations, relatively succinct but otherwise somewhat arbitrary and ad-hoc. Landau and Lifshitz's book started from a very different point; it gave some deep underlying principles as a starting point behind the development of physical laws and equations. Based on that I had a new and deeper appreciation of my chosen field of study, and I gained a whole new way of looking at the physical reality.

Granted, the book is really not a walk in the park. Many later chapters can be rather technically demanding, and a prior course on theoretical mechanics at college level is probably the minimal level of preparation that can get a reader through the whole text. There aren't all that many examples that are thoroughly worked out, but all of the problems are given (rather concise) solutions - you still need to fill in some of the more important steps on your own. Mechanics is not an area of active modern research, so this is not necessarily a book that will help one with their scientific careers. However, it provides a solid grounding in some of the most basic physical concepts, and the skills and techniques acquired here can be very important in other areas of Physics. All said, this is a classic textbook that anyone who is serious about a career in Physics would be well advised to go through.

A beautiful woman with cheap (but baught expensively!) clothing
A masterpiece of classical mechanics!
I strongly suggest using it as a supplement for your mechanics course.
A brief but really complete presentation of the subject that must be studied carefully and read many times.Really beautiful !

However 45$ is a RIDICULOUS price for this book!
It's about 170 pages and the quality of printing is not that good.
This book should not cost more than 25$, really. Amazon should reduce it's price or people will realized that photocopying it would produce a book with better (!!) quality and 1/3 of the price.

Great Book
This is a compact, comprehensive text on theoretical mechanics.One of the best books ever published on mechanics. ... Read more

Product Description
In the years since it was first published in 1973 by McGraw-Hill, this classic introductory textbook has established itself as one of the best-known and most highly regarded descriptions of Newtonian mechanics. Intended for undergraduate students with foundation skills in mathematics and a deep interest in physics, it systematically lays out the principles of mechanics: vectors, Newton's laws, momentum, energy, rotational motion, angular momentum and noninertial systems, and includes chapters on central force motion, the harmonic oscillator, and relativity. Numerous worked examples demonstrate how the principles can be applied to a wide range of physical situations, and more than 600 figures illustrate methods for approaching physical problems. The book also contains over 200 challenging problems to help the student develop a strong understanding of the subject. Password-protected solutions are available for instructors at www.cambridge.org/9780521198219. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

My favorite textbook for any subject
I found the negative reviews to this book surprising, since I consider it the best textbook for any subject I've ever had the pleasure to work with.College textbooks tend to be indistinguishable and unremarkable -- even when I was taking my introduction to mechanics class at the time the book stood out.

Although I've been out of school for almost ten years, I've only recently parted ways with all my college and grad school textbooks (in an effort to reduce clutter).There were only two books I could not part ways with, and this was one.

The book does explain theory (maybe that's the part that turns off some people), but no book explains theory and the theory of mechanics better.I also think that I continued to benefit through the rest of college and grad school (I'm a mechanical engineer) from the solid grounding in mechanics this book provided.

I find myself referencing it even now, as I prepare to take the PE exam - as certain key concepts keep coming up again.There are other reference books that provide tables and lists of formulas, but, in my opinion, when you want to actually *understand* the math and physics of mechanics (that is, what is actually going on), this is the book to turn to.

A love/hate relationship
I hated this book as an undergraduate.With my lack of a vector calculus background, the early derivations of some of the kinematic equations lost me completely.Throughout the text, I kept confusing vectors with scalars, and then I would have to re-read an entire section.Also, it didn't help that I had a pretty poor physics background coming into the course.My utter inability to solve any of the problems in this book discouraged me from ever taking any physics classes again.

Now, 10+ years later, I have a newfound respect for this text.Now that I have a much better command of vector calculus, as well as some physics intuition honed by easy-read texts such as Feynman's Lectures and Thinking Physics, the exposition is much clearer, and I can easily follow the derivations.The problems, while difficult, are very well thought out, and they have highlighted areas where my understanding was weakest and improved my overall command of the material.Having done every problem in the book up to Chapter 4 so far, I know that I have a much better understanding of mechanics than I did before I started.

So having been on both sides of the fence, I think a new undergrad just starting physics might have an easier time with another book, unless he/she has a solid background in vector calculus and differentiation, as another reviewer mentioned.Once one's math background is up to par, however, this is a book worth reading.

Good introduction to mechanics, but could use revision
I used this book my first semester at Columbia (2801) after taking 2 years of HS physics prior.The explanatory portions of the chapters sometimes were confusingly assembled but in general contained a lot of material that was helpful in solving the problems later on.The problems were challenging and sometimes frustrating because different colleges' solution manuals DISAGREED on the answers for some of the questions.One very helpful revision to this book could be a solutions manual or simply non-typoed answers in the back of the book.I happened to dislike the relativity chapters because my professor, a particle physicist, worked the problems in a completely different way, with natural units instead of physical units.

This book is good if it is supplemented with solid lectures.I found that trying to review material directly from the book was difficult because of the slightly incoherent structure.But the problems and depth of material "felt" just right.If this book were revised, with answers in the back, slightly different presentation order, maybe proofs on SHM, and better images for kicks, I'm certain it would merit 5-stars.

Important Caveats
First off, I have great respect for Kleppner and his ability to write challenging problems that can (and will) really bake your noggin while still in most cases producing elegant solutions.However, the other reviewers are absolutely correct when they tell you that a mastery of calculus (through more than a little multivariable) is absolutely critical for being able to get the most out of this book.

In the likely scenario that you're looking to buy this text because it's the 8.012 MIT Physics textbook, be forewarned: when they tell you that you have to really like physics to take 8.012, they are NOT kidding.You can't be apathetic, or ambivalent, or vaguely gravitated towards physics - you have to ENJOY IT.As a freshman who had never taken multivariable to any significant degree nor even studied calculus-based physics, I can tell you right now that I really wish I'd taken 8.01 instead.Still, if your problem-solving skills are up to scratch and you can conceptualize in your head till the cows come home, by all means, go for it.Just don't expect it to be your high school physics textbook - No Recording 8.012 means you have to take 8.011, which will cost you an extra semester of Physics.Kleppner doesn't baby you, and shouldn't, so be prepared for a long haul.

Back to the book: the walkthroughs are pretty clear so long as you don't try to skim them, and genuinely sit down and follow them.The problems are pretty challenging, so expect to lose a little (or a lot of) sleep over them if your time management skills are lacking.The examples are good, but as I said, the chapter material isn't going to hand you the solutions to the problems, so I suspect most of you will have to stretch to solve them on your own.I would say it probably helps to have a study buddy (or 6) to work with, so you can bounce off interpretations of the material to help it stick.All in all, an excellent book for getting a new college student into the extra rigor of higher education.Just don't delude yourself into thinking that reading the book equals knowing the material.You're going to have to work for that Pass.Best of luck.

An insightful book recommended for serious students
I purchased this book for self study after my freshman year in college as a double major in physics and math. As a graduate student working towards my PhD in physics now, I greedily hoard and relish this text as one of my favorites. This book falls into a unique class of its own; its material is not "advanced," but its coverage is far more sophisticated than the typical introductory physics text e.g. Halliday, Resnick, Walker. The pioneering into this unique niche allows the authors to challenge the reader with difficult problems without allowing them to resort to more lofty mathematical treatments such as Lagrangians. The result is good old fashion hard work - and it pays off.

In addition to a superb reservoir of excellent problems, the text flows smoothly with succinct and clear explanation. This is perhaps what I like most about the book. The authors really know their stuff; their absolute command of the material is palpable. So much so that they can, in fewer words, cut straight to the heart of each physical idea they discuss. However, this command does not take the form of overly verbose verbiage; the spirit of the writing is merely one that serves to transfer knowledge and understanding to the reader. Some authors such as David Griffiths add flare to their physics texts by writing in a friendly, informal, but very helpful style. This is not one of those books, the writing is plain; it only has one goal: to inform the reader. But it accomplishes that goal so well that one feels personal gratitude towards the authors. By reading this book I gained deep insight into matters I had previously overlooked or oversimplified in my mind.

To sum things up, this book is an excellent resource for any serious student of physics wishing to expand their understanding of the basic principles of mechanics. It will fine tune one's developing intuition and problem solving skills. This book is not for those with a passing interest in physics or those students who are not as gung-ho - these students will most likely detest the book out of frustration and impatience. To any new serious student of physics, I highly recommend that this text be added to your bookshelf. ... Read more

Product Description
This Book Presents An Updated Treatment Of The Dynamics Of Particles And Particle Systems Suitable For Students Preparing For Advanced Study Of Physics And Closely Related Fields, Such As Astronomy And The Applied Engineering Sciences. Compared To Older Books On This Subject, The Mathematical Treatment Has Been Updated For The Study Of More Advanced Topics In Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, And Nonlinear And Orbital Mechanics. The Text Begins With A Review Of The Principles Of Classical Newtonian Dynamics Of Particles And Particle Systems And Proceeds To Show How These Principles Are Modified And Extended By Developments In The Field. The Text Ends With The Unification Of Space And Time Given By The Special Theory Of Relativity. In Addition, Hamiltonian Dynamics And The Concept Of Phase Space Are Introduced Early On. This Allows Integration Of The Concepts Of Chaos And Other Nonlinear Effects Into The Main Flow Of The Text. The Role Of Symmetries And The Underlying Geometric Structure Of Space-Time Is A Key Theme. In The Latter Chapters, The Connection Between Classical And Quantum Mechanics Is Examined In Some Detail. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Appropriate for either a year-long course, or for scientific reference
College-level courses in particles and systems offer a mathematical treatment updated for the study of more advanced topics in quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics and orbital mechanics with CLASSICAL MECHANICS, recommended as a classroom text or for any advanced college course on mechanics theory. From discussions of symmetries and geometric structure of space-time to discussions of particle mechanics, this is appropriate for either a year-long course, or for scientific reference. ... Read more

Product Description

The series of texts on Classical Theoretical Physics is based on the highly successful series of courses given by Walter Greiner at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Intended for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, the volumes in the series provide not only a complete survey of classical theoretical physics but also an enormous number of worked examples and problems to show students clearly how to apply the abstract principles to realistic problems.

This edition contains two new chapters on generalized theory of canonical transformations and the Hamilton-Lagrange formalism, as well as new sections in the chapter on Hamiltonian theory. All chapters have been completely revised and updated and numerous new exercises have been added.

Customer Reviews (2)

Classical Mechanics
I have used some of Greiner's textbooks for my teaching and my students like them very much. Greiner's series of textbooks are comprehensive, comprehensible and contain a lot of non-trivial examples worked out in detail-something that is very important for the students. Just a few gripes-there are quite a number of typos and the notation sometimes does not conform to common English usage. Future editions should make the textbooks better.

good but not enough
This book belong to good german teaching tradition, but falls
below Golstein standard.It is a good text for the exercises
but do not expect deep explanation for generatrix function,Hamilton Jacobi resolution methods and Poisson brackets
relaion to differential geomery ... Read more

Product Description
The geometric formulation of autonomous Hamiltonian mechanics in the terms of symplectic and Poisson manifolds is generally accepted. The literature on this subject is extensive. The present book provides the geometric formulation of non-autonomous mechanics in a general setting of time-dependent coordinate and reference frame transformations. This formulation of mechanics as like as that of classical field theory lies in the framework of general theory of dynamic systems, and Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms on fiber bundles. The reader will find a strict mathematical exposition of non-autonomous dynamic systems, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian non-relativistic mechanics, relativistic mechanics, quantum non-autonomous mechanics, together with a number of advanced models - superintegrable systems, non-autonomous constrained systems, theory of Jacobi fields, mechanical systems with time-dependent parameters, non-adiabatic Berry phase theory, instantwise quantization, and quantization relative to different reference frames. ... Read more