Classical Mechanics / Edition 1

by R. Douglas Gregory

Overview

Gregory's Classical Mechanics is a major new textbook for undergraduates in mathematics and physics. It is a thorough, self-contained and highly readable account of a subject many students find difficult. The author's clear and systematic style promotes a good understanding of the subject; each concept is motivated and illustrated by worked examples, while problem sets provide plenty of practice for understanding and technique. Computer assisted problems, some suitable for projects, are also included. The book is structured to make learning the subject easy; there is a natural progression from core topics to more advanced ones and hard topics are treated with particular care. A theme of the book is the importance of conservation principles. These appear first in vectorial mechanics where they are proved and applied to problem solving. They reappear in analytical mechanics, where they are shown to be related to symmetries of the Lagrangian, culminating in Noether's theorem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521534093
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/13/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	606
Product dimensions:	6.85(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Douglas Gregory is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Manchester. He is a researcher of international standing in the field of elasticity, and has held visiting positions at New York University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Washington. He is highly regarded as a teacher of applied mathematics: this, his first book, is the product of many years ' teaching experience.

Table of Contents

Part I. Newtonian Mechanics of a Single Particle: 1. The algebra and calculus of vectors; 2. Velocity, acceleration and scalar angular velocity; 3. Newton's laws of motion and the law of gravitation; 4. Problems in particle dynamics; 5. Linear oscillations; 6. Energy conservation; 7. Orbits in a central field; 8. Non-linear oscillations and phase space; Part II. Multi-particle Systems: 9. The energy principle; 10. The linear momentum principle; 11. The angular momentum principle; Part III. Analytical mechanics: 12. Lagrange's equations and conservation principle; 13. The calculus of variations and Hamilton's principle; 14. Hamilton's equations and phase space; Part IV. Further Topics: 15. The general theory of small oscillations; 16. Vector angular velocity and rigid body kinematics; 17. Rotating reference frames; 18. Tensor algebra and the inertia tensor; 19. Problems in rigid body dynamics; Appendix: centres of mass and moments of inertia; Answers to the problems; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"The writing here is a picture of clarity and directness. The physical layout of the book is attractive. Diagrams and figures are well-drawn. Each page in the book is pleasing to look at...I wish it had been my textbook when I was a student."
William J. Satzer, MAA Reviews, MathDL

"Gregory's style is clear and concise: his writing is neither overly condensed nor verbose, and the diagrams are clear and illustrative. This textbook should be required reading for any student embarking on an undergraduate course in engineering or physical sciences. I look forward to reading future works by this author."
Contemporary Physics

From the Publisher