Synopsis
This updated and revised fourth edition covers all topics in mechanics from elementary Newtonian mechanics, canonical and rigid body mechanics to relativistic mechanics and nonlinear dynamics.
In particular, symmetries and invariance principles, geometrical structures and continuum mechanics play an important role. This book will enable the reader to develop general principles from which equations of motions may be derived, to understand the importance of symmetries as a basis for quantum mechanics and to get practice in using theoretical tools and concepts that are essential for all branches of physics.
The book contains numerous problems with complete solutions, and some practical examples.This will be appreciated in particular by students using the text to accompnay lectures on mechanics. The book ends with some historical remarks on important pioneers in mechanics.
Booknews
Classical mechanics provides the conceptual foundation on which the remainder of physics--however radically "non-classical" it might superficially appear--rests. The shape of modern developments does, however, serve to control the manner in which the rich subject matter of classical mechanics is organized and presented. The latter point is illustrated very nicely by the present text, which is intended to serve the needs of thoughtful graduate and advanced undergraduate students of physics and which derives from a course taught over the years at Johannes Gutenberg Univ. (Mainz, Germany). Chapter 5 provides a good introduction to the differential geometric aspects of mechanics, Chapter 6 looks to stability and chaos, Chapter 7 to classical field theory. Arguably the best "modern approach to classical mechanics" presently available. Good exercises are collected together at the end of the volume. The production quality is good, the price is right, and the text appears quite capable of the serious work for which it was intended. (NW) Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)