Many problems in classical mechanics can now be readily solved using computers. This text integrates Maple, a general-purpose symbolic computation program, into the traditional sophomore- or junior-level mechanics course. Intended primarily as a supplement to a standard text, it discusses all the topics usually covered in the course and shows how to solve problems using Maple and how to display solutions graphically to gain further insight. The text is self-contained and can also be used for self-study or as the primary text in a mechanics course.
This is a standalone, but the recipes are correlated with topics found in standard texts, and make use of MAPLE (Release 7). As a reference text, or self-study guide this book is useful for science professionals and engineers.; Good for the classroom correlates with topics found in standard classical mechanics texts.; This book makes use of the powerful computer algebra system MAPLE (Release 7) but no prior knowledge of MAPLE is presumed.; The relevant command structures are explained on a need-to-know basis as the recipes are developed, thus making this a standalone text.
Philosophy of the Text This text has been designed to be an introductory survey of the basic concepts and applied mathematical methods of nonlinear science. Students in engineer ing, physics, chemistry, mathematics, computing science, and biology should be able to successfully use this text. In an effort to provide the students with a cutting edge approach to one of the most dynamic, often subtle, complex, and still rapidly evolving, areas of modern research-nonlinear physics-we have made extensive use of the symbolic, numeric, and plotting capabilities of Maple V Release 4 applied to examples from these disciplines. No prior knowledge of Maple or computer programming is assumed, the reader being gently introduced to Maple as an auxiliary tool as the concepts of nonlinear science are developed. The diskette which accompanies the text gives a wide variety of illustrative nonlinear examples solved with Maple. An accompanying laboratory manual of experimental activities keyed to the text allows the student the option of "hands on" experience in exploring nonlinear phenomena in the REAL world. Although the experiments are easy to perform, they give rise to experimental and theoretical complexities which are not to be underestimated. The Level of the Text The essential prerequisites for the first eight chapters of this text would nor mally be one semester of ordinary differential equations and an intermediate course in classical mechanics.
Learning classical mechanics doesn’t have to be hard What if there was a way to learn classical mechanics without all the usual fluff? What if there were a book that allowed you to see the whole picture and not just tiny parts of it? Thoughts like this are the reason that No-Nonsense Classical Mechanics now exists. What will you learn from this book? Get to know all fundamental mechanics concepts — Grasp why we can describe classical mechanics using the Lagrangian formalism, the Newtonian formalism, or the Hamiltonian formalism and how these frameworks are connected.Learn to describe classical mechanics mathematically — Understand the meaning and origin of the most important equations: Newton's second law, the Euler-Lagrange equation and Hamilton's equations.Master the most important classical mechanics systems — Read fully annotated, step-by-step calculations and understand the general algorithm we use to describe them.Get an understanding you can be proud of — Learn about beautiful and deep insights like Noether's theorem or Liouville's theorem and how classical mechanics emerges in a proper limit of special relativity, quantum mechanics and general relativity. No-Nonsense Classical Mechanics is the most student-friendly book on classical nechanics ever written. Here’s why. First of all, it's is nothing like a formal university lecture. Instead, it’s like a casual conservation with a more experienced student. This also means that nothing is assumed to be “obvious” or “easy to see”.Each chapter, each section, and each page focuses solely on the goal to help you understand. Nothing is introduced without a thorough motivation and it is always clear where each equation comes from.The book contains no fluff since unnecessary content quickly leads to confusion. Instead, it ruthlessly focuses on the fundamentals and makes sure you’ll understand them in detail. The primary focus on the readers’ needs is also visible in dozens of small features that you won’t find in any other textbook In total, the book contains more than 100 illustrations that help you understand the most important concepts visually. In each chapter, you’ll find fully annotated equations and calculations are done carefully step-by-step. This makes it much easier to understand what’s going on in.Whenever a concept is used that was already introduced previously there is a short sidenote that reminds you where it was first introduced and often recites the main points. In addition, there are summaries at the beginning of each chapter that make sure you won’t get lost.
The new edition of a classic text that concentrates on developing general methods for studying the behavior of classical systems, with extensive use of computation. We now know that there is much more to classical mechanics than previously suspected. Derivations of the equations of motion, the focus of traditional presentations of mechanics, are just the beginning. This innovative textbook, now in its second edition, concentrates on developing general methods for studying the behavior of classical systems, whether or not they have a symbolic solution. It focuses on the phenomenon of motion and makes extensive use of computer simulation in its explorations of the topic. It weaves recent discoveries in nonlinear dynamics throughout the text, rather than presenting them as an afterthought. Explorations of phenomena such as the transition to chaos, nonlinear resonances, and resonance overlap to help the student develop appropriate analytic tools for understanding. The book uses computation to constrain notation, to capture and formalize methods, and for simulation and symbolic analysis. The requirement that the computer be able to interpret any expression provides the student with strict and immediate feedback about whether an expression is correctly formulated. This second edition has been updated throughout, with revisions that reflect insights gained by the authors from using the text every year at MIT. In addition, because of substantial software improvements, this edition provides algebraic proofs of more generality than those in the previous edition; this improvement permeates the new edition.
This book presents a basic introduction to quantum mechanics. Depending on the choice of topics, it can be used for a one-semester or two-semester course. An attempt has been made to anticipate the conceptual problems students encounter when they first study quantum mechanics. Wherever possible, examples are given to illustrate the underlying physics associated with the mathematical equations of quantum mechanics. To this end, connections are made with corresponding phenomena in classical mechanics and electromagnetism. The problems at the end of each chapter are intended to help students master the course material and to explore more advanced topics. Many calculations exploit the extraordinary capabilities of computer programs such as Mathematica, MatLab, and Maple. Students are urged to use these programs, just as they had been urged to use calculators in the past. The treatment of various topics is rather complete, in that most steps in derivations are included. Several of the chapters go beyond what is traditionally covered in an introductory course. The goal of the presentation is to provide the students with a solid background in quantum mechanics.
Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems presents a modern and reasonably complete account of the classical mechanics of particles, systems of particles, and rigid bodies for physics students at the advanced undergraduate level. The book aims to present a modern treatment of classical mechanical systems in such a way that the transition to the quantum theory of physics can be made with the least possible difficulty; to acquaint the student with new mathematical techniques and provide sufficient practice in solving problems; and to impart to the student some degree of sophistication in handling both the formalism of the theory and the operational technique of problem solving. Vector methods are developed in the first two chapters and are used throughout the book. Other chapters cover the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics, the special theory of relativity, gravitational attraction and potentials, oscillatory motion, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, central-force motion, two-particle collisions, and the wave equation.
This volume contains the proceedings for the Second Annual Maple Summer Workshop and Symposium held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, on June 28-30, 1993. The goal of this conference was to encourage innovative applications of the Maple V mathematical computation system.
This book may be used by students and professionals in physics and engineering that have completed first-year calculus and physics. An introductory chapter reviews algebra, trigonometry, units and complex numbers that are frequently used in physics. Examples using MATLAB and Maple for symbolic and numerical calculations in physics with a variety of plotting features are included in all 16 chapters. The book applies many of mathematical concepts covered in Chapters 1-9 to fundamental physics topics in mechanics, electromagnetics; quantum mechanics and relativity in Chapters 10-16. Companion files are included with MATLAB and Maple worksheets and files, and all of the figures from the text. Features: • Each chapter includes the mathematical development of the concept with numerous examples • MATLAB & Maple examples are integrated in each chapter throughout the book • Applies the mathematical concepts to fundamental physics principles such as relativity, mechanics, electromagnetics, etc. • Introduces basic MATLAB and Maple commands and programming structures • Includes companion files with MATLAB and Maple files and worksheets, and all of the figures from the text
Written by an experienced physicist who is active in applying computer algebra to relativistic astrophysics and education, this is the resource for mathematical methods in physics using MapleTM and MathematicaTM. Through in-depth problems from core courses in the physics curriculum, the author guides students to apply analytical and numerical techniques in mathematical physics, and present the results in interactive graphics. Around 180 simulating exercises are included to facilitate learning by examples. This book is a must-have for students of physics, electrical and mechanical engineering, materials scientists, lecturers in physics, and university libraries. * Free online MapleTM material at http://www.wiley-vch.de/templates/pdf/maplephysics.zip * Free online MathematicaTM material at http://www.wiley-vch.de/templates/pdf/physicswithmathematica.zip * Solutions manual for lecturers available at www.wiley-vch.de/supplements/
