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Any education in theoretical physics begins with the laws of classical mechanics. The basics of the subject were laid down long ago by Galileo and Newton and are enshrined in the famous equation F=ma that we all learn in school. But there is much more to the subject and, in the intervening centuries, the laws of classical mechanics were reformulated to emphasis deeper concepts such as energy, symmetry, and action. This textbook describes these different approaches to classical mechanics, starting with Newton's laws before turning to subsequent developments such as the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian approaches. The book emphasises Noether's profound insights into symmetries and conservation laws, as well as Einstein's vision of spacetime, encapsulated in the theory of special relativity. Classical mechanics is not the last word on theoretical physics. But it is the foundation for all that follows. The purpose of this book is to provide this foundation.
Through the 1600s, the fundamental laws of mechanics served as bridge principles to ontology and confirmation theory. By the mid-eighteenth century, the laws came to lose their former bridging function. As a result, the metaphysics and epistemology of classical mechanics became opaque. The chapter diagnoses several factors that catalyzed the changed status of basic laws.
The new method of explicit integration of equations of motion of systems of classical mechanics (the projection method) is described. For Calogero, Sutherland and Toda systems the explicit solutions of equations of motion are given. These solutions are impossible to obtain by other known methods.
In this original and integrated approach to theoretical reasoning in physics, Malcolm Longair illuminates the subject from the perspective of real physics as practised by research scientists. Concentrating on the basic insights, attitudes and techniques that are the tools of the modern physicist, this approach conveys the intellectual excitement and beauty of the subject. Through a series of seven case studies, an undergraduate course in classical physics and the discovery of quanta are reviewed from the point of the view of how the great discoveries and changes of perspective came about. This approach illuminates the intellectual struggles needed to attain understanding of some of the most difficult concepts in physics. Longair's highly acclaimed text has been fully revised and includes new studies on the physics of fluids, Maxwell's great paper on equations for the electromagnetic field and problems of contemporary cosmology and the very early universe.
In the first chapter, the most important concepts of classical mechanics are quickly reviewed. The Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism are described. The way to deal with systems with constraints is described. Poisson brackets and the use of canonical transformations in the Hamiltonian formalism, as well as the basics of Hamilton–Jacobi theory complete this chapter.
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