Physics 330 Analytic
Mechanics Fall (3) 2006
Instructor: Mark Taylor Office: Gerstacker 118
Phone: 569-5241
email: taylormp
Office Hours: MTRF 12:30-2:30, 4:00-6:00, Wed. 9:00-6:00, Sat. and Sun. 1:00-5:00.
Also, feel free to stop by at other times, call me, or send me email.
Meeting Times: MTRF 10:00-11:30, 2:30-4:00, Gerstacker 10
Textbook: "Classical Dynamics", 5th edition, by Thornton and Marion
Course
Overview and Goals: This course will
provide an intensive study of classical mechanics. This elegant subject provides the foundation to all fields
of physics and thus a solid grasp of this material is essential. We begin with a review Newtonian
mechanics as learned in Physics 213, however, we will be working at a much
higher level of mathematical sophistication than was possible in 213. We will then study two important
reformulations of Newtonian mechanics based on the calculus of variations. These are the Lagrangian and
Hamiltonian approaches. These new
methods yield the same results as the original Newtonian method, but for
complicated systems they are often much easier to apply. Finally we will use these new methods
to make a detailed study of central force motion (i.e., the two body problem)
and rigid body rotational dynamics.
The primary goal of this course is to learn some of the advanced
techniques of analytic mechanics.
A more general goal is to learn to do physics at a more formal
level. Historically, this formal
approach has been extremely productive in physics, leading to connections
between disparate fields of study. Such formal methods provide a systematic
approach to tackling complex problems. A final goal for this course will be to
learn some important approximation and numerical techniques, since for most
"real world" problems, exact analytic calculation will only take us
so far.
Links to pdf files:
Course Information Sheet
Syllabus
Downloadable Software:
Newton for Windows Newton for Mac (OSX)