Classical Mechanics: Systems of Particles and Hamiltonian Dynamics

More than a generation of German-speaking students around the world have worked theirwaytoanunderstandingandappreciationofthepowerandbeautyofmodernt- oretical physics-with mathematics, the most fundamental of sciences-using Walter Greiner's textbooks as their guide. The idea of developing a coherent, complete presentation of an entire eld of s- ence in a series of closely related textbooks is not a new one. Many older physicians remember with real pleasure their sense of adventure and discovery as they worked their ways through the classic series by Sommerfeld, by Planck, and by Landau and Lifshitz. From the students' viewpoint, there are a great many obvious advantages to be gained through the use of consistent notation, logical ordering of topics, and - herence of presentation; beyond this, the complete coverage of the science provides a unique opportunity for the author to convey his personal enthusiasm and love for his subject. These volumes on classical physics, nally available in English, complement Greiner's texts on quantum physics, most of which have been available to Engli- speaking audiences for some time. The complete set of books will thus provide a coherent view of physics that includes, in classical physics, thermodynamics and s- tistical mechanics, classical dynamics, electromagnetism, and general relativity; and in quantumphysics, quantummechanics,symmetries, relativistic quantummechanics, quantum electro- and chromodynamics, and the gauge theory of weak interactions.

Table of Contents:
Newtonian Mechanics in Moving Coordinate Systems.- Newton’s Equations in a Rotating Coordinate System.- Free Fall on the Rotating Earth.- Foucault’s Pendulum.- Mechanics of Particle Systems.- Degrees of Freedom.- Center of Gravity.- Mechanical Fundamental Quantities of Systems of Mass Points.- Vibrating Systems.- Vibrations of Coupled Mass Points.- The Vibrating String.- Fourier Series.- The Vibrating Membrane.- Mechanics of Rigid Bodies.- Rotation About a Fixed Axis.- Rotation About a Point.- Theory of the Top.- Lagrange Equations.- Generalized Coordinates.- D’Alembert Principle and Derivation of the Lagrange Equations.- Lagrange Equation for Nonholonomic Constraints.- Special Problems.- Hamiltonian Theory.- Hamilton’s Equations.- Canonical Transformations.- Hamilton–Jacobi Theory.- Extended Hamilton–Lagrange Formalism.- Extended Hamilton–Jacobi Equation.- Nonlinear Dynamics.- Dynamical Systems.- Stability of Time-Dependent Paths.- Bifurcations.- Lyapunov Exponents and Chaos.- Systemswith Chaotic Dynamics.- On the History of Mechanics.- Emergence of Occidental Physics in the Seventeenth Century.

Review :
From the reviews: "A sequel to Greiner’s (TM)s Classical Mechanics: Point Particles and Relativity, this book forms part of a series of 13 textbooks on theoretical physics a ] . A major attraction is the wealth of worked examples, which renders the book very suitable as a self-contained source for learning on onea (TM)s own a ] . In conclusion, this is a worthy competitor in the market of undergraduate texts on classical mechanics a ] ." (Professor R. S. MacKay, Contemporary Physics, Vol. 45 (2), 2004) "The book is one of the series of texts on classical theoretical physics which is based on the highly successful series of courses given by Walter Grainer a ] . It should be noted that for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students, the volumes in the series provide not only a complete survey of classical theoretical physics, mechanics and other parts of science but also an enormous number of worked examples and problems to show students clearly how to applythe abstract principles to realistic problems." (Sergei Georgievich Zhuravlev, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1016, 2003) "This book is the last one of the series published by the author on Theoretical Physics. a ] The spirit of this series of books is to offer, in a very clear and practical way, the most important theories with many applications (under the form of examples) of present time physics. a ] An index, a table of examples and a short bibliography complete this monograph. In conclusion, this book proposes a complete clear and modern view of classical mechanics with a numerous worked and interesting examples." (StA(c)phane MA(c)tens, Physicalia, Vol. 25 (2), 2003) From the reviews of the second edition: “The second edition of this textbook is based on the fifth German edition of the textbook of W. Greiner and H. Diehl … . this book can be very useful to students (and researchers) wishing to study the subject on their own. Many explicitly worked out examples and exercises will be of considerable help in deepening the understanding of new concepts and methods. … Greiner’s physics textbooks are internationally noted for their clarity and completeness. This English textbook will not be any exception.” (Franz Selig, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1195, 2010)