Classical Mechanics: A Computational Approach with Examples Using Mathematica and Python

Classical Mechanics: A Computational Approach with Examples Using Mathematica and Python

Classical Mechanics: A Computational Approach with Examples Using Mathematica and Python

Classical Mechanics: A Computational Approach with Examples Using Mathematica and Python

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Overview

Classical Mechanics: A Computational Approach with Examples using Python and Mathematica provides a unique, contemporary introduction to classical mechanics, with a focus on computational methods. In addition to providing clear and thorough coverage of key topics, this textbook includes integrated instructions and treatments of computation.

Full of pedagogy, it contains both analytical and computational example problems within the body of each chapter. The example problems teach readers both analytical methods and how to use computer algebra systems and computer programming to solve problems in classical mechanics. End-of-chapter problems allow students to hone their skills in problem solving with and without the use of a computer. The methods presented in this book can then be used by students when solving problems in other fields both within and outside of physics.

It is an ideal textbook for undergraduate students in physics, mathematics, and engineering studying classical mechanics.

Features:

  • Gives readers the "big picture" of classical mechanics and the importance of computation in the solution of problems in physics
  • Numerous example problems using both analytical and computational methods, as well as explanations as to how and why specific techniques were used
  • Online resources containing specific example codes to help students learn computational methods and write their own algorithms

A solutions manual is available via the Routledge Instructor Hub and extra code is available via the Support Material tab


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781138495289
Publisher: CRC Press
Publication date: 11/17/2020
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 456
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr. Christopher W. Kulp received his PhD in Physics from the College of William and Mary in 2004 and is currently a Professor of Physics at Lycoming College, where he teaches physics at all levels. Chris has a life-long passion for teaching and, in addition to teaching at several colleges and universities, he has also taught martial arts, high school science, science seminars for K-12 teachers, and a summer kindergarten math program.
Dr. Kulp’s research interests focus on the fields of nonlinear dynamics, nonlinear time series analysis, and complex systems. He has published more than 20 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and has written two book chapters. More than 10 of his publications have undergraduate co-authors. Much of his work focuses on distinguishing between chaotic and stochastic behavior in time series data. He maintains an active undergraduate research group at Lycoming College, having mentored nearly 50 undergraduate students during his career so far. His current research interests focus on using machine learning to analyze time series and model complex systems.
When he is not writing code to solve physics problems, Dr. Kulp can be found reading, playing guitar, and writing music.

Dr Vasilis Pagonis is Professor of Physics Emeritus at McDaniel College, Maryland, where he taught undergraduate courses and did research for 36 years. He frequently collaborates with researchers around the world and with his students in his areas of interest, including solid state physics, and specifically in thermally and optically stimulated luminescence (TL and OSL). This is an area of research with applications in archaeological and geological dating, and also in the field of radiation dosimetry. He has taught courses in classical and quantum mechanics, analog and digital electronics and mathematical physics, as well as numerous general science courses.
Dr. Pagonis’ resume lists more than 140 peer-reviewed publications in international journals. He has been the recipient of several grants, including awards from the Council on Undergraduate Research and National Science Foundation. He is also the inaugural recipient of the John Desmond Kopp Professorship in the Sciences at McDaniel College.
He is the co-author of three books in the field of luminescence dosimetry, “Practical and Numerical Exercises in Thermoluminescence,” published by Springer in 2006, “Thermally and Optically Stimulated Luminescence: A Simulation Approach,” published by Wiley in 2011, and “Advances in Physics and Applications of Optically and Thermally Stimulated Luminescence” published by World Scientific in 2019.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Chapter 1 The Foundations of Motion and Computation 1

1.1 The World Of Physics 1

1.2 The Basics Of Classical Mechanics 3

1.2.1 The Basic Descriptors of Motion 3

1.2.1.1 Position and Displacement 3

1.2.1.2 Velocity 4

1.2.1.3 Acceleration 5

1.2.2 Mass and Force 5

1.2.2.1 Mass 6

1.2.2.2 Force 6

1.3 Newton's Laws Of Motion 7

1.3.1 Newton's First Law 7

1.3.2 Newton's second law 8

1.3.3 Newton's third law 10

1.4 Reference Frames 11

1.5 Computation In Physics 13

1.5.1 The Use of Computation in Physics 14

1.5.2 Different Computational Tools 20

1.5.3 Some Warnings 22

1.6 Classical Mechanics In The Modern World 22

1.7 Chapter Summary 23

1.8 End-Of-Chapter Problems 24

Chapter 2 Single-Particle Motion in One Dimension 29

2.1 Equations Of Motion 29

2.2 Ordinary Differential Equations 30

2.3 Constant Forces 32

2.4 Time-Dependent Forces 36

2.5 Air Resistance And Velocity-Dependent Forces 39

2.6 Position-Dependent Forces 45

2.7 Numerical Solutions Of Differential Equations 48

2.8 Chapter Summary 54

2.9 End-Of-Chapter Problems 55

Chapter 3 Motion in Two and Three Dimensions 61

3.1 Position, Velocity, And Acceleration In Cartesian Coordinate Systems 61

3.2 Vector Products 69

3.2.1 The Dot Product 69

3.2.2 The Cross Product 71

3.3 Position, Velocity, And Acceleration In Non-Cartesian Coordinate Systems 75

3.3.1 Polar Coordinates 75

3.3.2 Position, Velocity, and Acceleration in Cylindrical Coordinates 82

3.3.3 Position, Velocity, and Acceleration in Spherical Coordinates 84

3.4 The Gradient, Divergence, And Curl 86

3.4.1 The Gradient 86

3.4.2 The Divergence 92

3.4.3 The Curl 94

3.4.4 Second Derivatives with the Del Operator 96

3.5 Chapter Summary 97

3.6 End-Of-Chapter Problems 99

Chapter 4 Momentum, Angular Momentum, and Multiparticle Systems 107

4.1 Conservation Of Momentum And Newton's Third Law 107

4.2 Rockets 111

4.3 Center Of Mass 113

4.4 Numerical Integration And The Center Of Mass 118

4.4.1 Trapezoidal Rule 118

4.4.2 Simpson's Rule 119

4.5 Momentum Of A System Of Multiple Particles 123

4.6 Angular Momentum Of A Single Particle 125

4.7 Angular Momentum Of Multiple Particles 126

4.8 Chapter Summary 129

4.9 End-Of-Chapter Problems 131

Chapter 5 Energy 135

5.1 Work And Energy In One-Dimensional Systems 135

5.2 Potential Energy And Equilibrium Points In One-Dimensional Systems 139

5.3 Work And Line Integrals 146

5.4 The Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem, Revisited 149

5.5 Conservative Forces And Potential Energy 150

5.6 ENERGY AND MULTIPARTICLE SYSTEMS 154

5.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY 156

5.8 END-OF-CHAPTER PROBLEMS 157

Chapter 6 Harmonic Oscillations 163

6.1 Differential Equations 163

6.2 THE SIMPLE HARMONIC OSCILLATOR 164

6.2.1 The Equation of Motion of the Simple Harmonic Oscillator 165

6.2.2 Potential and Kinetic Energy in Simple Harmonic Motion 167

6.2.3 The Simple Plane Pendulum as an Example of a Harmonic Oscillator 168

6.3 Numerical Solutions Using The Euler Method For Harmonic Oscillations 170

6.4 Damped Harmonic Oscillator 172

6.4.1 Overdamped Oscillations 173

6.4.2 Underdamped Oscillation 174

6.4.3 Critically Damped Oscillations 176

6.5 Energy In Damped Harmonic Motion 177

6.6 Forced Harmonic Oscillator 179

6.7 Energy Resonance And The Quality Factor For Driven Oscillations 185

6.8 Electrical Circuits 188

6.9 Principle Of Superposition And Fourier Series 191

6.9.1 The Principle of Superposition 191

6.9.2 Fourier Series 192

6.9.3 Example of Superposition Principle and Fourier Series 195

6.10 Phase Space 198

6.11 Chapter Summary 200

6.12 End-Of-Chapter Problems 202

Chapter 7 The Calculus of Variations 209

7.1 The Motivation For Learning The Calculus Of Variations 209

7.2 The Shortest Distance Between Two Points-Setting Up The Calculus Of Variations 210

7.3 The First Form Of The Euler Equation 212

7.4 The Second Form Of The Euler Equation 215

7.5 Some Examples Of Problems Solved Using The Calculus Of Variations 216

7.5.1 The Brachistochrone Problem 216

7.5.2 Geodesies 219

7.5.3 Minimum Surface of Revolution 220

7.6 Multiple Dependent Variables 223

7.7 Chapter Summary 225

7.8 End-Of-Chapter Problems 225

Chapter 8 Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Dynamics 229

8.1 An Introduction To The Lagrangian 230

8.2 Generalized Coordinates And Degrees Of Freedom 231

8.3 Hamilton's Principle 233

8.4 Some Examples Of Lagrangian Dynamics 235

8.5 Numerical Solutions To Ode's Using The Fourth-Order Runge-Kutta Method 243

8.6 Constraint Forces And Lagrange's Equation With Undetermined Multipliers 248

8.7 Conservation Theorems And The Lagrangian 254

8.7.1 Conservation of Momentum 254

8.7.2 Conservation of Energy 256

8.8 Hamiltonian Dynamics 258

8.9 Additional Explorations Into The Hamiltonian 263

8.10 Chapter Summary 266

8.11 End-Of-Chapter Problems 266

Chapter 9 Central Forces and Planetary Motion 273

9.1 Central Forces 273

9.1.1 Central Forces and the Conservation of Energy 274

9.1.2 Central Forces and the Conservation of Angular Momentum 275

9.2 The Two-Body Problem 276

9.3 Equations Of Motion For The Two-Body Problem 279

9.4 Planetary Motion And Kepler's First Law 284

9.5 Orbits In A Central Force Field 285

9.6 Kepler's Laws Of Planetary Motion 287

9.6.1 Kepler's First Law 288

9.6.2 Kepler's Second Law 292

9.6.3 Kepler's Third Law 295

9.7 The Planar Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem 297

9.8 Chapter Summary 302

9.9 End-Of-Chapter Problems 304

Chapter 10 Motion in Noninertial Reference Frames 311

10.1 Motion In A Nonrotating Accelerating Reference Frame 311

10.2 Angular Velocity As A Vector 313

10.3 Time Derivatives Of Vectors In Rotating Coordinate Frames 316

10.4 Newton's Second Law In A Rotating Frame 318

10.4.1 The Centrifugal Force 320

10.4.2 The Coriolis Force 323

10.5 Foucault Pendulum 326

10.6 Projectile Motion In A Noninertial Frame 329

10.7 Chapter Summary 331

10.8 End-Of-Chapter Problems 331

Chapter 11 Rigid Body Motion 335

11.1 Rotational Motion Of Particles Around A Fixed Axis 335

11.2 Review Of Rotational Properties For A System Of Particles 338

11.2.1 The Center of Mass 339

11.2.2 Momentum of a System of Particles 340

11.2.3 Angular Momentum of a System of Particles 340

11.2.4 Work and Kinetic Energy for a System of Particles 341

11.3 The Moment Of Inertia Tensor 341

11.4 Kinetic Energy And The Inertia Tensor 346

11.5 Inertia Tensor In Different Coordinate Systems-The Parallel Axis Theorem 348

11.6 Principal Axes Of Rotation 351

11.7 Precession Of A Symmetric Spinning Top With One Point Fixed And Experiencing A Weak Torque 355

11.8 Rigid Body Motion In Three Dimensions And Euler's Equations 357

11.9 The Force-Free Symmetric Top 359

11.10 Chapter Summary 361

11.11 End-Of-Chapter Problems 363

Chapter 12 Coupled Oscillations 373

12.1 Coupled Oscillations Of A Two-Mass Three-Spring System 373

12.1.1 The Equations of Motion-Numerical Solution 373

12.1.2 Equal Masses and Identical Springs: The Normal Modes 375

12.1.3 The General Case: Linear Combination of Normal Modes 378

12.2 Normal Mode Analysis Of The Two-Mass Three-Spring System 381

12.2.1 Equal Masses and Identical Springs-Analytical Solution 381

12.2.2 Solving the Two-Mass and Three-Spring System as an Eigenvalue Problem 384

12.3 The Double Pendulum 387

12.3.1 The Lagrangian and Equations of Motion-Numerical Solutions 387

12.3.2 Identical Masses and Lengths-Analytical Solutions 389

12.3.3 The Double Pendulum as an Eigenvector/Eigenvalue Problem 391

12.4 General Theory Of Small Oscillations And Normal Coordinates 392

12.4.1 The Lagrangian for Small Oscillations Around an Equilibrium Position 392

12.4.2 The Equations of Motion for Small Oscillations Around an Equilibrium Point 394

12.4.3 Normal Coordinates 396

12.5 Chapter Summary 397

12.6 End-Of-Chapter Problems 399

Chapter 13 A Nonlinear Systems 407

13.1 Linear Vs. Nonlinear Systems 407

13.2 The Damped Harmonic Oscillator, Revisited 409

13.3 Fixed Points And Phase Portraits 412

13.3.1 The Simple Plane Pendulum, Revisited 421

13.3.2 The Double-Well Potential, Revisited 423

13.3.3 Damped Double-Well 424

13.3.4 Bifurcations of Fixed Points 429

13.4 Limit Cycles 430

13.4.1 The Duffing Equation 430

13.4.2 Limit Cycles and Period Doubling Bifurcations 431

13.5 Chaos 434

13.5.1 Chaos and Initial Conditions 435

13.5.2 Lyapunov Exponents 437

13.6 A Final Word On Nonlinear Systems 437

13.7 Chapter Summary 438

13.8 End-Of-Chapter Problems 439

Bibliography 445

Index 447

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