Classical Mechanics Author: John R. Taylor | Language: English | ISBN:
189138922X | Format: EPUB
Classical Mechanics Description
John Taylor has brought to his new book, Classical Mechanics, all of the clarity and insight that made his introduction to Error Analysis a best-selling text. Classical Mechanics is intended for students who have studied some mechanics in an introductory physics course and covers such topics as conservation laws, oscillations, Lagrangian mechanics, two-body problems, non-inertial frames, rigid bodies, normal modes, chaos theory, Hamiltonian mechanics, and continuum mechanics. A particular highlight is the chapter on chaos, which focuses on a few simple systems, to give a truly comprehensible introduction to the concepts that we hear so much about. At the end of each chapter is a large selection of interesting problems for the student, classified by topic and approximate difficulty, and ranging from simple exercises to challenging computer projects. Taylor's Classical Mechanics is a thorough and very readable introduction to a subject that is four hundred years old but as exciting today as ever. He manages to convey that excitement as well as deep understanding and insight.
- Hardcover: 786 pages
- Publisher: University Science Books (January 1, 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 189138922X
- ISBN-13: 978-1891389221
- Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 1.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
The five "reviews" before mine are all from undergraduate physics majors at Amherst College. All five students were in the same class, which used a pre-publication edition of Taylor's book. I think their reviews reflect these facts, and say more about the students than they do about the book.
That being said, I also used pre-publication editions, but as a professor teaching the class. Before this book I had used the other "standards" (Marion and Thorton, etc). Taylor's book is by far the best of all of them. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I gave the author a lot of feedback about the material covered in the chapters and the problems. I wouldn't have spent all that time on the book if I didn't believe it was one of the best physics books I've ever read.
I use the book in the Jr-Sr mechanics course at Bates College. Since our students have already had a semester of classical mechanics from the book by Kleppner and Kolenkow, I begin with Chapter Six in Taylor's book (Calculus of Variations). The presentation is meticulous, the concepts are explained clearly and correctly (not always the case in other books), and the examples are carefully chosen. The problems are carefully chosen and carefully worded. Sometimes they present new material, e.g., the Thomas Precession, the rapidity, etc., using examples that clearly illustrate the essential points.
I also have taught the first six chapters and they are very refreshing and well-written. They are at just the right level for a student coming out of a calculus-based introductory physics course and, in addition, give a wonderful discussion of air resistance and viscious forces as they apply to automobiles, oil drops in the Millikan experiment, and many other practical situations.
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