ELEMENTS OF NEWTONIAN MECHANICS

This textbook provides a thorough introduction to Newtonian Mechanics and is intended for university students in physics, astronomy and engineering. It is based on a course for which Dr. Knudsen earned an award for the best teaching at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. More than 100 problems with solutions and 89 worked examples help the student to grasp the essential aspects of the subject, and to develop proficiency in using the powerful methods of Newtonian mechanics. Moreover, the fundamental problem of motion and the concept of inertial frames is faced from the very beginning, and runs through the entire development of classical mechanics. This new and fresh approach is presented in its third edition, which has been revised and enlarged. TOC:The Foundation of Classical Mechanics.- Newton's Five Laws.- Gravitational and Inertial Mass.- The Galilei Transformation.- The Motion of the Earth.- Motion in Accelerated Reference Frames.- The Problem of Motion.- Energy.- The Center-of-Mass Theorem.- The Angular Momentum Theorem.- Rotation of a Rigid Body.- The Laws of Motion.- The General Motion of a Rigid Body.- The Motion of the Planets.- Harmonic Oscillators.- Remarks on Nonlinearity and Chaos.- Appendix: Vectors and Vector Calculus.- Selected References.- Answers to Problems.- Index.