MA2341 - Advanced Mechanics I
Michaelmas Term - 2015-2016
John Bulava
office: 2.44, Lloyd Building
phone: +353 (1) 896 4598
email: jbulava@maths.tcd.ie
Topics
• The Euler-Lagrange Equations (6 weeks)
– Newton’s Laws and Hamilton’s Principle
– Calculus of Variations and the Euler-Lagrange equations
– Constraints and Lagrange Multipliers
– Generalized coordinates/forces
– Symmetries and conservation laws
• Central Potentials (2 weeks)
– The Kepler Problem
– Stable orbits and planetary systems
• Small/Coupled Oscillations: normal frequencies and normal modes (1 weeks)
• Rigid Body Motion (2 weeks)
– Angular motion
– The moment of inertia tensor
– Non-intertial frames of reference
Grading
• Homework: 30%
• Exam: 70%
References
1. L.D. Landau and E.M. Lifshitz, “Mechanics”, 3rd edition, Butterworth-Heinemann (REQUIRED)
2. H. Goldstein, C. Poole, J. Safko, “Classical Mechanics”, 3rd edition, Addison Wesley
3. V. Barger and M. Olsson, “Classical Mechanics: A Modern Perspective”, 2nd edition, McGrawHill
4. J. B. Marion and S. T. Thornton, “Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems”, 5th edition,
Brooks-Cole/Thomson