PHY 340 Classical Mechanics

Syllabus

 

 

 

Instructor:       André Wehner, Olin 111, Ph. 238-5919, e-mail wehner@centre.edu,

                        Office Hours: Mo-Tu-We-Th 4-6, Tu-Th 10:20-11:20, or by appointment.

 

Class Time:      10:20-11:20 M-W-F, Olin 109

 

Text:                Classical Dynamics, 4th or 5th edition, Marion and Thornton. Optional: Student Solutions Manual.

               

Grading:          3 tests @ 15% each = 45%

Final 25%

Homework 30%

 

 

Course Description

 

Mechanics, the science of motion (kinematics), the reasons for motion (dynamics), and the absence of motion (statics), is not only the oldest branch of physics, it also represents the foundation for all of theoretical physics. This course is meant to familiarize you with some basic principles of Classical (or Theoretical or Analytical) Mechanics, which is well distinguished from Engineering (or Technical) Mechanics. One of our goals is to motivate the introduction of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity, another is to prepare you sufficiently for graduate studies in mechanics.

 

We will skip Ch. 1 in our textbook, the mathematical introduction, because this material has been mostly covered in PHY 330. The mathematical methods that will be most important in this class are solving linear first- and second-order ODEs, vector calculus in Cartesian and curvilinear coordinates (including integral theorems), and matrix & eigenvalue problems.

 

We will cover the topics that are traditionally part of a one-semester mechanics class: Newtonian Mechanics (Ch. 2), applied to oscillating (Ch. 3&12) and gravitating (Ch. 5&8) systems, systems of particles (Ch. 9), rotating reference frames (Ch. 10), and rigid body motion (Ch. 11). In addition, we will introduce the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of analytical mechanics (Ch. 7), after a discussion of their mathematical background, the Calculus of Variations (Ch. 6). These formalisms are often superior to the Newtonian formalism; you will see more of them in graduate school.

 

Unfortunately, we will not have time to cover the exciting subjects of chaos theory (Ch. 4), continuous systems (Ch. 13), and relativity (Ch. 14). 

 

Homework is an essential part of this class. You are encouraged to cooperate on the assignments, but you should only turn in your own work. Late homework will be marked down (of course, exceptions can be made for emergencies). The solutions you present in both the homework and the tests must be complete, coherent, and well-organized. Expect to be graded on a 90-80-70 scale, depending on the class average.

 

This syllabus can be found at http://web.centre.edu/wehner/courses/p340f08.htm .

 

Schedule

 

Day

Chapter Covered

Homework (numbers in parentheses for 5th ed if different)

 

 

 

9/1

History; 2

 

9/3

2

 

9/5

2

9/8

2

Ch. 2: 2,3,8,11,13,15,17,22,25,27,28,32,35,38,43,45

9/10

3

 

9/12

3

9/15

3

Ch. 3: 4,6,7,9,10,12,21,22,23

9/17

5

 

9/19

5

 

9/22

5

Ch. 5: 2,4,7,13,14,15,16, hand-out

9/24

Test 1

 

9/26

6

 

9/29

6

10/1

6

Ch. 6: 3,4,7,9,10,14, hand-out

10/3

7

 

10/6

7

 

10/8

7

 

10/10

7

 

10/13

7

 

10/15

7

 

10/20

7

Ch. 7: 2,4,5,7,10,12,15,16,21,22,24,25,28,29,30,32,33

10/22

Test 2

 

10/24

8

 

10/27

8

 

10/29

8

Ch. 8: 2,5,6,8,10,11,14,17,19,23,29,31,32,44

10/31

9

 

11/3

9

 

11/5

9

Ch. 9: 3,9,16,19,25(27),26(28),30(32),38(40),41(43),42(44),44(46)

11/7

10

 

11/10

10

 

11/12

10

Ch. 10: 2,6,7,8,11,15

11/14

Test 3

11/17

11

 

11/19

11

 

11/21

11

 

11/24

11

Ch. 11: 2,4,7,10,13,14,15,17,18,20,24,27

12/1

12

 

12/3

12

 

12/5

12

Ch. 12: 3,5,8,10

 

 

 

12/12,8:30

Final

(comprehensive)