Physics 231 Classical Mechanics

MTWTh 3:15-4:05 501 Reiss

Prof. Jim Freericks

Welcome to the course page for Physics 231, Classical Mechanics. The goal of this course is for you to develop problem-solving skills and apply these skills to real-world situations. If your not careful, you will learn a lot of physics too! There will be three lectures (MTW) and one demonstration and problem-solving session (Th) each week.

This course is the first junior-level course in the major sequence. It will describe and develop modern methods and techniques used in solving classical mechanics problems. Topics to be covered include the following: A review of Newtonian mechanics, a development of Lagrange's method, applications of Lagrange's method to one- and two-dimensional motion, central forces, collisions, oscillations, accelerated coordinate systems and geometrical phases, and rigid-body rotations. Familiarity with the topics covered in Introduction to Mathematical Methods (PHYS-150) is assumed, in particular, I expect everyone to understand how to use MATHEMATICA.

In addition to the weekly demonstration and problem-solving sessions, computer-based homework assignments will also be assigned (at the rate of approximately one problem per week). These problems will involve using MATHEMATICA for algebraic manipulation, programming, or plotting. The emphasis in this course will always be placed on understanding the underlying physical concepts and computer use is to be viewed as a tool that helps one solve problems and is not to be viewed as an end among itself.

The lecture format for this course is likely to be very different from anything you have experienced before. There will be assigned readings before each lecture. You are required to do these readings before class. The lectures will not simply repeat the material in the readings. Instead, they will amplify and expound on the concepts you covered in the readings, and will help you understand areas where you had difficulties. You will be responsible for material in the readings that is not explicitly covered in the lectures.

On every Thursday we will have an hour-long demonstration. The first two demos will involve using MATHEMATICA. Following demos will usually involve equipment, followed by an analysis of the demonstration itself. There will be no required reading assignments for the demonstrations.

The course will start off with a diagnostic test to let me see how much you remember from your freshman physics course. We will meet individually during the following week to discuss areas that you may want to concentrate your review of your old textbooks.

We begin with the major developers of classical mechanics. A detailed discussion of the roles played by these physicists can be found in Ernst Mach, The Science of Mechanics (a book that was very influential to Einstein's development of the special theory of relativity).

Major Developers of Classical Mechanics

Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) Leonhard Euler (1707-1783)

Jean d'Alembert (1717-1783) Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736-1813)

Sir William Hamilton (1805-1865) Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Acknowledgment: these biographies are from the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive in England. These links can be slow.

Syllabus and Reading Assignments

Homework

Bibliography of Classical Mechanics Texts

Course Advice

Grading Policy

Extra Credit Opportunities

Course Acknowledgments: The development of this course has benefited significantly from a similar course that I took from Prof. Kirk MacDonald as a sophmore at Princeton University in 1982. His meticulous notes and comprehensive problem sets form the basis for this course. I also benefitted from a graduate-level course taught by Prof. David Judd in 1986 at the University of California, Berkeley. I would also like to thank Prof. Eric Mazur from Harvard University for showing me how lectures could be modified to emphasize the teaching of physics.