Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach [Paperback]

Jorge V. José (Author), Eugene J. Saletan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0521636361 | ISBN-13: 978-0521636360

Recent advances in the study of dynamical systems have revolutionized the way that classical mechanics is taught and understood. This new and comprehensive textbook provides a complete description of this fundamental branch of physics. The authors cover all the material that one would expect to find in a standard graduate course: Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, canonical transformations, the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, perturbation methods, and rigid bodies. They also deal with more advanced topics such as the relativistic Kepler problem, Liouville and Darboux theorems, and inverse and chaotic scattering. A key feature of the book is the early introduction of geometric (differential manifold) ideas, as well as detailed treatment of topics in nonlinear dynamics (such as the KAM theorem) and continuum dynamics (including solitons). Over 200 homework exercises are included. It will be an ideal textbook for graduate students of physics, applied mathematics, theoretical chemistry, and engineering, as well as a useful reference for researchers in these fields. A solutions manual is available exclusively for instructors.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...strikes the right balance between physical reasoning and mathematical sophistication, at the same time as it takes the reader to the forefront of active research in the field...can be used as a textbook and as a reference on newer topics in mechanics....The book is nicely typeset and printed on an ivory-colored, heavy-textured paper that is pleasant to the sight and touch, and the illustrations are very good...I highly recommend this book to instructors and students alike." Physics Today

"...well written...would serve as an excellent resource for students and faculty alike who wish to learn many of the most important aspects of the mathematical physics behind the renaissance of classical mechanics." American Journal of Physics

"Two hundred homework problems amplify the content and usefulness of the book...Classical Dynamics is excellent for extending one's horizon into nonlinear dynamics, progressing from a very pratical discussion of geographical mpast into discrete maps, He'non maps, the twist map, and the Devil's staircase. Indeed, the strength of the text, the emphasis upon 'the language of modern differential geometry,' shows clearly in these areas." Applied Mechanical Review

Book Description

Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach covers all the material one would expect to find in a standard graduate course. It also deals with more advanced topics such as the relativistic Kepler problem, Liouville and Darboux theorems, and inverse and chaotic scattering. The book features an early introduction of geometric (differential manifold) ideas, as well as detailed treatment of topics in nonlinear dynamics (such as the KAM theorem) and continuum dynamics (including solitons). Containing many worked examples and over 200 homework exercises, it will be an ideal textbook for graduate students of physics, applied mathematics, theoretical chemistry, and engineering, as well as a useful reference for researchers in these fields. A solutions manual is available exclusively for instructors.

Product Details

• Paperback: 696 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521636361
• ISBN-13: 978-0521636360
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #725,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on a fundamental subject, May 27, 2000

By 

Yonatan Zunger (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach (Paperback)

Classical mechanics often falls by the wayside in a modern physics curriculum. However, there are times when an understanding of subtle issues in this field are simply necessary for progress in current research directions. At times like these, one is all-too-often forced to turn to older texts such as Goldstein or directly to the literature of a field with which one is rarely intimately familiar. It is therefore a great pleasure to find a text such as Jose and Saletan's, a highly modern, extremely complete and very readable textbook on mechanics at an advanced level.

The book covers all of the standard topics of a graduate mechanics course (Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, rigid bodies, etc.) as well as more modern topics such as chaotic dynamics. All these subjects are treated in great detail and both in very physical and very formal languages. Most importantly, all of these discussions (including the formal ones!) are packed with completely worked examples which allow one to begin to use these techniques without attempting to decipher formal proofs.

The breadth of topics covered and the quality of the writing make this book a valuable addition to any physicist's workbench.

38 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific book!, February 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach (Paperback)

This book combines the standard topics covered in a Goldstein-type course; but in a fresh light. Using techniques of modern geometry, presented in an understandable way, it explores not just the solutions of dynamical equations, but the behavior of those solutions over the manifold in which they operate. The book begins by applying this geometry to well established Newtonian mechanics. Once you have that under your belt you are propelled into the Lagrangian formulation in a way that seems quite natural and reveals, easily, the symmetries that lay within. This book is written in a tight and readable style that makes even the most difficult concepts accessable. I highly recommend it and hope that it becomes the standard by which other mechanics texts of this level are measured.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Even if you like this approach, do not buy this edition, October 6, 2005

By 

Aaron Miller (State College, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach (Paperback)

This book is, to say the least, okay. Yes, other reviewers are right when they say it's much better than Marion & Thornton. But Marion & Thornton, I think, is geared toward a less sophisticated audience, whereas this book is geared toward graduate students and beyond. It is written essentially at the level of Goldstein, but offers more insights into Topology. Goldstein hardly mentions topology.

So, because of this, one would think that Jose and Saletan would be better suited for students of theoretical and mathematical physics. But it's not. Jose and Saletan's excursions into geometry and topology are mediocre, at best. They leave out enough details that a real book on differential topology for physicists is required to gain any insight or intuition on the subject. Their transitions from pure physics to these mathematical subjects are clumsy and contrived, and they do not reveal anything that's too much more profound than if they hadn't brought up the subject at all.

And in comparing, on a purely physical level, this book to the book that sets the standard for classical mechanics, Goldstein, Jose pales in comparision. Goldstein keeps the reader fixed on a physical goal, but Jose and Saletan introduce unnecessarily complicated notation at times, and introduce ideas and concepts in a way that seems to defy logic.

And on top of all this, the paperback edition fell apart on me after less than a month of use. Some of the other students in my class who weren't as careful with their books as used them more heavily could even make it last 2 weeks before the pages were falling out of the cover.

So in summary, if you like books that cover a smattering of topics with no real rhyme or reason, or you need a good reference on classical mechanics and some of the more formal mathematics involved, then this is the book for you. But if you buy it, definitely don't buy this edition, at least if you want it to last. And if you're trying to learn classical mechanics from this book, make you you have a copy of Goldstein and a copy of Schutz's "Geometrical Methods of Mathematical Physics" available.