Customer Reviews

Classical Mechanics: Point Particles and Relativity (Classical Theoretical Physics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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It was my dream since the school days to learn physics in its entirety. Whereas The Feynman Lectures on Physics: Commemorative Issue, Three Volume Set that I own (I read it at school before university in Russian translation) is a bit light and don't include the developments of the past 40 - 50 years and Course of Theoretical Physics by Landau was a bit heavy for me at those times (although I read Mechanics volume in Russian and a few beginning chapters from other volumes) I finally found what I need: Theoretical Physics course from Walter Greiner. I have now the first 3 volumes (there are many more volumes including Quantum Electrodynamics, Gauge Theory of Weak Interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics) and just started reading the first one: Classical Mechanics: Point Particles and Relativity (Classical Theoretical Physics). It explains all necessary mathematics, has all derivations, lots of examples and illustrations, and even talks about dark matter (in the first classical mechanics volume). More important I also ordered the original German edition (Theoretische Physik. Klassische Mechanik I. Dynamik und Dynamik der Punktteilchen - Relativität) and reading both in parallel. This improves my German as well.

Dmitry Vostokov

Literate Scientist blog

This is a fantastic book for the motivated physics student.

It is the best "theoretical" approach to Newtonian physics that I have found. At the University level, motivated Physics students are left with the frustration of taking their first few Physics courses with students who are majoring in Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, Pre-med, etc., etc. This leaves the situation where material is presented "watered down" and entirely non-theoretical in order to allow all students to follow along.

For the motivated Physics major, this can be quite frustrating. The first thing many of them do in that situation is begin a path of self-study to go along with the dry classroom presentation of the material. However, the search for a more mathematically driven "theoretic" approach to mechanics leads almost entirely to Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism.

This book presents Newtonian mechanics in all its theoretical "math nerd" glory. All necessary mathematical topics are covered with "physics rigor" that allows you to gain a usable knowledge of the mathematics in a minimal time. It has been the only book I've found that sticks to Newtonian mechanics, yet avoids the point and click "apply equation X here" methods that most introductory University texts give. I used it as a supplement to my assigned physics book for Mechanics and Heat and felt exceedingly more prepared than my fellow students with each succeeding chapter.

If you're a motivated student, I highly suggest picking up this book. The first year or two of a University Physics program can be uncomfortably dry....and you'll hear many times that students don't feel like they're doing "real" physics until their Junior year. This book will allow you the feel of doing "real physics" while sticking to the Newtonian mechanics that you'll use for your courses. By the end of the book, you'll feel comfortable with all the mathematical derivations and applications of Newtonian mechanics, have a solid grasp of harmonic oscillations, have a solid background in solving ordinary differential equations, feel comfortable with matrix algebra applications, and get the enjoyment that comes with doing "real physics" a good year or two before your classmates.

My only complaint is with some of the presentation of relativity. It is still well above average, but I didn't find it to be the asset of a self-study supplement that it was for freshman physics.

Simply stated, I don't consider this "the book" on the subject, but it is a most-have. It begins by developing some of the mathematical foundations needed to solve the problems; followed by some Newtonian mechanics (basic concepts: force, energy, motion in 1D-3D, and many examples and applications), and ends with special relativity. The topics are presented in a clear and straight-forward manner, although some of them were too simple and not as thorough as I wished.

This book corresponds to a regular 1st semester in mechanics. It should be complemented with the second book (Classical Mechanics) which deals with non-inertial reference frames, systems of particles, rigid bodies, Lagrange equ. and Hamiltonian Theory.

I give this book 4.5 stars (I'm a tough grader)