Classical mechanics reference book

AI Thread Summary
For those seeking alternatives to "Classical Mechanics" by Goldstein, several recommendations emerged in the discussion. John R. Taylor's "Classical Mechanics" is highlighted as a suitable option, noted for its clarity and effectiveness as a supplementary text, although it may not cover Poisson brackets extensively. Another suggested book is "Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems" by Marion and Thornton, which is considered slightly less complex than Goldstein and could serve well as a supplemental resource, though it includes limited coverage of Poisson brackets. Additionally, "Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach" by Jose and Saletan is mentioned as a middle-ground text that offers significant physical insight, although it may present challenges in terms of logical flow. These alternatives aim to address the complexities of classical mechanics while focusing on key topics such as conservation laws, rigid body dynamics, and variational principles.
Amar.alchemy
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Hi All,

Kindly suggest me an alternative book for "Classical Mechanics by Goldstein". I am finding it little bit difficult to understand so if i can find any alternate book which is little less complicated than Goldstein it will be helpful for me. I am concentrating on the below mentioned topics and particularly to problems in CM:

Conservation laws; central forces, Kepler problem and planetary motion; collisions and scattering in laboratory and
centre of mass frames; mechanics of system of particles; rigid body dynamics; moment of inertia tensor; noninertial frames and pseudo
forces; variational principle; Lagrange’s and Hamilton’s formalisms; equation of motion, cyclic coordinates, Poisson bracket; periodic
motion, small oscillations, normal modes; special theory of relativity – Lorentz transformations, relativistic kinematics, mass-energy
equivalence
.

Thanks :smile:
 
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George Jones said:
You might try Classical Mechanics by John R. Taylor,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/189138922X/?tag=pfamazon01-20.

I would second this book. I used the preprint version when I studied classical mechanics and taught from this for an undergraduate classical mechanics class. As a supplement to Goldstein it would be good. I do not think it covers Poisson Brackets, however.
 
Thanks for reply :)
Kindly give ur opinion on "Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems - Marion, Thornton". Does this book serve my purpose which i have mentioned in my first post?? (Becoz i have soft copy of this book, so will it be as helpful as John R Taylor's book?
 
Amar.alchemy said:
Thanks for reply :)
Kindly give ur opinion on "Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems - Marion, Thornton". Does this book serve my purpose which i have mentioned in my first post?? (Becoz i have soft copy of this book, so will it be as helpful as John R Taylor's book?

Marion and Thorton is a standard mechanics book that is a little lower level than Goldstein. If you already have a(n) (illegal?) copy, then you should see if it's useful as a supplement to Goldstein. Poisson brackets are relegated to a single exercise.
 
Thanks George :)
 
A book I'm currently reading is
Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach- Jose & Saletan

This is a book at a level between Goldstein and Marsden or Arnold. This book gives a LOT of physical insight, however, I found that the logic can be hard to follow.
 

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