How Does Landau's Classical Mechanics Textbook Compare to Goldstein's?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the comparison between Landau's Classical Mechanics textbook and Goldstein's, particularly in the context of preparing for a graduate course. Participants explore the differences in writing style, rigor, and the mathematical background required for each text.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that Landau's writing is terse, suggesting that having Goldstein as a supplementary resource may be beneficial.
  • Another participant humorously comments on Landau's phrase "One Can Show," implying that it often requires extensive work to reach the conclusions presented.
  • Some participants express frustration with Landau's style, attributing it to cultural differences in educational approaches, particularly in Russian education.
  • There is a discussion about the perceived rigor of Russian educational materials, with one participant drawing a comparison to the teaching methods in American education.
  • A participant expresses concern about the necessity of purchasing additional textbooks, indicating a desire to balance cost with educational needs.
  • Participants mention the professor's Russian background and the intensity of the course, suggesting a potentially challenging but rewarding experience.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that Landau's text is more terse and potentially challenging compared to Goldstein's, but there is no consensus on whether this is a positive or negative aspect. The discussion reflects a mix of opinions on the rigor of Russian educational materials and their applicability to physics.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the mathematical prerequisites for the course, particularly regarding higher-level topics like differential geometry. There is also a lack of clarity on how the rigor of Russian educational texts in mathematics translates to physics education.

Who May Find This Useful

Students preparing for graduate-level classical mechanics courses, particularly those considering different textbooks and their respective teaching styles.

Kitaev_Model
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Hello, PF,

I'm going to be taking graduate CM next semester and the professor uses Landau's textbook instead of Goldstein, which I take is the usual text. What are the appreciable differences between the books and what kind of math will be needed? I have the basics-complex analysis, linear algebra, yadda yadda-but I've never taken a formal course in something "higher" like differential geometry, for instance. The professor says he will be teaching some of that in the course and that I should be fine, but I'm still a little worried for reasons you might pick up in my introduction.
 
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Landau is very terse so you may want to have Goldstein around too.
 
When Landau says "One Can Show", he means "After a dozen pages of work, and lots of swearing". I'd buy a copy of Goldstein, and assume you have a copy of something one level down, like Marion or Symon.
 
Yeah, Landau can be frustrating sometimes. When I read it the first time I thought he was just showing off, but I think the brevity of explanation there is just the way Russians do things.
 
In general Russian education(books being one of the main factors) are more rigorous. At least in mathematics. The Russians use these "rigorous" books through childhood to graduate level courses within their educational system. Ie teachers assign these books and teach out of them. Not like in America where one learns from ie geometry from a cookbook, whereas the Russians learn geometry from Kisselev. This effect keeps multiplying throughout the years.

Not sure if this is the same as in physics as it is I n math. Please correct me.
 
OK, everybody, thanks for your advice. I am not thrilled about the idea of spending money on another textbook, but it might be for the best.

I wonder if this will be the start of getting the whole series over the years...

MidgetDwarf said:
In general Russian education(books being one of the main factors) are more rigorous. At least in mathematics. The Russians use these "rigorous" books through childhood to graduate level courses within their educational system. Ie teachers assign these books and teach out of them. Not like in America where one learns from ie geometry from a cookbook, whereas the Russians learn geometry from Kisselev. This effect keeps multiplying throughout the years.

Not sure if this is the same as in physics as it is I n math. Please correct me.
The professor is surprise, surprise, Russian. I've heard that the course is *incredibly* good but intense. I'm looking forward to it, especially since I had a pretty bad undergraduate CM class.
 

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