Looking for a Rigorous Undergraduate Textbook on Classical Mechanics?

[Ted13]

Hi guys
I'm searching for a good undergraduate physics textbook on classical mechanics that might has an intro to langranzians and Hamiltonians, that I could tackle right now.
I'm actually getting through apostol calculus 1 (just reached partial derivatives).
I want it to be hard to follow ,but short and rigorous .
Thanks for the help.

 

[Cruz Martinez]

Hi guys
I'm searching for a good undergraduate physics textbook on classical mechanics that might has an intro to langranzians and Hamiltonians, that I could tackle right now.
I'm actually getting through apostol calculus 1 (just reached partial derivatives).
I want it to be hard to follow ,but short and rigorous .
Thanks for the help.

I personally like 'Classical Dynamics' by Greenwood. It is pretty short but has very nice insights.

Are you learning calculus for the first time? Because if that's the case almost all good classical mechanics texts will be hard to follow.

 

[Ted13]

That's the case

 

[Cruz Martinez]

Oh ok, maybe take a look at Greenwood if you can get it online and see how you handle it. I can't think of a classical machanics book that has Lagrangians and Hamiltonian dynamics which doesn't rely heavily on calculus, I doubt it's possible to write a book like that, but maybe a more knowledgeable member will have a better suggestion.

 

[Ted13]

It doesn't have to cover lagranzians and hamiltonians if that's not possible

 

[KSG4592]

I've been told that Kleppner and Kolenkow is the best CM text that doesn't cover Lagrangians and Hamiltonians. Good questions and coverage of material.

 

[Ted13]

I already own Halliday resnick both volumes on physics (first Ed ) but are they worth reading

 

[epenguin]

I want it to be hard to follow ,
.

I have come across many such books, you are spoilt for choice.

 

[mpresic]

This is the first time I have heard someone ask if Halliday and Resnick are worth reading. They are just about the best selling science textbooks in USA possibly the world for about 3 generations. Almost no practicing physicists have not learned from those books, or copycats that take the same order of subjects, the same techniques and the same approaches.

 

[jtbell]

However, getting back to the first post in this thread, Halliday & Resnick (like other first-year university level physics textbooks) do not cover Lagrangians and Hamiltonians. Neither does Kleppner & Kolenkow, as already noted.

I got my introduction to Lagrangians and Hamiltonians many years ago from Fowles, which is now Fowles & Cassiday. My colleagues here who have taught intermediate-level mechanics courses have used both Marion and Symon (not at the same time of course!).

 

[Ted13]

i'll probably go through halliday-resnick then
thank's for your help

 

[Ted13]

It is not written in S.I
Is that going to be a problem?

 

[jtbell]

It is not written in S.I

Do you mean SI units (meter, kilogram, etc.)? I haven't used H&R in a long time, but I'm pretty sure they use SI, at least most of the time. Maybe for some problems they use feet, pounds, etc.

 

[Ted13]

I own the 2nd edition of the book
It only refers to a system called cgs
But I think,most of the times they use feet,lb's etc.

 

[jtbell]

I own the 2nd edition of the book

Halliday, Resnick and Krane ("Physics"), or Halliday, Resnick and Walker ("Fundamentals of Physics")?

For either one, I think the second edition is likely to be very very old, and may well use different units than the current editions. What is the copyright year on your copy?

 

[Ted13]

Physics(two volumes) by halliday resnick is the title of the books,
in both volumes the copyright year is 1966