Stony Brook University, Department of Physics and Astronomy

 

CLASSICAL MECHANICS
(PHY 501)

Fall 2006

 

A. Initial Information

Instructor:  Konstantin Likharev

          Office: B-135

          Phone: 2-8159

          E-mail: klikharev@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

          Office hours: Thursday 3:00 to 4:30 pm

 

Grader:  Constantinos Constantino

          Office: C-118

          Phone: 2-4076

          E-mail: constant@grad.physics.sunysb.edu

          Office hours: Monday and Friday 3:00 to 4:00 pm

 

Web site: http://rsfq1.physics.sunysb.edu/~likharev/501/F06/

 

Basic Textbook:       

          L. Landau and E. Lifshitz, Mechanics, 3rd ed. Butterworth-Heinmann, Oxford, 1976

 

Additional Reading From:

          A. Andronov, A. Witt, and S. Khaikin, Theory of Oscillators, Pergamon, 1966

          H. Goldstein, Classical Mechanics, 2nd ed., Addison Wesley, 1980

          J. V. José and E. J. Saletan, Classical Dynamics, Cambridge U. Press, 1998

          L. Landau and E. Lifshitz, Theory of Elasticity, 3rd ed., Butterworth-Heinmann, Oxford, 1986

          L. Landau and E. Lifshitz, Fluid Mechanics, 2nd ed., Butterworth-Heinmann, Oxford, 1987

          H. G. Schuster, Deterministic Chaos, 3rd ed., VCH, Weinheim, 1995


Lectures:
41 lectures, Mon-Wed-Fri 9:35-10:30 am, Rm. P-112

 

Homeworks: Weekly (with just one or two exceptions)

 

Exams: Two midterms (October 16 and November 20) and a final (December 20)
          All exams: books open

 

Grade Components:           

          Homeworks:  30%

          Midterms:     15%+15%

          Final exam:   40%

 

B. Syllabus and Course Materials

 (with approximate lecture count)

 

1. Introduction and review of fundamentals (2) Lecture Notes

          Kinematics; dynamics; momentum; Newton Laws.

          Angular momentum; work and energy.

 

2. Lagrangian formalism (3) Lecture Notes

          Constrains and generalized coordinates.

          Generalized forces, Lagrange equations.

          Generalized momentum; Hamiltonian and energy conservation.

 

3. 1D motion problems (9) Lecture Notes (almost complete)

          Fixed points and stability.

          General properties of Hamiltonian systems.

          Linear (free, damped, and forced) oscillations.      

          Weakly nonlinear oscillations; small parameter method.

          Van der Pol method, self-oscillations; parametric oscillations.

          Strongly nonlinear systems; numerical methods. 

          Subharmonic oscillations.

 

4. 2D motion problems (5) Lecture Notes (first part only)

          Coupled oscillations; anticrossing diagram.

          Central force motion; effective mass; Kepler laws.

          Scattering; the Rutherford formula.

 

5. Rigid body motion (5)

          Rotation; inertia tensor; kinetic energy and angular momentum.

          Symmetric tops; Euler angles.

          Translation plus rotation.

          Kinematics and dynamics in non-inertial reference frames.

 

6. Elasticity theory (5)

          Deformation, strain and stress tensors.

          Hooke’s law, elastic moduli.

          Equilibrium condition; beam bending; rod torsion.

          Elastic dynamics; acoustic waves.

         
7. Fluid dynamics (5)

          Fluid statics and dynamics.

          Euler and Navier-Stokes equations, analytical and numerical methods of their solution.

          Turbulence; the Reynolds number.

          Shock waves; the Mach number.


8. Chaos (3)

          Chaos in maps, logistic map.

          Chaos in dynamic systems; forced  pendulum.

          Chaos in Hamiltonian systems; the Hénon-Heiles system; integrable and mixing billiards.

          Quantum mechanics of classically chaotic systems; level repulsion.

          Chaos vs. turbulence.

 

9. Hamiltonian  and Hamilton-Jacobi formalisms (4)

          Generalized momentum; Hamilton equations; Poisson brackets.

          Hamilton principle. Hamilton-Jacobi equations.

          Analytical mechanics of continuum as a classical field theory.

          A route to the quantum field theory.

 

 

C. Homeworks and Exams

Homework #1 with solutions

Homework #2 with solutions

Homework #3 with solution

Homework #4 with solution

Homework #5 (due Oct. 27)