Foundations of Classical Mechanics

P. C. Deshmukh is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Tirupati, India. He has taught courses on classical mechanics, atomic and molecular physics, quantum mechanics, solid state theory, foundations of theoretical physics and theory of atomic collision at undergraduate and graduate levels. He has published more than 100 papers in international journals. His current research includes photoabsoption processes in free/confined atoms, molecules and ions.

List of figures; List of tables; Foreword; Preface; Introduction; 1. Laws of mechanics and symmetry principles; 2. Mathematical preliminaries; 3. Real effects of pseudo-forces: description of motion in accelerated frame of reference; 4. Small oscillations and wave motion; 5. Damped and driven oscillations; Resonances; 6. The variational principle; 7. Angular momentum and rigid body dynamics; 8. The gravitational interaction in Newtonian mechanics; 9. Complex behavior of simple system; 10. Gradient operator, methods of fluid mechanics, and electrodynamics; 11. Rudiments of fluid mechanics; 12. Basic principles of electrodynamics; 13. Introduction to special theory of relativity; 14. A glimpse of the general theory of relativity; Index.