THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PHYSICS DEPARTMENT

Course description:

Textbook:

• Classical Mechanics , by H. Goldstein, C. Poole & J. Safko, 3rd ed. 2002, Addison-Wesley (required).
• Classical Mechanics: a contemporary approach, by J.V. Jose & E.J. Saletan, 1998, Cambridge Univ.Press (recommended).
• Mathematical Methods of Classical Mechanics, by V.I. Arnold, 2nd ed. 1989, Springer (recommended).
• Other textbooks (selection):

A.L. Fetter & J.D. Walecka, Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and Continua, 1980, McGraw-Hill;
L.D. Landau & E.M. Lifschitz, Mechanics, 1976, Pergamon;
S.N. Rasband, Dynamics, 1983, Wiley;
K.C. Gupta, Classical Mechanics of Particles and Rigid Bodies, 1988, Wiley;
.   .   .

Course goals:

• This course will provide an overview over all basic topics of classical mechanics:
  • Lagrangian Formulation of Classical Mechanics,
  • Central Force Motion,
  • Rigid Body Dynamics,
  • Linear Oscillations,
  • Hamiltonian Formulation of Classical Mechanics,
  • Canonical Transformation,
  • Hamilton-Jacobi Theory.
  During the 2nd semester (course PHYS 616) we will discuss some implications of Classical Mechanics in modern physics: special & general relativity, field theory, perturbation theory, chaos theory.
• Examples and homework solutions will provide a variety of methods to solve problems in classical mechanics.

Course requirements:

• There will be homework problems assigned every week (or every other week). Try to do all of the assigned homework. It will help to keep on top of the subject and to practice your problem-solving skills.
• Doing the homework is a critical part of doing well in this course! The homework is directly relevant to the exam: problems on the exam will be similar to those on the homework.
• Homework will count for 50% of your grade for the course; the midterm exam, scheduled for Wednesday, October 10, will count for 20%; and the final exam, scheduled for Monday, December 10, will count for 30% of your grade.
• Anyone who is unable to attend the scheduled exams should arrange ahead of time for an alternate date.

Expectations and policies:

• Academic honesty: Academic honesty is expected of all CUA students. Faculty are required to initiate the imposition of sanctions when they find violations of academic honesty, such as plagiarism, improper use of a student’s own work, cheating, and fabrication.
  The following sanctions are presented in the University procedures related to Student Academic Dishonesty (from http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrityprocedures.cfm"): “The presumed sanction for undergraduate students for academic dishonesty will be failure for the course... In the context of graduate studies, the expectations for academic honesty are greater, and therefore the presumed sanction for dishonesty is likely to be more severe, e.g., expulsion. ...In the more unusual case, mitigating circumstances may exist that would warrant a lesser sanction than the presumed sanction.”
• It is expected that you attend all classes and are prepared by reading the appropriate sections in Goldstein prior to each class. In addition, Jose-Saletan and Arnold provide a modern (more mathematical) approach to Mechanics. We won't have enough time in the Fall Semester to discuss the mathematical formalism, thus leave this to a large extend to the Spring Semester.
• You are encouraged to read corresponding sections in other textbooks as they complement the lectures and will provide different perspectives on the topics covered in the lectures.