General information
This class will use Blackboard, please log into http://courses.utexas.edu for homework.
Unique Number: 59155
Classroom/Time: RLM 7.104, MWF 1-2 pm
TA: TBA Yuan-Pao Yang
Required material:
Taylor, Classical Mechanics
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Prerequisites: The following with a grade of at least C- in each: Mathematics 427L or 364K, Physics 315, and 115L.
Summary and goals: This class is a higher level discussion of classical mechanics than what you experienced in your introductory course. We will cover key results of Newtonian mechanics in greater depth; introduce the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of mechanics; and briefly discuss special relativity and chaos if we have time. We will develop important mathematical techniques that will be used extensively in this class and in further physics courses (such as linear differential equations, the calculus of variations, and linear algebra).
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Newtonian mechanics: review
Oscillations; differential equations; resonance
Calculus of Variations & the Euler-Lagrange equation
Lagrangian mechanics
Two body central force problems; motion in an inverse square force
Non-inertial reference frames and pseudoforces
Coupled oscillators
Rotational motion
Hamiltonian mechanics, Liouville’s theorem
Special relativity
- Nonlinear mechanics and chaos (if time)
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