Theoretical Physics: No. 2

This textbook offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to analytical mechanics, one of the core components of undergraduate physics courses. The book starts with a thorough introduction into Lagrangian mechanics, detailing the d’Alembert principle, Hamilton’s principle and conservation laws. It continues with an in-depth explanation of Hamiltonian mechanics, illustrated by canonical and Legendre transformation, the generalization to quantum mechanics through Poisson brackets and all relevant variational principles. Finally, the Hamilton-Jacobi theory and the transition to wave mechanics are presented in detail. Ideally suited to undergraduate students with some grounding in classical mechanics, the book is enhanced throughout with learning features such as boxed inserts and chapter summaries, with key mathematical derivations highlighted to aid understanding. The text is supported by numerous worked examples and end of chapter problem sets. About the Theoretical Physics series Translated from the renowned and highly successful German editions, the eight volumes of this series cover the complete core curriculum of theoretical physics at undergraduate level.
Each volume is self-contained and provides all the material necessary for the individual course topic. Numerous problems with detailed solutions support a deeper understanding. Wolfgang Nolting is famous for his refined didactical style and has been referred to as the “German Feynman” in reviews.

Author Biography

Prof. Dr Wolfgang Nolting is an emeritus professor of physics of the German Humboldt University in Berlin, whose research interests span solid state physics and magnetism. He has over 40 years of teaching experience at various institutions including the University of Munster, ETH Zurich, the University of Wurzburg and the Universidad de Valladolid in Spain. His acclaimed German textbook series on Theoretical Physics has now attained the rank of a standard work in physics education.