Mechanics is one of the oldest and at the same time newest disciplines,
in the sense that there are methods and principles developed first in
mechanics but now widely used in almost all branches of physics:
electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, classical and quantum field theory,
special and general theory of relativity, etc. More than that, there are
some formalisms like Lagrangian and Hamiltonian approaches, which
represent the key stone for the development of the above-mentioned
disciplines.
During the last 20-25 years, classical mechanics has undergone an
important revival associated with the progress in non-linear dynamics,
applications of Noether's theorem and the extension of variational
principles in various interdisciplinary sciences (for instance,
magnetofluid dynamics). Thus, there ought to exist a book concerned with
the applied analytical formalism, first developed in the frame of
theoretical mechanics, which has proved to be one of the most efficient
tools of investigation in the entire arena of science.
The present book is an outcome of the authors' teaching experience over
many years in different countries and for different students studying
diverse fields of physics. The book is intended for students at the
level of undergraduate and graduate studies in physics, engineering,
astronomy, applied mathematics and for researchers working in related
subjects.
We hope that the original presentation and the distribution of the
topics, the various applications in many branches of physics and the set
of more than 100 proposed problems, shall make this book a comprehensive
and useful tool for students and researchers.
The present book is an outcome of the authors' teaching experience over
many years in different countries and for different students studying
diverse fields of physics. The book is intended for students at the
level of undergraduate and graduate studies in physics, engineering,
astronomy, applied mathematics and for researchers working in related
subjects.
We hope that the original presentation and the distribution of the
topics, the various applications in many branches of physics and the set
of more than 100 proposed problems, shall make this book a comprehensive
and useful tool for students and researchers.
