-----Original Message-----
From: Forum for Physics Educators [mailto:PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu] On
Behalf Of Carl E. Mungan
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 2:52 PM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: classical mechanics text suggestions
I'd like some opinions on Classical Mechanics textbooks. Our course is
fall semester junior year, 4 credits (1 extra hour than usual). The
students have taken 3 intro courses out of Tipler the previous year
(mechanics, E&M, heat & light) and would concurrently be taking Modern
Physics and Math Physics I. We use Maple in the course. There is no lab,
but we do a few demos (eg. set up some air track carts with springs and
force sensors and take a Fourier transform; double pendulum in
Interactive Physics). We require a term paper on a topic of their
choosing (chaos and black holes are perennial favorites).
Topics I definitely want to cover in detail:
* coupled oscillators
* Lagrangian, Hamiltonian, and variational methods
* the Kepler problem
* accelerated coordinate systems
Disadvantages: out of print (but probably still enough copies available
for another go-around), too short shrift of Hamiltonian & variational
methods with way too few problems on these topics, the chaos chapter is
inaccessible to beginners, the material on rigid-body rotations is
rather disorganized.
Other texts I am considering:
Marion & Thornton (new edition due this summer). Disadvantages: a bit
mathematically heavy, long and boring review of math and introductory
mechanics in the beginning.
Chow. Disadvantages: somewhat dated (weak on topics such as chaos),
first edition (ie. riddled with quite a number of typos and poor
constructions).
SUMMARY
If Chow had a new edition, I'd likely go with it. As it is, I have a
slight leaning toward Marion & Thornton assuming the new edition is
good.
Now anyone who could help me out:
1. Is there some other text I should be considering?
2. Could someone who is currently using Marion & Thornton (in a vaguely
similar course) tell me how it's working out?
--
Carl E. Mungan, Asst. Prof. of Physics 410-293-6680 (O) -3729 (F)
U.S. Naval Academy, Stop 9C, Annapolis, MD 21402-5026
mungan@usna.edu http://physics.usna.edu/physics/faculty/mungan/