Book Description

This best-selling classical mechanics text, written for the advanced undergraduate one- or two-semester course, provides a complete account of the classical mechanics of particles, systems of particles, and rigid bodies. Vector calculus is used extensively to explore topics.The Lagrangian formulation of mechanics is introduced early to show its powerful problem solving ability.. Modern notation and terminology are used throughout in support of the text's objective: to facilitate students' transition to advanced physics and the mathematical formalism needed for the quantum theory of physics. CLASSICAL DYNAMICS OF PARTICLES AND SYSTEMS can easily be used for a one- or two-semester course, depending on the instructor's choice of topics. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

No fuss over mathematical formalism here!
Why is everyone complaining about the mathematical formalism in this text? While perhaps such formalism requires a certain level of mathematical maturity on the part of the reader, it does *not* detract from pedagogy. In my opinion, it is better to become used to such formalism in the context of classical dynamics, where intuition can be of great help, than later on, and please, calculus and linear algebra is all that's required! It's not *that* formal!

I'd also like to say that the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian sections present one of the more lucid explanations that I have seen.

Finally, no, the author does not give you an example problem and then ask you to do the same problem with different numbers at the end of the chapter--he assumes you could do that. If you can't read a book that doesn't have such trivial problems for you to work, perhaps you should go elsewhere. The problems in this book are often challenging, and require you to extrapolate from the previous chapters. I find such problems more interesting than ones that require you to only look back in the chapter, grab two equations, eliminate one variable, and then plug in numbers. I'm not sure why everyone has jumped on the "the problems aren't worded well" bandwagon either, as I have encountered very little ambiguity throughout this book. If you want to master classical dynamics, this isn't the only book you'll want to work through, but it certainly should be on your list.

Solid Understandable Book in Mechanics
I took a mechanics course 9 years ago with an earlier edition, finished undergrad and left the study of physics. Recently I bought a new edition and I have just finished self studying this book and I felt that it's quite excellent. The problems are challenging but that is precisely what I expected. I think it really deserves 4 stars but I gave it 5 because the average ratings given by other reviewers is too low. I would like to go through the positives and negatives of this text. However keep in mind that the negatives of this text are apparent pretty much in every physics text.

Positives: 1) The text is easy to understand, the problems follow from the text 2) Answers to even numbers excercises in the back of text. This is absolutely crucial if you are self studying without an instructor. 3) Problems are random in their difficulty and individually comprehensive in their review of the chapter.
4) The Mathematics is pretty elementary, with a solid understanding of Calculus and differential equations you should be properly equipped to handle the entire text.

Negatives: 1) There are little to no difficult problems involving Newtonian formalism (Forces). Energy and momentum is predominantly used, for good reason, but it does not hurt to go back to the more rigorous approach of Forces for some difficult problems.

2) It would be nice to have a chapter dedicated to cyclic coordinates, Poisson Brackets and Canonical Transformations.

3)Impulses(chap 9) are dealt with in Integral form as opposed to differential form of the time change in momenta. The latter is much more intuitive and useful for solving problems.

4)Wider use in problems and examples of Poisson's equation for gravity.

5) Relativity should be introduced much earlier in the text. This is one of the formalisms of every undergraduate textbook in physics which I do not understand. Relativity always gets pushed back towards the end of textbooks. There is nothing particularly difficult about the subject that demands that it get treated in such a fashion. As opposed to the three chapters prior (dynamics of rigid bodies, coupled oscillations and waves) which are much more demanding. Furthermore it would be useful for students taking E&M at the same time as Mechanics to have had some experience with 4 vectors before dealing with Maxwell's equations.

A Road to Higher Realms
Whether knowingly or unknowingly, most of the physics text reviews that I have read may be divided into two categories:

- those who loved or hated the book because it was not written to teach physics through a conceptual framework.

- those who loved or hated the book because it was not written to teach physics through the development of skills.

Then the reviews may be divided again into two categories:

- those who loved or hated the book because it conveyed an exclusively classic and/or historical treatment of physics.

- those who loved or hated the book because it conveyed a modern treatments of physics.

Therefore, I will write my review within the same framework that everyone else seems to...

I loved this book because it was written to teach physics through the development of SKILLS; I loved this book because it did so through a CLASSIC TREATMENT of physics.

Now I will explain why...

The study of physics is FAR MORE than an extraction of information from a book, the way that, say, reading an encyclopedia entry is. The study of physics, rather, is a MENTAL DISCIPLINE, that takes 10,000 hours of intensive mental effort just to become a 'fairly skilled beginner', and at least half a lifetime of intensive mental effort to become an expert in just one, very small, sub-sub-field. It is a journey in which one must tavel the same mental footsteps that the great physicists of the past did before one is ready to travel the new and original mental footsteps of their own research activity. Along the way, one must start with easy treatments, must progress through the intermediate treatments, and must one day tackle the tremendously difficult advanced treatments, of every sub-field of study. Early in the study of a new stage of such a sub-field, one must obtain a solid understanding of every concept, and after this, they must move on from mere concepts, and must develop an exceptional skill set. And one day, if one has been utterly dedicated and unwavering, and if one has worked harder than they ever thought would be necessary when they stood at the beginning of the road... one WILL find that they have reached a higher realm.

I am utterly convinced that this book is the ideal written work that one should study at the time and place in the journey that it is usually encountered on this road.

Ad tedium
I came to this course after taking honors freshman physics at Yale with An Intro to Mechanics by Kleppner and Kolenkow. And, unfortunately, this book just is not as good. The mathematical derivations are often tedious and uninsightful, a good description as well for many of the problems. In addition, many of the problems, particularly the tougher ones, are already worked out in the text. For me, the text is a combination of mediocre treatment of material with exceptionally poor problems. The problems in this text are, in general, easier than those in K&K, but they often take three times as long to write out. Many of them are exercises in 10th grade algebra, or 12th grade calculus (read: horrible integrals and looong expressions to simplify). What is required is not insight, but exceptional care at not making simple errors and patience for long derivations of often obvious results. For a physics major, this book just seems like a colossal waste of time and money. If you want reinforcement of concepts, turn to Feynman in his lectures. For insightful and challenging mechanics (though Hamiltonian and Lagrangian dynamics are missing), Kleppner and Kolenkow is a far better text.

Utterly disgraceful! May be the worst in the physics canon.
(Disclaimer: All my criticisms are directed against Stephen Thornton, who prepared this edition when Marion died. I haven't seriously examined the earlier editions.)

Let it not be said that this book is utterly without virtue. It does have a good store of challenging, interesting problems. Also, the introductory chapter includes a unique (for this level) discussion of the Levi-Civita notation, which is great for managing complicated expressions in vector and tensor analysis (if you're currently taking junior or senior E&M, use this if your teacher asks you to verify all those crazy vector identities on the inside cover of your book!). But beyond this, I can see no redeeming virtues. In a genre which is littered with astoundingly bad books, this book is a standout, and is among the "hated classics" like Reif's statistical mechanics book or J.D. Jackson's E&M book. But even those books, which are admittedly overly-difficult and often obtuse, do contain a lot of quality thought and valuable knowledge. A good book, when re-read, will reveal greater and greater depths of insight and knowledge.

But rereading this book only revealed greater levels of sloppy thought. Only the more elementary derivations are comprehensible; the rest are befuddling, and I found that I had to write my own derivations and look up alternatives because the examples were either unconvincing, incomprehensible, or seemed to be based on incorrect physical reasoning. Ironically, I found that this book improved my confidence in mechanics because I had to spend so much time trying to compensate for the enormous failings logic, calculation, and pedagogy. But I'd still give it zero stars if I could.

This book is just plain bad (a judgement I very rarely make), and I am very curious as to whether the reviewers who defend the book really thought about its contents or tried to follow all of its logic step by step, as one should do during any serious examination of a science text. Now some reviewers had good teachers, in which case they probably paid more attention to their lecture notes than the book. An individual skilled with mathematical manipulation can do surprisingly difficult problems without thinking very much about the underlying physical concepts or looking at any part of a derivation other than the part in the box. Finally, a very bright person may simply think through matters for themselves during and after a class, not taking time to examine the book. So I am not insulting the readers who gave it good reviews; I'm sure they did well in class, since students who get good grades don't write vitriol-filled reviews about the required text on Amazon.com. But I know they didn't really read it carefully.

Instructors often choose this book because they were taught from previous editions (which may be superior), and may be too lazy or recalcitrant to change their ways. Although I often got cross looks from my professors for complaining about it, they generally agreed with my criticisms when I pushed the issue. But I didn't need to convince them. I overheard one professor bashing Chapter 4 as "just hacked together at the last minute because the material is sexy and fashionable." And right he was, for that chapter contains the worst explanations of nonlinear dynamics concepts I have ever seen (even if you discount the wrongly-printed Poincare sections towards the end). This same teacher admitted that he had spend over twenty minutes trying to understand the explanation of a very simple formula (and he is a theoretician who knows far more math than the average physicist).
Another fellow I knew, a Ph.D who was teaching an advanced mechanics class at my school for the first time, and was asked to use Marion, rewrote just about every example and explanation in the book for his students because he found them incomprehensible or too obtuse for beginners.

So don't feel bad if this book befuddled you. You're not alone, either among the great (Ph.D theoreticians and experimentalists) or the small (bile-spouting nobodies with undergraduate degree only).

Finally, a bit of advice for students: If you were made to buy this book, I recommend that you go to your library and find books about classical mechanics. Pick up a book or two that doesn't have the name "Thornton" on the cover. Now, it may be too easy (French's "Newtonian Mechanics" is less mathematical, but I still recommend it) or too hard (Goldstein is for highly motivated and prepared undergrads only), but I can tell you in all confidence that the random mechanics book you pick out will be better than the one you have now. ... Read more

Book Description

Faced with increasing global competition, every industry, business, and service organization is restructuring itself to operate more effectively. Cost-effectiveness and product reliability without excess capacity are the keys to successful activity in business, industry, and government, and these keys are the end results of methods engineering.

The 11th edition of Methods, Standards, and Work Design provides practical, up-to-date descriptions of engineering methods to measure, analyze, and design manual work. The text emphasizes both the manual components and the cognitive aspects of work, recognizing the gradual decline of the manufacturing sector and the growth of the service sector. The importance of ergonomics and work design as part of methods engineering is emphasized not only to increase productivity, but also to improve worker health and safety, and thus, company bottom-line costs. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

11th edition
I am one of the professors Dr. Seifert is talking about in his review. I continue to use this textbook in both graduate and undergraduate classes on job design. Every semester I search for a better alternative, but am unable to find it. I find this book to be helpful and a good reference that incorporates ergonomics, work design, and methods engineering. (I also use old versions of the lab book that contain very well-made forms.) This text contains the best discussion of time standards I have seen. The 11th edition contains a new chapter on cognitive work. This is a topic I have always discussed and am glad to see formal treatment of it in the new edition. As with any textbook, I do not use it as the sole source of information taught in the classroom and would not recommend it as a sole source. I use the topics in the text to launch discussions and research papers on systems theory, lean, cycle time, environmental, process improvement methodologies, ethics, and other issues for manufacturing and non-shopfloor applications. I find the book especially useful in the area of work design and time standards.

Students have found these skills useful in the workplace. Many of our students work in process improvement and lean implementations. They use these skills to reduce cycle time and balance the lines to meet the demands of customers. Good implementation of lean requires knowledge of how to balance a line to meet customer demand, identify constraints, reduce cycle time, eliminate waste, understanding and dealing with change, cost/benefit analysis, and a direct understanding the relationship between the customer demand and production rate. This text touches on or covers in detail these topics.

I find that the book appears to focus on machine and operator efficiency and utilization, has a primarily decompositional view of work, and concentrates mostly on shopfloor operations. Even with these drawbacks, the text gives the reader solid information on improving workplace design and reducing cycle time while improving worker safety and productivity. I use the discussion on machine and worker utilization to compare and contrast with other manufacturing philosophies, and to relate what the text is covering to more 'big picture' aspects. Other topics not included are a good discussion of maintenance operations and quality. I suggest using other sources to incorporate those topics. All in all, the book is not perfect. It is a very good reference book and text book.

1955 Concepts in 1999 Edition
This antiquated textbook is still used at colleges and universities throughout the United States. The first edition of this book was published in 1955 and, after nine more editions, appears largely unchanged in its mentality. Specifically, the textbook is written for a time when corporations had legions of industrial engineers who did nothing but detailed and tedious time and motion studies. Unfortunately, today's dynamic manufacturing environment renders many of the authors' techniques impractical or even financially hazardous. For example, it emphasizes the need to maximize machine utilization (even if the machine is not considered a bottleneck operation). Practices like these lead to excessive inventory and sub-optimization of the collective manufacturing process. In summary, I believe this textbook does a great disservice to those manufacturing firms that have achieved dramatic productivity gains through the application of lean manufacturing techniques. ... Read more

Book Description

A cocktail party.A terrorist cell.Ancient bacteria.An international conglomerate.

All are networks, and all are a part of a surprising scientific revolution. Albert-L&aacuteszl&oacute Barab&aacutesi, the nation's foremost expert in the new science of networks, takes us on an intellectual adventure to prove that social networks, corporations, and living organisms are more similar than previously thought. Grasping a full understanding of network science will someday allow us to design blue-chip businesses, stop the outbreak of deadly diseases, and influence the exchange of ideas and information. Just as James Gleick brought the discovery of chaos theory to the general public, Linked tells the story of the true science of the future. ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Dimensions and Implications of Global Interconnectedness
Frankly, I found this to be an unusually challenging book to read the first time and therefore re-read it before organizing my thoughts for this review. The Five Star rating correctly indicates my high regard for what Barabasi has accomplished as he attempts to help his reader to think in terms of networks in new and different (probably unfamiliar) ways. His book "is about how networks emerge, what they look like, and how they evolve." With meticulous care, he presents "a Web-based view of nature, society, and business, a new framework for understanding issues ranging from democracy on the Web to vulnerability of the Internet and the spread of deadly viruses." Along the way, Barabasi challenges the concept of "The Random Universe," asserting instead that everything is connected to everything else. He devotes most of his book to explaining the significance of that global interconnectedness to business, science, and everyday life.

As a non-scientist, I am unqualified to comment on much of the material which Barabasi shares. Perhaps he wrote this book for non-scientists such as I who nonetheless struggle to understand what Barabasi characterizes as the "mystery of life" which begins with the intricate web of interactions and thereby integrates the millions of molecules within each organism. "The enigma of the society starts with the convoluted structure of the social network....[For that reason] networks are the prerequisite for describing any complex system, indicating that complexity theory must inevitably stand on the shoulders of network theory. It is tempting to step in the footsteps of some of my predecessors and predict whether and when we will tame complexity." Given all that has been accomplished thus far with regard to disentangling the networks following the discovery of scale-free networks, Barabasi concludes, "Once we stumble across the right vision of complexity, it will take little to bring it to fruition. When [in italics] that will happen is one of the mysteries that keeps many of us going."

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Mark Buchanan's Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks, Stanley Kaufman's At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity as well as The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution, Steven Strogatz' Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order, Duncan J. Watts' Six Degrees: the Science of a Connected Age, and Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind of Science.

I probably should add Ed Regis' The Info Mesa: Science, Business, and the New Alchemy on the Santa Fe Plateau. Regis devotes almost all of his attention to individuals and events who and which, over several decades, had a profound impact on essentially the same subjects as those discussed in the books previously recommended. Also, Regis examines in much greater detail than do the other authors how core concepts about networks and their complexity were introduced to the commercial marketplace by various entrepreneurs.

Great explanatory power!
Nowadays, everybody talks about networks. Yet, what networks really are and how they function, often remains rather vague in conversations. This book offers great insight into the evolution, the structure and the relevance of networks. The author, Albert Barabási, himself a creative and important contributor to network science, makes the rapid and fascinating advances made in this field comprehensible.

Our world is filled with complex networks, webs of highly connected nodes. Not all nodes are equal, however. In fact, in many real-world complex networks, there is a typical hierarchy of nodes (called a POWERLAW DISTRIBUTION). This means there are a few extremely well connected nodes (these are called HUBS), there are quite a few moderately connected nodes and there are large numbers of tiny nodes (having very few connections to other nodes). The Internet, for instance, has only several hubs - like amazon.com and Yahoo - and countless tiny nodes -like my own website :-(.

The structure of networks with a powerlaw distribution is called a SCALEFREE TOPOLOGY. Such a scale free topology is found in networks that 1) are GROWING (extra nodes and links emerge), and 2) are characterised by PREFERENTIAL ATTACHMENT (this means that some links are far more likely to get linked than others). Preferential attachment, is driven by two factors: 1) the number of links the node already has (this is in fact the first mover advantage: a nodes that has been there since the early development of the network gets the biggest chance to get connected), and 2) the node's fitness (for instance a new website offering a truely unique service has an excellent chance to get many links).

A fascinating characteristic of scale free networks is the following. The density of the interconnectivity paradoxically creates two properties at the same time: 1) ROBUSTNESS (removing nodes will not easily lead to the breakdown of the network, precisely because of the fact that all nodes are connected. Only simultaneous removal of the largest hubs will break down the network), and 2) VULNERABILITY TO ATTACK (because of the fact that all nodes are indirectely connected to each other failures, like viruses, can very easily spread through the whole network. This phenomenon is called 'cascading failures'.

Reading this book made me realise that the recently acquired knowledge about networks is revolutionizing many fields of science, like biology, medical science and economics. Also, the practical applications will be numerous, like protecting the internet, fighting terrorist networks, finding a cure for cancer (!), and developing new organizational forms.

A complex world in simple words
This is an excellent book. The author is extremely able to explain difficult concepts about complex systems in a simple and precise manner, using examples from a variety of domains. The richness of applications -- ranging from spread of epidemics to the internet-- is the first strength of the book and of the theory of scale free networks that appear to be a very promising and original tool to understand the web of interactions of complex systems. The second strength is the clarity of writing: a rarity in the scientific world. This book is an example of good writing with the objective of being understood and making science accessible.

A captivating read
I first heard the author speak on NPR. Not only was I enthralled with his intelligence and clarity of thought, I was captivated by the promise of a new perspective on the connectedness of all things, from the sizes of stars in a galaxy to the revolution in internet search engines to the biology of the cell. This book delivers on that promise with insight, wit and style.

Reduction to nodes and links
Albert Barabasi presents the lay reader with a stimulating description of the origins of network theory and recent applications. He describes random networks, small world and scalefree networks. In nonrandom networks the importance of hubs is emphasized. Small world networks are the ones with a well defined averge number of links, and in scalefree ones the density of links scales as a power law. For the many interesting examples discussed, I would like to have seen graphs showing scaling over at least three decades in order to be convinced of scaling. However, in practice, whether a network scales or not may not be so important. I liked best the discussions of terrorism, AIDS, and biology. If one could locate the hubs, then a small world network could be destroyed, but as the author points out there is no systematic method for locating the hubs. Also, destroyed hubs in a terror network might be replaced rather fast, whereas airline hubs could not be replaced so quickly. The book might be seen as indicating a starting point to try to develop a branch of mathematical sociology. For example, the maintainance of ethnic identity outside the Heimat is discussed in terms of networking. Now for a little criticism.

I did not find the discussion of ‚the rich get richer' very helpful because network theory at this stage deals only with static geometry, not with empirically-based dynamics. In fact, the dynamics of financial markets have been described empirically accurately without using any notion of networking. In the text the phrase „economic stability" is used but stability is a dynamic idea, and there is no known empirical evidence from the analysis of real markets for any kind of stability. The absence of dynamics on networks means that complexity is not described at all: there is nothing complex about the geometry of a static network! Suggesting that cell biology can be described by networking is empty so long as dynamics are not deduced from empirics. Nonempirical models of dynamics will probably not be of much use for making advances in understanding or treating cancer, e.g. Everything we know about cell biology and cancer was discovered via reductionism, by isolating cause and effect the way that a good auto mechanic does in order to repair a car.

Unfortunately, the author lets his enthusiasm get the best of him when he proclaims „laws of self-organization" and the need to go beyond reductionism. First, there are no known laws of „self-organization". The only known laws of nature are the laws of physics and consequences deduced from the laws, namely, chemistry and cell biology. Worse, every mathematical model that can be written down is a form of reductionism. Quantum theory reduces phenomena to (explains phenomena via) atoms and molecules. All of chemistry is about that. Cell biology attempts to reduce observed phenomena to DNA, proteins, and cells. Believers in self-organized criticality try to reduce the important features of nature to the equivalent of sandpiles. Network enthusiasts hope to reduce phenomena to nodes and links. In order to try to isolate cause and effect, there is no escape from reductionism of one form or another, holism being an empty illusion. So I did not at all like the assertion on pg. 200 that globalization (via deregulation and privatization) is inevitable, because there is no law that tells us that it is.

Summarizng: there is no complexity without dynamics, there are no known „laws of self-organization", and reductionism is the only hope for doing science. Anyone who disagrees with this is welcome to explain to me and others the alternative (jmccauley@uh.edu). ... Read more

Book Description

* Offers a readable, thorough overview of basic aerodynamics, with numerous discussions of aviation history and development
* Includes new coverage of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and illustrations to help explain the material
* More than a dozen "design boxes" draw the reader's attention and illustrate the practical applications ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Excellent Aerospace Engineering Reference
This excellent book is full of examples and equations to help students relate to the fundamental concepts in an introductory aerodynamics class.

The book is especially useful for reference, as it explains the derivations and many forms of complex equations such as the continuity equation. Furthermore, there are lots of examples of real-world design situations and historical backgrounds.

Overall, one of the best books I have used in my undergraduate aerospace engineering curriculum.

Excellent book!
Great book for first and second semester aerodynamics. Especially the sections on supersonics and hypersonics. Links the technical and historical aspects of aerodynamics to give a very good global perspective of the subject. Anderson also provides "roadmaps" which tend to help the reader stay on track as to where the discussion is going. Those are especially helpful for technical books such as this one.

Fundamentals of Aerodynamics
This book is one of the best written books I have. This book is well-organized, clearly written and easily understood. Each chapter contains a road map to keep the reader well aware of the proper flow of ideas and concepts.

A start for every aeonautics/aerospace engineer student
This book with the the book "Computational Fuid Dynamiscs"of the same author, is a very strong tool for every student interested ion the field of aerodynamics and CFD. Very easy to read and understand, without any doub is the best book in the field that i have ever read.

Looking for "Basical Publications" in Aero: Found one
This book covers all the aerodynamics a basic research engineer in aerodynamics would like to know. From non viscous to viscous and from subsonic to hypersonics. boundary layer and schockwave theories all included. Every part starts clearly with a nice outline the book will follow to come to the desired theorie. We use it for our doctorate program at Delft Aerospace, Delft University of Technology. ... Read more

Book Description

With an emphasis on computer techniques of analysis, this book presents the theory, computational aspects, and applications of vibrations in as simple a manner as possible.This text gives expanded explanations of the fundamentals of vibration including history of vibration, degree of freedom systems, vibration control, vibration measurement, and more.For engineers and other professionals who want a clear introduction to vibration engineering. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Not a good text
This book in my opinion is not the one to enjoy the beauty of the subject and mechanics in general. There is a vast amount of material amassed but the structure of the book is poor.
It seems being overburden with details and particulars and lacking unified clear consistent approach. In addition some mistakes are just plain annoying. If one wants to be serious about vibrations - do not sweat over this book. It can be just another somewhat usefull reference book to find some particular solution to for some particular problem.
Instead one can study mechanics with beautifully written classical L.Meirovitch, "Fundamentals of Vibrations" which is much more original, rigorous, clear, usefull and serious book to have.

Poor Book
I used this textbook for my Mechanical Vibrations course and was very displeased with it. My biggest gripe is the lack of examples in each chapter. There are an abundance of homework problems at the end of each chapter, but the vast majority of them are not illustrated at all in example problems. I noticed this immediately in Chapter 1 when attempting to solve several of the problems. The text also develops equations and formulas without detail and explanation. Luckily my teacher developed the eqations in class lecture and provided the majority of information for the course. While working out homework and test problems that were assigned, the book was of little use for me. I think the clarity of writing could be better, as well. By the way, I got an A in the course and still found the book to be poor.

Not Happy Teaching From This Text
I recently used this as a text to teach Vibrations to Mechanical Engineering seniors after Vibration Analysis by Vierck went out of print. I was attracted to Rao's book because much of the presentation is similar to Vierck. After using this text for one semester, I was not satisfied. I was particularly concerned by Chapter 2 where the fundamentals of damped single degree of freedom systems are covered. This Chapter is critical to building the foundation of Vibration Theory and I was disturbed to find that two critical plots, the time history comparison of responses with various damping levels and the phase plane plot for the same cases were seriously incorrect. While errors always can be found in texts, these plots were so obviously wrong at first glance that I wondered how a book with 29 reviewers (as listed in the Acknowledgements) has such glaring errors. As I progressed through the text I found a number of other errors including incorrect equations in some places. I also found that some material, emphasized in Vierck, that I consider important was buried in the worked examples rather than being emphasized as part of the book's text. While the book does present a lot of material and gives some interesting problems, I found that I was not comfortable with the text at the end of the course. I have since decided to drop this book from consideration as our text.

Very happy with the book.
This text was used during my senior year for two consecutive mechanical engineering courses I had at Penn State. I found the presentation of the material very thorough and logically ordered. My only issue with the book was when we dug into the first chapter. I was a bit overwhelmed because, although the first chapter is just an overview of vibration, it is very broad, yet detailed. All subsequent chapters were very well focused, easy to follow, and illustrative of important concepts.

I put the book away after graduation, but soon got it out again, finding that it is a wonderful tool in the field... definitely worth it.

Very good for majoring in vobration engineering
This book is very useful for me.

So, helpful my research topic.

It is containing basic of mechanical vibration.

Just, good~ ... Read more

Book Description

The direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method has, in recent years, become widely used for engineering and scientific studies of gas flows that involve low densities or very small physical dimensions.The method is a direct physical simulation of the motion of representative molecules, rather than a numerical solution of the equations that provide a mathematical model of the flow.The computations are no longer expensive and the period since the original 1976 publication of this work has seen enormous improvements in the molecular models, the procedures, and the implementation strategies.This greatly expanded new version of the author's seminal Molecular Gas Dynamics will be considered the definitive text on the subject.It includes all the refinements and research since the earlier book. The molecular theory of gas flows is developed from first principles and is extended to cover new models and procedures.The method and typical applications are illustrated through 13 demonstration programs that are listed in FORTRAN source code on an accompanying computer disc.All numerical results in the book have been obtained from these programs.The applications range from verification cases for simple homogeneous gases to complex multidimensional flows of gas mixtures and chemically reacting flows. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Tour de Force
An astonishing accomplishment by the man who more or less invented the field of DSMC calculation. Includes a handy-dandy disk (with source) so you can run you own problem with a variety of different boundary conditions. See also Bird 1973, Phys Fluids, v16 pp1830-1834. ... Read more

Book Description

This text synthesizes a wealth of useful information for analyzing random vibrations and structures into one coherent body of knowledge. It takes a practical yet progressive look at two major fields related to random analysis: linear and geometrically nonlinear structures, and the behavior of random structures under random loads.

System harmonics and oscillations, random functions, and the theory of random vibration are covered extensively throughout the text, which includes innovative methods for calculating the probability of failure of dynamic systems. Simplified examples demonstrate applications for daily use and present new approaches to failure analysis.

The author evaluates the use of random process methods for the stochastic analysis of crack growth in detail, providing a better description of failures resulting from crack propagation. For young engineers, the book touches on finite element programs such as ANSYS and the probabilistic analysis program PROBAN, facilitating solutions to more complex problems. It also illustrates how to write a FORTRAN program to build a numerical procedure suitable for the design needs. ... Read more

Book Description

The book provides a thorough step-by-step presentation of the computational models involved which allows the reader to easily construct a flow chart from which to operate. A unique feature to this book is that the author critically reviews all of the existing numerical models highlighting both advantages and drawbacks of each. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the only book that introduces the full range of activity in the rapidly growing field of nonlinear dynamics to an audience of students, scientists, and engineers with no in-depth experience in the area.The text uses a step-by-step explanation of dynamics and geometry in state space as a foundation for understanding nonlinear dynamics.It goes on to provide a thorough treatment of such key topics as differential equation models and iterated map models (including a derivation of the famous Feigenbaum numbers), the surprising role of number theory in dynamics, and an introduction to Hamiltonian dynamics. This is the only book written at this introductory level to include the increasingly important field of pattern formation, along with a survey of the controversial questions of quantum chaos.Important analytical tools, such as Lyapunov exponents, Kolmogorov entropies, and fractal dimensions, are treated in detail.With over 200 figures and diagrams, and both analytic and computer exercises following every chapter, the book is ideally suited for use as a text or for self-instruction.An extensive collection of annotated references brings the reader into contact with the literature in nonlinear dynamics, which the reader will be prepared to tackle after completing the book. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A excellent introduction to chaos
This is an accessible and readable introductory textbook on chaos and nonlinear dynamics. It focuses on the ideas behind the theory of chaos, rather than on the details of the mathematics which can sometimes hinder rather than help the reader gain real insight into the mechanisms of nonlinear systems.

By this I do not mean that the author skips over the required mathematics. The text is intended for people with a solid background in differential equations, and some familiarity with classical dynamical systems is also helpful if not completely necessary. I would say it is targeted for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students in the mathematical sciences, as well as scientists/engineers with no background in chaos theory. However he does not get bogged down in mathematics at the expense of physical insight. I have been studying the book on my own and have run into few problems in understanding the explanations.

The first chapter goes over 3 chaotic systems as a practical way of introducing the reader to various features of such systems. This provides a basis of practical experience to draw upon for the rest of the book, where the principles of chaos are examined in greater detail. The extensive references given in the book are a valuable addition that can be used to further explore the scientific literature. The references include journal papers as well as books, articles, and software for dynamical systems.

If you have the requisite mathematical background and want to learn the basics of chaos and nonlinear dynamics, I highly recommend this book.

fundamental, systematic
If you are looking for a textbook or reference on chaos theory, I recommend you to buy this book.

If you read other books, you will eventually comment,'chaos is something related to mathematics, very abstract, has nothing to do with my messy bedroom...'

But if you read this book, you will scream,'Great! I have figured out the richness of the nonlinear world. I understand the different dynamical routes to chaos. I know different quantifying methods with their pros and cons. Most fascinating is that chaos is related to pattern formation and self organization, which I consider them as another field of knowledge before. Also chaos may provide a new approach to quantum mechanics, a good news for those including me who do not believe in the parallel universe interpretation. By the way, I learnt a lot from this book!'

Good book!
If you want to get on into chaos, just read this book. I especially like the very wide scope of the subjects considered and the insight provided by the author in pattern formation or quantum chaos. ... Read more

Book Description

This book offers a fresh, readable approach to the analysis of mechanical systems. It is written as an introduction to analytical dynamics, with an emphasis on fundamental concepts in mechanics.The book begins with a description of the motion of a particle subjected to constraints, and presents explicit equations of motion that govern large classes of constrained mechanical systems with refreshingly simple results. The authors provide examples throughout the book, as well as carefully formulated end-of-chapter problems that reinforce the material covered. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A Remarkable Book on Analytical Dynamics
This is possibly the most remarkable text that has appeared in the last 30-40 years on the fundamentals of analytical dynamics. I think it will soon find its place on the bookshelf of every engineer, physicist, and mathematician who is interested in this subject. Engineers, researchers, and experts in areas like robotics, mutibody dynamics, spacecraft dynamics and control, and motion-tracking (and many other application areas that I am not directly familiar with) will have a 'field day' with the results that the authors have provided here.

I very strongly recommend this book to the community at large, and especially to students. It is an excellent text. It is simple enough for a novice to read and understand; it provides numerous new insights and new results that will most certainly surprise the expert. It has all the makings of a classic.

To my astonishment, I found the book to be totally original, something very rare for a book in this field. The authors present a fundamentally new approach. They tie together linear algebra and mechanics in a new and delightfully imaginative way. But in a mature field like analytical dynamics, originality is not enough; the results generated must be useful. And it is here that the book, in my opinion, far exceeds any that I have so far read. The authors develop numerous remarkable and new fundamental results. Every chapter has several of them.

There is no book that I have come across in analytical dynamics that is comparable to this short book. For me, its uniqueness lies in three key elements: usefulness of results, originality of approach, and simplicity in presentation.

I have now read the book several times, and each time the results that it contains seem to get more and more exciting. But, for me, reading it the first time around was indeed an unforgettable treat! Looking at some of the previous reviews of this book, I am sure many first-time readers must have also felt that way.

A Superb Book On Analytical Dynamics
This is an excellent book on the fundamentals of Analytical Dynamics. It deals with the essentials of Lagrangian mechanics in an altogether new and imaginative way. It is a 'must read' for beginners as well as experts, for it contains a wealth of new information and new results. Though short (only about 250 pages), it sparkles with brilliance and promises to become, like Goldstein's book, a classic text in the field.

Far from a dry re-hash of material taken from other books, as is commonly the case with books on this subject, this book takes a truly novel and exciting tack--just like its title says. It explains the basic concepts in Analytical Dynamics in a new, thorough, yet simple, way. The material is extremely well-crafted and carefully presented in a systematic manner; the power of the new results provided by the authors is astounding, as illustrated by the numerous examples in the book.

The authors show their mastery of the subject by leading the reader on, with unusual clarity, into deeper and deeper realms of the subject with each successive chapter. The book provides amazing insights into Lagrangian mechanics, constrained motion, multi-body dynamics, Gauss's Principle, etc., along with an incredible economy of words, and a stunning level of simplicity.

The material in especially the later chapters that deals with elimination methods and the Gibbs-Appell equations, to the best of my knowledge, is all new. The problems at the end of each chapter appear to be carefully chosen and instructive for students. Each chaper ends with a section entitled "For Further Reading," that I found interesting. The format of the book is such that it could be easily used as a text for a course on the subject.

The authors have written a truly outstanding text that can be read and enjoyed by an advanced university junior or senior, a graduate student, or an expert in the field. It is one of the VERY FEW technical books that I have come across that I just could not put down, once I started reading it.

I heartily recommend this book to the science and engineering community.

Udwadia's Course on Analytical Dynamics
I just took the course taught by Professor Udwadia on Analytical Dynamics at USC this semmester. Wow! This guy is not just good, he is TOPS! From the very first lecture I was in amazement with the facility he has in teaching this subject.

I can now see why the book he has written is fantastic. He used it as a text, and then went well beyond it.

He is definitely the best teacher I have ever had. He is a delight to listen to, and was an inspiration to every student in the class. His lectures sparkle, they concentrate on ideas not algebra, and he seemed to have something to say in every lecture that touched me and went well beyond dynamics. The thing that impressed me most is that despite his enormous knowledge of the subject, he is a really humble fellow, a superb listener, a great guy.

For those of you who think the book is superb, you haven't seen nothin' yet until you get to hear this guy speak. Take a ride on his course, he takes you on an incredible journey. It was more than worth my time; and I assure you, you will also find it so.

A Super Book!
I recommend that everyone dealing with mechanics get a copy of this gem, and read it! It is the most amazing technical book I have read! I don't want to repeat what others have said in their reviews, and so there is not much more for me to say other than that this book has got to be a classic.

An Excellent Book
I found this book to be truly exceptional. It is THE best book on Analytical Dynamics on the market. I recommend it highly. The authors have taken all the high-fangled wonder out of analytical dynamics and brought it down to a level that any senior or graduate student can follow. And yet the book is far deeper than any that I have read so far including Whittaker and Watson's book! There is a plethora of new results.
The authors need to be congratulated on this book. This is an example of book that shows that good authors can deal with complex and deep topics and yet be simple and straightforward in their explanations.
Some time in the future I'd like to make a special trip to the University of Southern California just to meet these two gentlemen. As one of the previous reviews says: They show great brilliance! ... Read more

Book Description

Emphasizing learning through problem solving, Donald Greenwood analyzes in detail the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to dynamics. He describes techniques that will improve computational efficiency considerably, especially when applied to complex dynamical systems. A key feature of his text is the inclusion of many proven examples and homework problems. The book is intended for use in graduate courses on dynamics and will appeal to practicing mechanical and aerospace engineers. ... Read more

Book Description

Turbulent Flows is an up-to-date and comprehensive graduate text on this important topic in fluid dynamics. The book consists of two parts: Part I provides a general introduction to turbulent flows, how they behave, how they can be described quantitatively, and their fundamental physical processes. Part II is concerned with different approaches for modeling, or simulating, turbulent flows. Key appendices present the necessary mathematical techniques. While primarily intended for engineering graduate students, this book will also be valuable to students in applied mathematics, physics, oceanography and atmospheric sciences, as well as to researchers and practicing engineers. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

best book for pdf.
well, Professor Pope is the best professor so far on pdf modeling of turbulent. Before the book was printed, he use it as a textbook on MAE732, Turbulent analysis, in Cornell univeristy. we are really impressed by pdf. ... Read more

Book Description

Presents the newer field of chaos in nonlinear dynamics as a natural extension of classical mechanics as treated by differential equations. Employs Hamiltonian systems as the link between classical and nonlinear dynamics, emphasizing the concept of integrability. Also discusses nonintegrable dynamics, the fundamental KAM theorem, integrable partial differential equations, and soliton dynamics. ... Read more

Book Description

An introduction to the study of chaotic systems via numerical analysis, this work includes many applications in physics and employs differential equations, linear vector spaces and some Hamiltonian systems. Includes problems. ... Read more

Book Description

First published in 1967, Professor Batchelor's classic work is still one of the foremost texts on fluid dynamics. His careful presentation of the underlying theories of fluids is still timely and applicable, even in these days of almost limitless computer power. This reissue ensures that a new generation of graduate students experiences the elegance of Professor Batchelor's writing. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Fair introduction
Good introduction of many ideas in fluid mechanics. Good for reference, but it is not a good book for learning the subject. If in fact you happen to have a solid math background you may find it very boring but still has many references to more useful sources.

Good introduction
This book introduces lots of stuffs. I will consider it
as reference purpose. Not that good for learning, especially
for beginners. If one has another book as textbook already,
with this book, he can have more comprehensive thinkings
about fluid dynamics. It's a good book right on from
textbooks to special-purposed books.

Great "introduction" to those well-versed in the subject
If you get through this text, you are on your way to fluid dynamics mastery. It covers much more than most engineering students will need (or care to) know. It is an important text, but should be a complementary study aid.

The best introduction
I used Batchelor several years ago for an introductory course in fluid dynamics for physic students, and found it generally satisfactory. It is probably the best available overall introduction. The negative review from the Berkeley student reflects more upon the student than upon the book, in my opinion.

To the Berkeley graduate student below
Although I do think that the book is over-rated, your critique is unfair. First, the book is not too advanced. Similar materials are used to teach university students in their 3rd or 4th year of studies, sometimes even earlier, in many countries. If you are not able to grasp the basic, how are you going to read the current papers in journals? How are you going to contribute new knowledge? It's better to start early with a young mind. Then, it is not a reference book (I don't need to say more in this). Also, you may be in the wrong course, or your professor suggested an unsuitable, but not necessarily bad, book for reading. The book was written with applied mathematics (you can surf around the net and see what applied mathematics means in the UK) courses in mind. You may find Lighthill's 'An informal introduction to theoretical fluid mechanics' or Tritton's 'Physical fluid dynamics' or Faber's 'Fluid dynamics for physicists' useful. Finally, I have confidence in the ability of a Berkeley student. You maybe smart, but you need to work hard too, very hard! ... Read more

Book Description

This unique volume introduces the reader to the mathematical language for complex systems and is ideal for students who are starting out in the study of stochastical dynamical systems. Unlike other books in the field it covers a broad array of stochastic and statistical methods. ... Read more

Book Description

Linear and Nonlinear Programming is considered a classic textbook in Optimization. While it is a classic, it also reflects modern theoretical insights. These insights provide structure to what might otherwise be simply a collection of techniques and results, and this is valuable both as a means for learning existing material and for developing new results. One major insight of this type is the connection between the purely analytical character of an optimization problem, expressed perhaps by properties of the necessary conditions, and the behavior of algorithms used to solve a problem. This was a major theme of the first edition of this book and the second edition expands and further illustrates this relationship.Linear and Nonlinear Programming covers the central concepts of practical optimization techniques. It is designed for either self-study by professionals or classroom work at the undergraduate or graduate level for technical students. Like the field of optimization itself, which involves many classical disciplines, the book should be useful to system analysts, operations researchers, numerical analysts, management scientists, and other specialists from the host of disciplines from which practical optimization applications are drawn. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A book on mathematics that also an engineer can read
I have profitably used the book to apply constrained minimization procedures in the field of computational contact mechanics. I think it is not a secret that quite often books on mathematics are written from matematicians for matematicians. Hence it is quite hard for engineers both to read and to extract valuable information from them. With this respect this book is a shining star. It presents the topics in a very precise but clear and understandable way. Moreover the notation also is the best compromise between coinciseness and clarity. Matematicians, please, look at this book and follow such style; we engineer desperately need to communicate with you.

A necessary book for all who want to read and learn!
I have the 1977 edition from my father's MIT days. I am a Mathematician and I can verify that the book written in 1977 is of the same style that good books have today! A book is not made obsolete because some new "elegant" terms arise. Ok Luenberger did not know about Interior Point Algorithms and to tell you the truth why should he? I do not know other editions but in the first edition in chapter 7 "Basic Descent Methods" everyone who is able to read clearly and unbiased the second paragraph will agree with me that Interion Point Algorithms IS NOTHING NEW in the theory of MATHEMATICS!!! What you need to know ,the magic, is in the chapters 7-11. From there you can read everything else you like and get in touch with what is about to come in the next 25 years(See Ye : "Interion Point Algorithms"). But remember you are already in stars before reading the new books...

Good introduction
Nice introduction to linear programming, but new standard definitions have already arrived, making many "good books" obsolete. The book sometimes isn't very clear and should be more explicit and should give more examples. ... Read more

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive account of the modern theory for the dynamical properties of polymer solutions. The theory has undergone dramatic evolution over the last two decades due to the introduction of new methods and concepts that have extended the frontier of theory from dilute solutions in which polymers move independently to concentrated solutions where many polymers converge.Among the properties examined are viscoelasticity, diffusion, dynamic light scattering, and electric birefringence. Nonlinear viscoelasticity is discussed in detail on the basis of molecular dynamical models.The book bridges the gap between classical theory and new developments, creating a consistent picture of polymer solution dynamics over the entire concentration range. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Classic
Excellent book: but to grasp everything one will need to read through a few simpler texts first, say Scaling Concepts by de Gennes, Introduction to Polymer Physics by Doi, some Rheology book say Viscoelastic properties of Polymers by Ferry and Polymer Solutions by I Teraoka.

Very good, but not for beginners
This book is excellent, there is maybe none better that gets into the fundamentals of polymer motion. A warning: I read two or three other textbooks before I could understand this one.

A must for the best.
This book is great. It clearifies many ideas about polymer dynamics. If you want to understand more about this area, there is no better book to start with. But be careful, it was not designed for beginners. This is really great ... Read more

Book Description

Recent advances in the study of dynamical systems have revolutionized the way that classical mechanics is taught and understood. This new and comprehensive textbook provides a complete description of this fundamental branch of physics. The authors cover all the material that one would expect to find in a standard graduate course: Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics, canonical transformations, the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, perturbation methods, and rigid bodies. They also deal with more advanced topics such as the relativistic Kepler problem, Liouville and Darboux theorems, and inverse and chaotic scattering. A key feature of the book is the early introduction of geometric (differential manifold) ideas, as well as detailed treatment of topics in nonlinear dynamics (such as the KAM theorem) and continuum dynamics (including solitons). Over 200 homework exercises are included. It will be an ideal textbook for graduate students of physics, applied mathematics, theoretical chemistry, and engineering, as well as a useful reference for researchers in these fields. A solutions manual is available exclusively for instructors. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Classical Dynamics, a Horrible Approach
I would give this negative five stars if it were possible. I don't know where these other reviewers are getting the idea that this is a nice book on the subject -- it is unclear to the point where one could only guess that it was intended to confuse the reader, even on the basic material. Chapter 1 is basically all of Marion/Thornton, with an explanation that will serve to reverse one's understanding of these fundamental concepts. I would recommend Goldstein instead, even though it is only marginally better. This is yet another piece of junk which is sure to further reduce the population of physics students. If you are a typical sadistic, elitist professor who wishes to destroy the confidence of your students, then you should require this text.

The New Goldstein
If you have no exposure to Classical Mechanics or if you starting new then DON'T BUY THIS BOOK. This book is of advance nature. Books like Arya, Hauser or Corben are simpler.

The book starts with the basics, wraps up Newtonian Mechanics in the first chapter. The next five chapters deal in detail with Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations and their applications. They discuss some difficult topics like "Tangent Bundle" "Tangent Spaces" and "lie groups". "Noether's theorem" is also included which I have not seen in many Classical Mechanics books.There are many worked out examples which help the reader understand the subject.The explanations are quite lucid.There are plently of excercises to do but no answers to problems!