Modern Classical Mechanics

In this modern and distinctive textbook, Helliwell and Sahakian present classical mechanics as a thriving and contemporary field with strong connections to cutting-edge research topics in physics. Each part of the book concludes with a capstone chapter describing various key topics in quantum mechanics, general relativity, and other areas of modern physics, clearly demonstrating how they relate to advanced classical mechanics, and enabling students to appreciate the central importance of classical mechanics within contemporary fields of research. Numerous and detailed examples are interleaved with theoretical content, illustrating abstract concepts more concretely. Extensive problem sets at the end of each chapter further reinforce students' understanding of key concepts, and provide opportunities for assessment or self-testing. A detailed online solutions manual and lecture slides accompany the text for instructors. Often a flexible approach is required when teaching advanced classical mechanics, and, to facilitate this, the authors have outlined several paths instructors and students can follow through the book, depending on background knowledge and the length of their course.

• Capstone chapters at the end of each part relate advanced classical mechanics to contemporary topics in modern physics, encouraging students to consider the relevance of mechanics in their own future research careers
• Numerous homework problems and detailed examples are interspersed throughout the text, as students often learn theoretical concepts best through practical application
• Fully worked solutions to all problems in the text and lecture slides to be used with the book, are included in an online instructors' manual