Description:

Intended for postgraduate students of mathematics, this compact textbook, written in a clear and readable style, is designed to help readers acquire a thorough understanding of the main themes in classical mechanics.

The text is organised into five chapters. After a comprehensive introduction to the terminologies of dynamical systems and generalised coordinates, Lagrange~s equations of motion for holonomic systems, conservative and non-holonomic systems are developed. The author then presents a detailed treatment of Euler-Lagrange equation, equations of motion of rigid bodies and Hamilton~s equations of motion, suitably reinforced with examples to enhance learning. Finally, canonical transformations and Hamilton~s equations of motion in Poisson~s bracket are discussed along with Hamilton-Jacobi theory and Hamilton-Jacobi equation for Hamilton~s principal function.

Numerous worked-out examples included throughout the text and end-of-chapter exercises will be of considerable help in compre-hending the application of the principles to physical problems.