Dr. W. Roberts Room KEN605 (850) 644-2223 wroberts @ fsu.edu
Classroom
HCB310
Time
10:10 - 11:00AM M W F
Office Hours
11:15AM - 1:15PM M W
Tutorial Sess.
5:00 - 6:30 PM Tuesday
Textbooks
Other references may be found on page 628 of the text by Thornton and Marion, and on page 595 of the text by Symon.
S. T Thornton and J. B. Marion, Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems, Fifth Edition , Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning, California, 2004.
K. R. Symon, Mechanics. Some material for the course, as well as some of the homework problems, will be taken from the text by Symon.
E. Butkov, Mathematical Physics.
G. Arfken, Mathematical Methods For Physicists.
Grades
Homework
30%
2 Midterms
30% each Fri, 2/6/2009 Fri, 3/20/2009 Closed book No calculators 1 Cheat sheet No make-ups
Final Exam
40% Mon, 4/27/2009 5:30 - 7:30PM Room HCB310 Closed book No calculators 1 Cheat sheet No make-ups
Intermediate Mechanics is aimed mainly at physics majors, for whom this course is the first ‘serious’ mechanics course. As such, the material covered in this course will be assumed knowledge for many of your future physics courses, some of which will develop the ideas that you have met here further. Students are therefore expected to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the concepts that they encounter in this course.
In this course, we will be attempting to analyze mechanical systems (as opposed to memorising them), beginning with systems consisting of a single particle. To do this, we will use certain tools. Among these tools, several branches of mathematics, including arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus, are indispensable. You are therefore expected to be comfortable with each of these areas in order to use them to solve physics problems.
Mechanics - the study of the motion of material bodies
Kinematics - the description of possible motion of material bodies (e.g. a in terms of v and x)
Dynamics - the study of the laws of motion which determine which of the potential motions will actually take place in any given case. Forces are introduced and described as a sum total.
Statics - study of (system of) forces, described by components, that act on body at rest
Electrostatics - Electric and magnetic forces exerted by electric charges and currents upon another
Inertia Decribes total force only, not its components, which is inconvenient in Statics where all
Rate of Change of Momentum What Newton discovered was not that F = ma, but that F is most easily described this way
Action-Reaction Fails to hold for electromagnetic forces when the interacting bodies are far apart, rapidly accelerated, or propagated from another body with finite velocity
Galilean transformation: Classical physics transform between the coordinates of two reference frames which differ only by constant relative motion within the constructs of Newtonian physics
Examples of Elementary Physics Problems and Equations Associated with them
Particle in a Straight Line
Kinematics example
Projectile Motion
Dynamics example
Pulley
Dynamics example
Block on an Incline
Statics example, introduces friction, which is nonconservative and inelastic
Centripetal Motion
Moon's Orbit about Earth
Gravitation example
The fact that g is proportional to m, instead of something else like q, is totally a coincidence. This is a big mystery in physics, thats why Gravitation has its own little subdivision in physics and other forces don't