The first volume in a three-part series, Elements of Mechanics provides a rigorous calculus-based introduction to classical physics. It considers diverse phenomena in a systematic manner and emphasises the development of consistent and coherent models guided by symmetry considerations and the application of general principles. Modern developments colour the presentation and are alluded to when most relevant, but the focus remains firmly on the classical formulations and model descriptions of particular physical systems.

The specific topics covered in Elements of Mechanics include:

• Kinematics in one and more dimensions in Cartesian and polar coordinates
• Dynamics, Galilean Relativity and Newton's Laws of Motion
• Energetics, work-energy theorems, conservative forces, and potential energy
• Impulse and momentum, systems of particles and rigid bodies
• Rigid body rotational kinematics, dynamics, and energetics
• Statics
• Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

The book prepares undergraduate students majoring in the natural sciences and engineering for intermediate and advanced classes in their disciplines which rely upon this foundational material. It also supplies a comprehensive review in preparation for graduate or professional exams. Therefore, the series is structured in such manner that the second and third books, Properties of Materials and Electricity and Magnetism, follow upon the first, but may be read independently of each other. Written in a conversational and accessible style, the material is presented in standard, canonical sequence. Worked examples and collections of problems serve to illustrate and illuminate subject material in each volume.

About the Author

P.F. Kelly is an associate professor of physics at Ave Maria University in Florida. He previously held a faculty position at North Dakota State University and he undertook post-doctoral studies at the Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at the Winnipeg Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Winnipeg. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Toronto. His areas of interest include theoretical, particle, gravitational, mathematical, and computational physics.

Reviews

"This textbook is unique in many respects. It gives the reader a sense of being part of a lively and personal conversation about physics, engaging your attention from the first page. Advanced mathematical concepts are introduced as a prelude to further study while still maintaining the appropriate level for a first-year calculus-based course. But the most innovative feature of this text is the emphasis on thinking and reasoning about physics starting from basic principles. As a teacher, I often have the goal of developing critical analysis skills in my students; this textbook shows the way."
-Dr. Tom Steele, University of Saskatchewan

"In this delightfully fresh take on the well-worn subject of classical Newtonian mechanics, Patrick Kelly adopts the informal approach of a classroom teacher, using a wealth of thoroughly worked examples to illustrate and develop the concepts introduced at each step of the journey on which his readers are taken. The journey actually covers a lot of ground. Starting from basic kinematical notions, such as average velocity, we are eventually led to appreciate ideas (for example, the fact that orbits under an inverse-square law of force are conic sections) that are quite sophisticated at this introductory level.
Students faced with learning, more or less simultaneously, both basic physics and essential mathematical tools, such as calculus, will appreciate the deftness with which Kelly uses each set of ideas to illuminate the other. Readers will quickly warm to his engaging, and distinctively personal style, with its frequent flashes of humour, and will value the depth of understanding afforded both by the many sidelights he offers and by the alternative treatments he gives for many of the examples from complementary points of view. Those who work systematically through the text, and at least a selection of the 428 problems that supplement it, will gain not only the ability to tackle standard problems with confidence but also the sense that this territory is now home turf."
-Ian D. Lawrie, UnifiedGrandTours.org, and author of A Unified Grand Tour of Theoretical Physics, Third Edition

Book Information
ISBN 9781482206548
Author P.F. Kelly
Format Hardback
Page Count 444
Imprint CRC Press Inc
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 975g