Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems by Jerry B. Marion, Stephen T. Thornton ISBN: 0-03-097302-3 Publisher: Brooks Cole Pub. Date: 17 January, 1995 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $129.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.65 (37 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: No fuss over mathematical formalism here!
Comment: 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.
Rating: 5
Summary: Solid Understandable Book in Mechanics
Comment: 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.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Road to Higher Realms
Comment: 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.
 |
Title: Introduction to Electrodynamics (3rd Edition) by David J. Griffiths ISBN: 013805326X Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub. Date: 30 December, 1998 List Price(USD): $108.00 |
 |
Title: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by David J. Griffiths ISBN: 0131244051 Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub. Date: 02 August, 1994 List Price(USD): $108.00 |
 |
Title: Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems/Students Solution Manual by Jerry B. Marion ISBN: 003097304X Publisher: International Thomson Publishing Pub. Date: November, 1997 List Price(USD): $36.95 |
 |
Title: Classical Mechanics (3rd Edition) by Herbert Goldstein, Charles P. Poole, John L. Safko ISBN: 0201657023 Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub. Date: 15 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $110.00 |
 |
Title: Thermal Physics (2nd Edition) by Charles Kittel, Herbert Kroemer ISBN: 0716710889 Publisher: W H Freeman & Co. Pub. Date: March, 1980 List Price(USD): $81.60 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
