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Introduction to Classical Mechanics: With Problems and Solutions
This textbook covers all the standard introductory topics in classical mechanics, including Newton's laws, oscillations, energy, momentum, angular momentum, planetary motion, and special relativity. It also explores more advanced topics, such as normal modes, the Lagrangian method, gyroscopic motion, fictitious forces, 4-vectors, and general relativity. It contains more than 250 problems with detailed solutions so students can easily check their understanding of the topic. There are also over 350 unworked exercises which are ideal for homework assignments. Password protected solutions are available to instructors at www. cambridge. org/ 9780521876223. The vast number of problems alone makes it an ideal supplementary text for all levels of undergraduate physics courses in classical mechanics. Remarks are scattered throughout the text, discussing issues that are often glossed over in other textbooks, and it is thoroughly illustrated with more than 600 figures to help demonstrate key concepts.
734 pages, Hardcover
First published February 4, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 22, 2018
I can't help but get the feeling that most bad reviews here are from people who are frustrated with the difficulty of the problems in this book.
I was initially shocked by the amount of insights contained in every section! Throughout this book, the author presents various helpful examples with proper commentary. He points out the subtle points and he always shares his -at many instances, unique- insights. He is very verbose but everything he mentions is great and very beneficial for the reader!
After Dr. Morin has provided the reader with the proper background to solve the exercises (without ever rushing it), he proceeds to solved exercises. There are lots of them in each chapter (about 20-30 each chapter). After this, the author provides the reader with a lot of unsolved exercises for him to solve alone.
So, we now come back to the first sentence of this review. Many complain that the problems are diabolically difficult. Well, after so many worked out examples, I think that having difficult problems (with solutions of course) is a natural extension. The reader starts solving easy exercises, and they gradually get more difficult. Moreover, the problems are themselves very interesting and quite a few of them require creative thinking, which is amazing!
Furthermore, for the reviewers who found that the exercises were too difficult, it is not expected by every reader to be able to solve the more difficult exercises. This is a book for everyone: from dumb people to really smart; it's just that the smarter you are, the more exercises you can solve, which is only natural. Mediocre students can skip the various insights and just go over the solved problems and refer to the solutions when they can't solve them. Anybody at a higher level than them can appreciate the insights, try to solve the solved problems and then proceed to the unsolved ones. Of course, as I said, you can't expect to solve everything because some exercises are for the really smart reader. But, it's safe to say that anyone who sticks with this book, no matter what his/her level is, is going to learn a lot about the concepts described here and learn how to solve much more difficult exercises than they thought they would be able to solve. Not being able to solve all of them is only natural for a book that does not assume that its reader is dumb.
For me, insightful books like this should be in every physicist's bookshelf.
I was initially shocked by the amount of insights contained in every section! Throughout this book, the author presents various helpful examples with proper commentary. He points out the subtle points and he always shares his -at many instances, unique- insights. He is very verbose but everything he mentions is great and very beneficial for the reader!
After Dr. Morin has provided the reader with the proper background to solve the exercises (without ever rushing it), he proceeds to solved exercises. There are lots of them in each chapter (about 20-30 each chapter). After this, the author provides the reader with a lot of unsolved exercises for him to solve alone.
So, we now come back to the first sentence of this review. Many complain that the problems are diabolically difficult. Well, after so many worked out examples, I think that having difficult problems (with solutions of course) is a natural extension. The reader starts solving easy exercises, and they gradually get more difficult. Moreover, the problems are themselves very interesting and quite a few of them require creative thinking, which is amazing!
Furthermore, for the reviewers who found that the exercises were too difficult, it is not expected by every reader to be able to solve the more difficult exercises. This is a book for everyone: from dumb people to really smart; it's just that the smarter you are, the more exercises you can solve, which is only natural. Mediocre students can skip the various insights and just go over the solved problems and refer to the solutions when they can't solve them. Anybody at a higher level than them can appreciate the insights, try to solve the solved problems and then proceed to the unsolved ones. Of course, as I said, you can't expect to solve everything because some exercises are for the really smart reader. But, it's safe to say that anyone who sticks with this book, no matter what his/her level is, is going to learn a lot about the concepts described here and learn how to solve much more difficult exercises than they thought they would be able to solve. Not being able to solve all of them is only natural for a book that does not assume that its reader is dumb.
For me, insightful books like this should be in every physicist's bookshelf.
June 10, 2019
Perhaps one of the best books to begin a wonderful journey in theoretical physics. This book has got it all. Very intuitive introductions and sufficient mathematical rigor for a freshman studying physics.
It is genuinely heart warming to see a Classical Mechanics book intended for freshmen contain an Introduction to Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mechanics as well as "both" Special and General Theory of Relativity.
A popular alternative to this one is often Taylor's Classical Mechanics, but this book beats it to the punch with really brain teasing problems.
Absolutely fantastic!
It is genuinely heart warming to see a Classical Mechanics book intended for freshmen contain an Introduction to Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mechanics as well as "both" Special and General Theory of Relativity.
A popular alternative to this one is often Taylor's Classical Mechanics, but this book beats it to the punch with really brain teasing problems.
Absolutely fantastic!
January 21, 2013
A good book that deserves 4/5 stars. But I don't like the chapter on "The Lagrangian Method", its not clear enough. I rather like the book of Taylor.
December 14, 2020
-half of the time I feel like I am reading a math textbook. it is so math heavy. I self studied all these calculus stuff before I learned it in calc class
-THE QUESTIONS ARE SO HARD. my physics professor said he spent 3 days solving a three star problem from this textbook (problems range from 0 to 4 stars)
-so many "remarks," reminds me of Jay Kristoff's Nevernight
-pretty informative
-interesting limericks about physics, but I don't usually read them:
"observe that for muons created
the dilation of time is related
to einstein's insistence
of shrunken-down distance
in the frame where decays aren't belated."
note to myself:
-we skipped Lagrangian method and general relativity
-THE QUESTIONS ARE SO HARD. my physics professor said he spent 3 days solving a three star problem from this textbook (problems range from 0 to 4 stars)
-so many "remarks," reminds me of Jay Kristoff's Nevernight
-pretty informative
-interesting limericks about physics, but I don't usually read them:
"observe that for muons created
the dilation of time is related
to einstein's insistence
of shrunken-down distance
in the frame where decays aren't belated."
note to myself:
-we skipped Lagrangian method and general relativity
October 23, 2021
I searched out and bought this book after I saw a pdf of his chapter 6 on the Lagrangian method. What he had to say was a lot clearer than what I experienced as an undergraduate many many years ago in theoretical mechanics. I'm planning on applying for a graduate program after having my mind get lazy for longer then many of you have been around :) so I'm going to be doing some big reviewing. This text looks exactly right especially in the solved problems area.
Update: Oct 2021 - Currently taking a Classical Mechanics course that uses Taylor's great book and Morin's is a terrific complement to it.
Update: Oct 2021 - Currently taking a Classical Mechanics course that uses Taylor's great book and Morin's is a terrific complement to it.
October 3, 2014
If you love tricky problems then this book is for you!
It haven't a detailed explanation of the theory because it assumes that you aren't new to the subject. But is clear, very very clear.
I love Morin prose and his way to explain things, especially the misconseptions that one could have.
Enjoy,
It haven't a detailed explanation of the theory because it assumes that you aren't new to the subject. But is clear, very very clear.
I love Morin prose and his way to explain things, especially the misconseptions that one could have.
Enjoy,
June 8, 2021
Great read. David Morin provides the fundamentals for physics in this book with a classical approach that makes you want to continue reading and learning more.
There is also an abundance of practice questions.
There is also an abundance of practice questions.
October 9, 2020
amazing limericks, friendly exposition, devious problems
March 27, 2022
It's got some great problems, and the presentations though succint contain many nuggets of wisdom. I couldn't give it five stars because its level seems a bit off for most purposes. This book is used successfully in Phys 15a for freshmen at Harvard, where chapters on the Lagrangian formalism and general relativity are not out of place. However, for those of us who teach mortals, the material is too advanced for stand-alone use in our introductory physics class, but there is not enough advanced material to use the book in a second-year course. I do love those problems though; I will be incorporating many of them into my AP Physics C and PHY 2048 teaching.
April 17, 2023
As my first physics textbook back in highschool, this book holds a special place in my heart. It’s very difficult, but satisfying as hell once it clicks. Rereading it as a grad student, I’m surprised at how well it holds up
May 3, 2022
I like hard problems :).
May 18, 2022
Plenty of hair-raising difficult problems. Explanations, however, are deficient in quality and those poems are just annoying and stupid and truly extraneous.
November 29, 2023
i enjoyed feeling david morin mock me through his limericks as i struggled to understand the content
June 24, 2018
This is the most complete book on classical mechanics I've ever seen. Morin carefully chose all the exercises. It even has a chapter which introduces the lagrrangian method.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews