CLASSICAL MECHANICS Point Particles and Relativity
Springer New York Berlin Heidelberg Hong Kong London Milan Paris Tokyo
Walter Greiner
CLASSICAL MECHANICS Point Particles and Relativity Foreword by D. Allan Bromley With 317 Figures
Springer
Walter Greiner Institut f¨ur Theoretische Physik Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universit¨at Robert Mayer Strasse 10 Postfach 11 19 32 D-60054 Frankfurt am Main Germany
[email protected]
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Greiner, Walter, 1935Classical mechanics : point particles and relativity / Walter Greiner. p. cm.-- (Classical theoretical physics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-387-95586-0 (softcover : alk. paper) 1. Mechanics--Problems, exercises, etc. 2. Relativity (Physics)--Problems, exercises, etc. I. Title II. Series. QC125.2 .G74 2003 531--dc21 ISBN 0-387-95586-0
2002030570 Printed on acid-free paper.
Translated from the German Mechanik: Teil 2, by Walter Greiner, published by Verlag Harri Deutsch, Thun, c 1989. Frankfurt am Main, Germany, c 2004 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed in the United States of America. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
SPIN 10892857
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Foreword
More than a generation of German-speaking students around the world have worked their way to an understanding and appreciation of the power and beauty of modern theoretical physics—with mathematics, the most fundamental of sciences—using Walter Greiner’s textbooks as their guide. The idea of developing a coherent, complete presentation of an entire field of science in a series of closely related textbooks is not a new one. Many older physicians remember with real pleasure their sense of adventure and discovery as they worked their ways through the classic series by Sommerfeld, by Planck, and by Landau and Lifshitz. From the students’ viewpoint, there are a great many obvious advantages to be gained through the use of consistent notation, logical ordering of topics, and coherence of presentation; beyond this, the complete coverage of the science provides a unique opportunity for the author to convey his personal enthusiasm and love for his subject. These volumes on classical physics, finally available in English, complement Greiner’s texts on quantum physics, most of which have been avail