University of Maryland Department of Physics

PHYS 410 - Classical Mechanics

Prof. Hall - Spring 2019

(Credit: Lisandro A Raviola et al, 2017 Eur. J. Phys. 38 015005)

• Course Info:
• Syllabus
• Schedule and suggested reading.
• Grades are posted on elms.
• "Laptops are great. But not during a lecture or meeting." Susan Dynarski, New York Times, November 22, 2017.
  
• Exams:
• The final exam will be held in our usual classroom on Thursday May 16th from 8 am to 10 am.
• The exam will be comprehensive, covering material from the entire semester.
  
• You will be provided with this formula sheet.
  
• Videos:
• "William Rowan Hamilton", music video by A Capella Science.
  
• Torque-free rotations: Tennis Racket theorem ("Dzhanibekov effect" in Russia)
• with a ping pong paddle
• with a valve and strut (in Russian)
• with books and boxes (in Russian)
• Precession of a torque-free symmetric top
• A rotating cone. Red vector is angular momentum, green is body axis, purple is omega.
  
• Precession of a rotating satellite. Yellow is angular momentum, green is body axis, cyan is omega.
• A rotating box. Purple is angular momentum, yellow is body axis, blue is omega.
• Gyroscopes, with gravitational torque.
• Motorized gyroscope, with precession and nutation.
• Tippe Top.
• Coriolis Force
• Centrifugal Force
• Foucault Pendulum
  

• Wikipedia:
• Brachistochrone.
• Cycloid.
  
• Homework:
• Homework #1, and solutions.
  
• Homework #2, and solutions.
• Homework #3, and solutions.
• Homework #4, and solutions.
• Homework #5, and solutions.
  
• Homework #6, and solutions.
• Homework #7, and solutions.
  
• Homework #8, and solutions.
• Homework #9, and solutions.
• Homework #10, and solutions.
• Homework #11, and solutions.
  
• Lecture Notes:
  
• Week 1: Differential equations, Newton's laws, drag forces.
• Week 2: Momentum and energy.
• Week 3: Oscillations.
• Week 4: Exam 1 review.
• Week 5: Lagrangian Mechanics.
• Week 6: Hamilton's principle and the calculus of variations.
• Week 7: Hamiltonian mechanics and Rutherford scattering.
• Week 9: Central force motion.
• Week 10: Rotational kinematics and the inertia tensor.
• Week 11: Rotational dynamics, Euler's equations, gyroscope.
• Week 12: Non-inertial reference frames.
• Weeks 13 & 14: Special relativity.