Physics 210 -- Classical Particle Mechanics

Physics 210 is a one-quarter graduate-level course in Continuum Mechanics, given by Michael Peskin in the Fall 2010 term at Stanford University.

This is a basic course that covers the essential of particle mechanics: Lagrangian dynamics, rotations and rigid body motion, Hamiltonian dynamics, perturbation theory, and nonlinear dynamics and the transition to chaos. Useful textbooks on this material are listed at the bottom of this page.

General Course Information for Physics 210

Syllabus and lecture notes for Physics 210:

Introduction
Sept. 21: Newtonian mechanics
Sept. 23: Central forces
Sept. 28: Variational Principles
Sept. 30: Lagrangian mechanics
Oct. 5: Noether's theorem
Oct. 7: Motion in a rotating coordinate system
Oct. 12: Rotation group
Oct. 14: Rigid body motion
Oct. 19: Rigid body motion, continued.
Oct. 21: Small oscillations and stability
Oct. 26: Perturbations of systems in periodic motion
Oct. 28: Hamiltonian mechanics
Nov. 2: Canonical transformations
Nov. 4: Hamilton-Jacobi theory
Nov. 9: Perturbation theory in Hamiltonian mechanics
Nov. 11: Regular and chaotic motion
Nov. 16: Period-doubling transition to chaos
Nov. 18: Transition to chaos in Hamiltonian systems
Nov. 30: Lagrangian mechanics of fields
Dec. 2: Symmetries and currents in field theory

Problem sets for Physics 210:

Problem Set 1 (due Sept. 28); solutions.
Problem Set 2 (due Oct. 7); solutions.
Problem Set 3 (due Oct. 14); solutions.
Problem Set 4 (due Oct. 21); solutions.
Problem Set 5 (due Oct. 28); solutions.
Problem Set 6 (due Nov. 4); solutions.
Problem Set 7 (due Nov. 11); solutions.
Problem Set 8 (due Nov. 18); solutions.
Problem Set 9 (due Dec. 2); solutions.

Final exam for Physics 210:

Final Exam; solutions.

Previous final exams for Physics 210:

Final Exam, Fall 97.