Overview
- Provides the analytical mechanics of Lagrange and Hamilton, the basic tools of any physicist
- Includes a set of exercises, problems, and solutions
- Explains variational principles and charts their use throughout modern physics
Access this book
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
About this book
This revised and enhanced new edition of a well-established textbook provides a balanced overview of various areas of theoretical physics based on the use of variational principles. As well as field theory, the book deals with motion in curved spaces, the cradle of general relativity, and gravitational optics. New chapters on the relation of classical mechanics and geometrical optics as well as gravitational waves, which are considered as a true confirmation of general relativity, have been included. Each chapter has been carefully revised and enlarged. Finally, the text describes Feynman's formulation of quantum mechanics by path integrals, which gives the link between quantum and classical mechanics.
The book provides a set of exercises, problems, and solutions.
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
Table of contents (9 chapters)
-
Front Matter
-
Back Matter
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Jean-Louis Basdevant, graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure (1958-1963), Ph.D. at Strasbourg University (1967), is Assistant Researcher and Director of Research at the CNRS (1963-2007), CERN (1970-1972), Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique (1969-2004), and Nominated Honorary Professor (2004).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Variational Principles in Physics
Authors: Jean-Louis Basdevant
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21692-3
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-21691-6Published: 08 February 2023
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-21694-7Published: 08 February 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-21692-3Published: 07 February 2023
Edition Number: 2
Number of Pages: XIII, 242
Number of Illustrations: 36 b/w illustrations, 10 illustrations in colour
Additional Information: Original French edition published by de Boeck Superieur S.A., Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 2022
Topics: Mathematical Methods in Physics, Classical Mechanics, Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control; Optimization, Optimization, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics