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Wave Physics

Oscillations - Solitons - Chaos

  • Textbook
  • © 2009

Overview

Authors:
  1. Stephen Nettel

    1. Department of Physics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, USA

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  • Introductory text covering all mathematical and physical aspects of classical wave phenomena
  • Provides solid basis, enables the reader to get better understanding of non-classical phenomena and current topics in nonlinear wave physics

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XIV
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  2. Mathematical Foundation for Wave Physics

    Pages 1-32

  3. Oscillations of Mechanical and Electrical Systems

    Pages 33-53

  4. Waves on Stretched Strings

    Pages 55-85

  5. Electromagnetic Waves

    Pages 87-127

  6. Light - Physical Optics, Refraction

    Pages 129-156

  7. Wave Mechanics

    Pages 157-215

  8. Nonlinear Waves on Water - Solitons

    Pages 217-247

  9. Nonlinear Phenomena - Chaos

    • Andrei V. Gaponov-Grekhov, Mikhail I. Rabinovich, Martin Gutzwiller
    Pages 249-276

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 277-289
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Keywords

About this book

This is a text for the third semester of undergraduate physics for students in accelerated programs, who typically are preparing for advanced degrees in science or engineering. The third semester is often the only opportunity for physics departments to present to students who are not physics majors a coherent background in the physics of waves, required later for confident handling of applied problems, especially applications based on quantum mechanics. Physics is a coherent subject. It is often found that the going gets easier as one goes deeper, learning the mathematical connections tying together the various phenomena. Even so, the steps that took us from classical wave physics to Heisenberg's "Physical Principles of Quantum Theory" were, as a matter of history, harder to take than later steps dealing with detailed applications. With these considerations in mind, the classical physics of os­ cillations and waves is developed here at a more advanced mathematical level than is customary in second year courses. This is done to explain the classical phenomena, but also to provide background for the introductory wave mechanics, leading to a logical integration of the latter subject into the presentation. Concurrently, detailed applications of quantum mechanics are beyond the mission of the text. The concluding chapters on nonlinear waves, solitons, and chaos broaden the previously established concepts of wave behavior, while introducing the reader to important topics in current wave physics.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"The book has qualities that one looks for in an undergraduate text: good organization, lucid text, well-thought-out sample problems, and problems to develop solid understanding of the subject." Applied Mechanics Reviews

"… A stimulating book for the undergraduate who is strong mathematically." Contemporary Physics

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Physics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, USA

    Stephen Nettel

About the author

From the reviews: 

"The book has qualities that one looks for in an undergraduate text: good organization, lucid text, well-thought-out sample problems, and problems to develop solid understanding of the subject." Applied Mechanics Reviews

"… A stimulating book for the undergraduate who is strong mathematically." Contemporary Physics

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Wave Physics

  • Book Subtitle: Oscillations - Solitons - Chaos

  • Authors: Stephen Nettel

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-87908-4

  • Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg

  • eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-540-87907-7Published: 11 December 2008

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-540-87908-4Published: 21 November 2008

  • Edition Number: 4

  • Number of Pages: XIV, 289

  • Number of Illustrations: 67 b/w illustrations

  • Additional Information: Originally published in the series: Advanced Texts in Physics

  • Topics: Acoustics, Complex Systems, Classical Mechanics, Statistical Physics and Dynamical Systems

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