Read section 7.5.1 of the textbook. Unfortunately, the section refers quite a number of times to concepts that we could not cover in the course. Try to just ignore these references, especially the meaning of "integrable" and "tori" - even if you do not know these terms you will get a good idea of what is happending in this system thanks to the figures. When you are done answer the questions on the web page. The deadline is 3:59am Thursday 6/5, which is during the night between Wednesday and Thursday.
Prof. Ralf Bundschuh
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Grader: Dongqing Zhang
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| Classes: | Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 8:30am-9:18am |
| Location: | Smith Lab 2186 |
| Web page: | http://cannoli.mps.ohio-state.edu/phy821 |
| First class: | Monday, March 31 |
| No class: | Thursday, Apr 10 |
| Midterm exam: | Thursday, May 1, 8:30am-10:18am, room 4079 Smith Lab |
| No class: | Monday, May 26 |
| Last class: | Thursday, June 5 |
| Final exam: | Monday, June 9, 7:30am-9:18am |
| Credit hours: | 4 |
| Prerequisites: | 664 (Theoretical Mechanics) or equivalent |
Here, problem sets and their solutions will be posted as the quarter goes along.
Here, you can find the lecture notes as the class progresses. Beware, these are scanned from my hand-written notes and thus rather large files.
This class will give an introduction into advanced methods of classical mechanics that allow treatment of more complex problems than the standard Newtonian formulation. We will try to develop the formalism as well as look into modern topics such as classical chaos. The subjects covered will be the following:
José and Saletan, A Classical Dynamics: A Contemporary Approach, ISBN 0-521-63636-1
If you do not like the textbook or if you are just interested in reading things from a different point of view, you may want to look at the following textbooks.
The grade for this class is determined by a weighted average of the weekly problem sets, the midterm exam and the final exam. There will be no curve grading and I hope that everybody will get an A. The final grades will be determined according to the following scheme:
| percentage | grade |
| 90%-100% | A |
| 80%-90% | A- |
| 70%-80% | B+ |
| 60%-70% | B |
| 50%-60% | B- |
| 40%-50% | C+ |
| 30%-40% | C |
| 20%-30% | C- |
| 10%-20% | D |
| 0%-10% | E |
Problem sets will be handed out every Monday starting on March 31. The problem sets are due the following Monday in class. Students who cannot attend class are requested to give their solutions to a fellow student or deposit them in my mailbox in the physics business office.
The solutions of the problem sets will be discussed during each Monday's class. However, there are some exceptions from this rule: the first problem set will be discussed on Wednesday, April 9, the sixth problem set will be discussed on Wednesday, May 13, and the eigth problem set that will be discussed on Tuesday, May 27. Every student will have to present the solution to one problem on the board during the term. The problems will be assigned to the students in advance and the students about to present a problem are required to meet with me prior to the problem session to prepare their presentation.
You are strongly encouraged to discuss about the problem sets (and any other aspect of the class) with your fellow students. Group solutions to problem sets by two people working together are accepted. However, the solutions have to be hand-written by both students, either alternating weekly or within one week's solutions. Typed solutions will not be accepted.
The midterm exam will take place on Thursday, May 1, 8:30am-10:18am in room 4079 Smith lab. The first half of this period is our regular class time; the second half is in addition to our regular class time. As a compensation there will be no class on Thursday, April 10. If you have another class after 9:18, you may instead take the midterm 7:30am-9:18am. Students which have any problem with the date of the exam are asked to contact me as soon as possible. It will contain several problems which will be related to the problem sets up to the one due on April 28 (set number 4) and to the lectures up to the class on April 30. There will be one problem asking for conceptual understanding and knowledge of basic definitions. It will be a closed book exam.
The final exam will take place on Monday, June 9, 7:30am-9:18am. Students which have any problem with the date of the exam are asked to contact me as soon as possible.
The exam will contain several problems which will have a close resemblance to the problem sets of the full quarter with a strong emphasis on the second half of the quarter. There will be one problem asking for conceptual understanding and knowledge of basic definitions. It will be a closed book exam.
From time to time reading assignments of sections of the textbook will be given. On days on which reading assignments are discussed in class you have to answer some questions about the reading on the web by midnight before the day of class. In order to get a passing grade you will have to have answered 75% of the reading assignment questionnaires. Your answers will not be graded; the only requirement is that you do take the questionnaires. However, since the answers to these questions will help focus the discussion during the class to those issues you had difficulties with during your reading, it is in your owm interest to answer these questions as honestly as possible.
Attendance during the lectures is not required. However, the problem sets will be closely related to the contents of the class and it is every students responsibility to keep up with announcements, etc., made in class if not present.
Students with any special needs are asked to inform me at their earliest convenience.