8.09 | Fall 2014 | Undergraduate

Classical Mechanics III

Course Description

This course covers Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, systems with constraints, rigid body dynamics, vibrations, central forces, Hamilton-Jacobi theory, action-angle variables, perturbation theory, and continuous systems. It provides an introduction to ideal and viscous fluid mechanics, including turbulence, as well …
This course covers Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, systems with constraints, rigid body dynamics, vibrations, central forces, Hamilton-Jacobi theory, action-angle variables, perturbation theory, and continuous systems. It provides an introduction to ideal and viscous fluid mechanics, including turbulence, as well as an introduction to nonlinear dynamics, including chaos.

Course Info

Learning Resource Types
Problem Sets
Lecture Notes
Photograph of a pendulum suspended from the ceiling over a circular base.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s installation of a pendulum re-creates Foucault’s seminal demonstration of Earth’s rotation. (Photo courtesy of MIT Lincoln Laboratory.)