Lectures On Nonlinear Mechanics And Chaos Theory

Albert W Stetz (Oregon State Univ, Usa)

$126.99

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd
17 June 2016

Non-linear science

Summary
Details

This elegant book presents a rigorous introduction to the theory of nonlinear mechanics and chaos. It turns out that many simple mechanical systems suffer from a peculiar malady. They are deterministic in the sense that their motion can be described with partial differential equations, but these equations have no proper solutions and the behavior they describe can be wildly unpredictable. This is implicit in Newtonian physics, and although it was analyzed in the pioneering work of Poincare in the 19th century, its full significance has only been realized since the advent of modern computing. This book follows this development in the context of classical mechanics as it is usually taught in most graduate programs in physics. It starts with the seminal work of Laplace, Hamilton, and Liouville in the early 19th century and shows how their formulation of mechanics inevitably leads to systems that cannot be 'solved' in the usual sense of the word. It then discusses perturbation theory which, rather than providing approximate solutions, fails catastrophically due to the problem of small denominators. It then goes on to describe chaotic motion using the tools of discrete maps and Poincare sections. This leads to the two great landmarks of chaos theory, the Poincare-Birkhoff theorem and the so-called KAM theorem, one of the signal results in modern mathematics. The book concludes with an appendix discussing the relevance of the KAM theorem to the ergodic hypothesis and the second law of thermodynamics.

Lectures on Nonlinear Mechanics and Chaos Theory is written in the easy conversational style of a great teacher. It features numerous computer-drawn figures illustrating the behavior of nonlinear systems. It also contains homework exercises and a selection of more detailed computational projects. The book will be valuable to students and faculty in physics, mathematics, and engineering.

See Press Release: Problems in mechanics open the door to the orderly world of chaos

By: Albert W Stetz (Oregon State Univ Usa)
Imprint: World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd
Country of Publication: Singapore
Dimensions: Height: 231mm, Width: 155mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 408g
ISBN: 9789813141353
ISBN 10: 9813141352
Pages: 140
Publication Date: 17 June 2016
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active