FYS-4406 Analytical Mechanics, 5 cr
Additional information
Suitable for postgraduate studies.
Person responsible
Jouko Nieminen
Lessons
| Implementation | Period | Person responsible | Requirements |
| FYS-4406 2018-01 | 1 - 2 |
Jouko Nieminen |
The total mark is determined based on a final exam, practical work assignments, and the student's activity in exercise classes and group projects: 1) Lectures. There will be only 7 double lectures. They are intended to give an introduction to the concepts and methods used in analytical mechanics. First period, Monday 10-12 at Sg312. Final exam 40% of the points to determine the grade. 2) Assignment sessions. There are 13 assignment sessions, for practicing problem solving techniques, going through central examples of Lagrange and Hamilton mechanics, as well as nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory. In addition, there will be numerical assignments. Assignments 50% 3) As the assignments may be sometimes like small projects, the 13 weekly exercises are meant for shorter problems and applications of theory. Exercises 10% |
Learning Outcomes
After passing the course, the student is acquainted with advanced formulations and methods of classical mechanics and can construct problems of physics in the framework of variational calculus. In addition to analytic skills, the student has the basic skills in numerical simulation of classical mechanics systems. Furthermore, the student has introductory skills to analyzing and solving nonlinear problems in physics.
Content
| Content | Core content | Complementary knowledge | Specialist knowledge |
| 1. | Equations of motion and conservation laws. The two complementary approaches in mechanics: direct solution of time dependencies and first integrals from conserving quantities. | ||
| 2. | Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods in physics and variational approaches. | Formulation and solution of field equations using variational methods. Correspondencies between classical and quantum mechanics. | |
| 3. | Nonlinearity and chaos. Attractors, limit cycles, Hopf Bifurcations. | ||
| 4. | Numerical solutions of equations of motion derived using Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods. Molecular dynamics method. | Stability considerations. Numerical solution of chaotic systems and Poincare maps. |
Instructions for students on how to achieve the learning outcomes
The total mark is determined based on a final exam, practical work assignments, and the student's activity in exercise classes.
Assessment scale:
Numerical evaluation scale (0-5)
Study material
| Type | Name | Author | ISBN | URL | Additional information | Examination material |
| Book | Classical Mechanics | T.W.B. Kibble and F.H. Berkshire | Yes |
Correspondence of content
There is no equivalence with any other courses