Introduction to Mechanics and Symmetry: A Basic Exposition of Classical Mechanical Systems (Texts in Applied Mathematics)

Symmetry has always played an important role in mechanics, from fundamental formulations of basic principles to concrete applications. The theme of the book is to emphasize the role of symmetry in various aspects of mechanics. In recent times, this feature has accelerated because of new applications of symmetry techniques for studying integrable and chaotic systems, stability and bifurcation, as well as for obtaining new insight into specific rigid, fluid, plasma and elastic systems. Mechanics and Symmetry lays the basic foundation for these topics. It also covers reduction theory and includes numerous specific applications, making it beneficial to physicists and engineers. Unlike the competition, this text has specific examples and applications showing how the theory works, and up-to-date techniques, all of which makes it accessible to a wide variety of readers, especially senior undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics, physics and engineering.