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    Classical MechanicsLeonard Susskind

    Classical Mechanics

    Leonard Susskind, George Hrabovsky · 2013

    A string theorist and a citizen scientist instruct lay readers on elementary principles of physics and associated math that amateur enthusiasts should know in order to study more advanced topics, in a reference that covers such topics as classical mechanics, electromagnetic fields and chaos theory. "A first course in physics and associated math for the ardent amateur... beginning with classical mechanics"--Dust jacket flap.

    Physics & CosmologyPopular ScienceMathematics
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    4recommend
    5mentions
    5people
    2009–2025years
    80% recommend20% neutral

    Mentions per year

    200920112013201520172019202120232025

    What Hacker News says

    1. xorvoidDec 2025
      Indeed. I'd suggest Susskind's Theoretical Minimum: Classical Mechanics if someone wants an introduction. He doesn't explicitly prove Noether but he demonstrates the connection between symmetry and conservation laws building the intuition to properly appreciate Noether.

      I've also written a series on Abstract Algebra for computer programmers if you're serious about learning it:

      https://xorvoid.com/galois_fields_for_great_good_00.html

      thread
    2. mbivertAug 2023
      Lagrangian mechanics[0] is a compact way to describe the dynamics of a physical system using a single object/equation. You can think of it a a generic description of a system, from which you can extract the equations of motions of the particles forming that system: which is generally an important part of what physicists wants to achieve, i.e. predicting the motion of objects.

      I'm not qualified to provide you with a more precise, still concise and (hopefully) still accurate description. However, if you want to dig further, the most beginner friendly introduction that I've stumbled upon is Susskind's The Theoretical Minimum - Classical Mechanics [1](there's a book & a series of videos).

      [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrangian_mechanics

      [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theoretical_Minimum

      thread
    3. aeoostDec 2017
      Awesome! By the way, there are also books that accompany the first three courses:

      https://www.amazon.com/Classical-Mechanics-Theoretical-GEORG...

      https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Mechanics-Theoretical-Leonard...

      https://www.amazon.com/Special-Relativity-Classical-Field-Th...

      If you get the first one, make sure to get the one titled 'Classical Mechanics' and not just 'The Theoretical Minimum' as the former is a more recent printing with many corrections.

      thread
    4. mnemonicslothFeb 2009
      Eh. SICM is a good source for exercises, and the numerical tools it offers are pretty good (has anyone had success getting MIT scheme to behave on OS X?), but it's not the best way to learn modern physics. I recommend Lenny Susskind's awesome lecture series, "Modern Physics, the Theoretical Minimum," at Stanford-On-Youtube. In viewing order:

      Classical Mechanics http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=189C0DCE90CB6D81

      Quantum Mechanics http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=84C10A9CB1D13841

      Special Relativity: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CCD6C043FEC59772

      General Relativity (currently in updated once weekly): http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6C8BDEEBA6BDC78D

      thread
    5. siddbootsFeb 2018
      Leonard Susskind's Classical Mechanics course: http://theoreticalminimum.com/courses/classical-mechanics/20...
      thread

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