Introduction To Modern Dynamics by David D. Nolte, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters

The best parts of physics are the last topics that our students ever see. These are the exciting new frontiers of nonlinear and complex systems that are at the forefront of university research and are the basis of many high-tech businesses. Topics such as traffic on the World Wide Web, thespread of epidemics through globally-mobile populations, or how the synchronization of global economies are governed by universal principles just as profound as Newton's laws. Nonetheless, the conventional university physics curriculum reserves most of these topics for graduate study because of theassumed need for advanced mathematics. However, by using only linear algebra and calculus, combined with exploratory computer simulations, all of these topics become accessible to advanced undergraduate students. The structure of this book combines the three main topics of modern dynamics - chaos theory, dynamics on complex networks, and general relativity - into a coherent framework. By taking a geometric view of physics, concentrating on the time evolution of physical systems as trajectories throughabstract spaces, these topics share a common and simple mathematical language through which any student can gain a unified physical intuition. Given the growing importance of complex dynamical systems in many areas of science and technology, this text provides students with an up-to-date foundationfor their future careers. This second edition has an updated introductory chapter and has added key topics to help students prepare for their GRE physics subject exam. It also has expanded chapters on Hamiltonian dynamics, Hamiltonian chaos, and Econophysics, while increasing the number of homework problems at the end ofeach chapter. The second edition is designed to fulfill the textbook needs of any advanced undergraduate course in mechanics. | Introduction To Modern Dynamics by David D. Nolte, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters