Theoretical Physics Compact I

Wolfgang Cassing

Theoretical Physics
Compact I
Classical Mechanics
Wolfgang Cassing
University of Giessen
Gießen, Hessen, Germany

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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Achim Weiguny
Preface

This book provides a textbook on classical mechanics and is in particular suited

for bachelor students in their first year of studies in theoretical physics. The math-
ematical requirements include a knowledge of differentiation and integration and
mathematical proofs are kept as simple as possible, however, still kept stringent.
Elements of linear algebra are explained in detail in the text if needed in the context
of coordinate transformations, rotations, Galilei or Lorentz transformations.
After defining the physical quantities of interest in the kinematics of mass
points in inertial systems, the transformations between different inertial systems
are derived. After these preparatory chapters, the Newtonian dynamics is formu-
lated and examples for the solution of the equations of motion are presented.
Furthermore, the tight connection between Galilei invariance and the conservation
laws of momentum and angular momentum are pointed out. In case of conserva-
tive forces a potential energy can be formulated that—together with the kinetic
energy of mass points—gives the energy of the system. The conservation of the
total energy for a closed system follows in a straight forward manner. Applica-
tions of Newtonian mechanics for 1/r 2 -forces lead to Kepler’s laws for the motion
of planets and a gravitational field for a static mass distribution can be defined.
Another important application is the harmonic oscillator being damped or driven
by an external periodic force.
Since Maxwell’s equations for electrodynamics are not Galilei invariant a new
transformation law is derived (Lorentz transformation), which keeps the velocity of
light c invariant in all inertial systems moving with relative velocity υ < c. Some
consequences are pointed out such as Lorentz contraction, time dilation, simul-
taneity, or causality of events. Mathematical aspects of Lorentz transformations
are pointed out and the relativistic dynamics for mass points are derived accord-
ingly. It is, furthermore, shown that the relativistic equations of motion merge with
Newtonian dynamics for small velocities υ c.
The formal structure of mechanics is addressed in the second part of this
book that aims at an algebraic formulation of the dynamics, which is indepen-
dent on the particular choice of coordinates of an observer. After introducing
generalized coordinates, that account for constraints on the system of particles
and avoid the introduction of coercive forces, we introduce the Lagrange function

vii
viii Preface

and a variational principle to derive the Lagrange equations of motion. A Legendre

transformation of the Lagrange function to the Hamilton function will lead to a
description of the dynamics in phase-space variables, i.e. generalized coordinates
and momenta. The Lagrange equations of motion turn to Hamilton’s equations of
motion, which can be expressed by Poisson brackets for the time evolution of an
observable. The latter are shown to be invariant with respect to point transfor-
mations and extended canonical transformations of the phase-space variables such
that a formal formulation of the classical mechanics is achieved that paves the way
for the formulation of quantum mechanics, continuum mechanics, and statistical
mechanics.
In the appendices the relativistic Lagrange and Hamilton functions for char-
acteristic problems are given as well as numerical algorithms for differentiation
and integration. Furthermore, algorithms of different order for the solution of
differential equations are presented.

Gießen, Germany Wolfgang Cassing

October 2024

Acknowledgements This book results from the collaboration with many students
and collaborators throughout about 35 years of common teaching and research. It
follows the drafts of my teacher Prof. Dr. Achim Weiguny to whom this volume is
dedicated. Special thanks go to my daughter Marie for preparing some of the figures
and helpful comments on notations and presentations.
About This Book

This book provides a textbook on classical mechanics and is in particular suited

for bachelor students in their first year of studies in theoretical physics. The
mathematical requirements include a knowledge of differentiation and integration;
mathematical proofs are kept as simple as possible, however, still kept stringent.
The Newtonian dynamics are developed for systems of point masses and solved
for a couple of characteristic examples. The extension to relativistic dynamics is
outlined and the Lorentz transformation is derived in a simple case. Some conse-
quences are pointed out such as Lorentz contraction, time dilation, simultaneity or
causality of events.
The formal structure of mechanics is addressed in the second part of this book
that aims at an algebraic formulation of the dynamics. The Lagrange and Hamilton
functions are introduced and a variational principle is formulated, that leads to
the Lagrange or Hamilton equations of motion. The latter are rewritten in terms
of Poisson brackets in phase-space variables such that a formal formulation of
the classical mechanics is achieved that paves the way for quantum mechanics,
continuum mechanics and statistical mechanics.
The author is a retired Professor of Theoretical Physics at the university of
Giesen and has shared the responsibility for the introduction of Bachelor and Mas-
ter courses in Physics since 2005. His expertise is the phase-space dynamics of
classical and quantum many-body systems, which in part is published in a book
on transport theories. Moreover, he has written a series of textbooks in Theoretical
Physics.

ix
Contents

1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Newton’s Axioms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1 Basic Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1.1 Straight-Line Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1.2 Curved Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1.3 Curvature of Trajectories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.1 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.2 Real Vector Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2.3 Euclidean Vector Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2.4 Basis and Dimension of Vector Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3 Orthogonal Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3.1 Vectors in Mathematics and Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3.2 Rotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3.3 Reflection at the Origin (Inversion) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.3.4 Vectors and Scalars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3.5 Benefits of the Vector Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4 Circular Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4.1 Angular Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4.2 Vector Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4.3 Angular Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3 Relative Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.1 Inertial Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.1.1 Idea and Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.1.2 Galilean Principle of Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.1.3 Galilei Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.2 Rotating Reference Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.2.1 Non-inertial Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.2.2 Uniformly Rotating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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3.2.3 Explanations and Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

3.2.4 Generalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.3 Center of Mass System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.3.1 Definition of the Center of Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.3.2 Observables in the Center of Mass System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3.3 Determination of the Center of Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.3.4 Collision of Two Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.3.5 Reduced Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4 Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.1 Consequences from Newton’s Axioms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.1.1 Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.1.2 Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.1.3 Equations of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.2 Examples for Solving Equations of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.2.1 Charged Particle in a Homogeneous Electric Field . . . . . . . . 38
4.2.2 Charged Particle in a Constant Homogeneous
Magnetic Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.2.3 Free Fall on the Rotating Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.3 Momentum and Angular Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.3.1 Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.3.2 Momentum Law and Galilean Invariance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.3.3 Example: Rocket in Gravity-Free Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.3.4 Angular Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.3.5 Conservation of Angular Momentum and Galilean
Invariance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.3.6 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.3.7 External and Internal Angular Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4.3.8 Exchange of Momentum and Angular Momentum
in the Collision of Two (or Several) Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.4 Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.4.1 Kinetic Energy and Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.4.2 Conservative Forces, Potential Energy, Energy
Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.4.3 Invariances of U ; Separation of Center of Mass
Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.4.4 Friction Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5 Applications of Newton Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.1 Central Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.1.1 Reduction of Degrees of Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.1.2 Classification of Trajectories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.1.3 1/r 2 –Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.2 Planetary Motion; Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.2.1 Kepler’s Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.2.2 Law of Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Contents xiii

5.2.3 Equivalence Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

5.2.4 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5.2.5 Gravitational Field of a Static Mass Distribution . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.3 Small Oscillations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.3.1 The Linear Harmonic Oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.3.2 Damped Oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.3.3 Forced Oscillations; Resonance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.3.4 Coupled Harmonic Oscillations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
6 Relativistic Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.1 Special Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.1.1 Lorentz Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.1.2 Derivation of the Lorentz Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.1.3 Space-Time Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6.2 Consequences of the Lorentz Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
6.2.1 Addition of Velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
6.2.2 Lorentz Contraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
6.2.3 Simultaneity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
6.2.4 Time Dilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
6.2.5 Causality and Limiting Velocity of Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.2.6 Examples and Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
6.3 Mathematical Aspects of Lorentz Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
6.3.1 Lorentz Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
6.3.2 Lorentz Scalars, Vectors, Tensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
6.3.3 Four-Current Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.4 Relativistic Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6.4.1 Momentum and Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6.4.2 Scattering Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
6.4.3 Equations of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
6.4.4 Lorentz Transformation of the Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
7 Formal Structure of Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
7.1 Generalized Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
7.1.1 Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
7.1.2 Equations of Motion in Generalized Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . 119
7.1.3 Conservative Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
7.1.4 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
7.1.5 Velocity-Dependent Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
7.2 Hamilton’s Variational Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
7.2.1 Variational Principle and Euler’s Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
7.2.2 Canonical Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
7.2.3 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
7.3 Symmetry and Conservation Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
7.3.1 Cyclic Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
7.3.2 Translation Invariance and Momentum Conservation . . . . . . 134
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7.3.3 Rotational Invariance and Angular Momentum

Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
7.3.4 Time–Translation and Energy Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
8 Applications of the Lagrange Formalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
8.1 Motions of Rigid Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
8.2 Kinetic Energy and Inertia Tensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
8.3 Angular Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
8.4 Euler’s Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
8.5 The Euler Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
8.6 Lagrange Equations of the Rigid Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
9 Dynamics in Phase Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
9.1 Temporal Change of an Observable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
9.2 Properties of Poisson Brackets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
9.3 Canonical Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
9.3.1 Point Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
9.3.2 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
9.4 Extended Canonical Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
9.4.1 Generators of Canonical Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
9.4.2 Overview of the Generating Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
9.4.3 Canonical Invariants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
9.4.4 Criteria for Canonical Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
9.5 Liouville’s Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 Illustration for straight-line motion in a single dimension

(along the x-axis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Fig. 2.2 Illustration for circular motion if the origin
of the coordinate system is not in the plane of motion . . . . . . . . . 21
Fig. 2.3 Direction of the angular velocity ω (right-handed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Fig. 2.4 Illustration of the parallelogram formed by vectors a and b . . . . 23
Fig. 2.5 Position of a mass point fixed on the earth’s surface . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Fig. 3.1 Velocity vectors and positions before (left)
and after the collision (right) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Fig. 4.1 Plane F spanned by the 2 neighboring position vectors r
and r + r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Fig. 4.2 Illustration of two different trajectories connecting
the points a and b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Fig. 5.1 Example for a potential Ueff that is positive everywhere
and decreasing with r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Fig. 5.2 Example for a potential that only allows for bound states . . . . . . 67
Fig. 5.3 Example for potential that allows for bound states (E < 0)
as well as scattering states (E > 0) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Fig. 5.4 Example for a potential with only unbound states
for arbitrary r ≥ 0 and E > Um (green dots).
For 0 ≤ E < Um both bound (green) and unbound states
(green dots) exist, while for E < 0 only bound states can
appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Fig. 5.5 Case of an ellipse, which is a bound state with E < 0.
The center of mass is located in the focal point F . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Fig. 5.6 Branch of a hyperbola that encloses the origin r = 0
and shows an unbound state with E > 0. The center
of mass is located in the focal point F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Fig. 5.7 Complementary branch of a hyperbola that does
not include the origin r = 0 and shows an unbound state
with E > 0. The center of mass is located in the focal
point F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

xv
xvi List of Figures

Fig. 5.8 Gravitational field lines and equipotential surfaces in case

of a single mass located in the center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Fig. 5.9 Illustration of polar coordinates for the volume integral
in case of a homogenous sphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Fig. 5.10 Energy balance in case of a harmonic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Fig. 5.11 Coordinates in case of a thread pendulum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Fig. 5.12 Time dependence of the amplitude x(t) in case
of a weakly damped oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Fig. 5.13 The phase ϕ(ω) for the driven oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Fig. 5.14 The amplitude ξ(ω) for the driven oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Fig. 5.15 Two particles of mass m1 and m2 are coupled by a string
with strength k and attached to the outer walls by strings
of strength k1 and k2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Fig. 6.1 Space-time diagram dividing past and future as well
as time-like (dashed) and space-like areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Fig. 6.2 Illustration of a Lorentz transformation in x-direction
with velocity β. The x0 and x1 axes are tilted by the angle
α defined by tan(α) = β in .............................. 96
Fig. 6.3 For an observer in the length of the scale is given
by the distance OA while for an observer in the latter
appears shortened to the distance OB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Fig. 6.4 Scattering of a photon on a free, initially resting electron.
The final momentum of the electron is denoted by P
while the scattering angle of the photon is θ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Fig. 7.1 Choice of coordinates for motions in a plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Fig. 7.2 The flat pendulum of length l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Fig. 7.3 Illustration of Atwood’s machine with a rope of length l . . . . . . 123
Fig. 7.4 Pearl on a rotating wire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Fig. 7.5 Illustration of an actual trajectory and a neighboring
trajectory, which pass through the same points at t1 and t2 . . . . . 127
Fig. 8.1 Inertial system with axes xI , yI , zI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Fig. 8.2 Body-fixed coordinate system with axes x, y, z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Fig. 8.3 Euler angles and rotations (see text) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Fig. 8.4 Rotation of a heavy gyroscope (see text) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Fig. A.1 Illustration of an oscillating string for mass points at equal
distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Fig. A.2 Illustration of an oscillating string in the continuum limit . . . . . . 179