Introduction to Theoretical Physics

Planck M.

The general plan of a book is often clearer if one knows how it came to be written. This book started from two separate sources. First, it originated in a years lecture course of the same title, covering about the first two-thirds of the ground presented here, the part on classical physics. This course grew out of the conviction that the teaching of theoretical physics in a number of separate courses, as in mechanics, electromagnetic theory, potential theory, thermodynamics, tends to keep a student from seeing the unity of physics, and from appreciating the importance of applying principles developed for one branch of science to the problems of another. The second source of this book was a projected volume on the structure of matter, dealing principally with applications of modern atomic theory to the structure of atoms, molecules, and solids, and to chemical problems. As work progressed on this, it became evident that the structure of matter could not be treated without a thorough understanding of the principles of wave mechanics, and that such an understanding demanded a careful grounding in classical physics, in mechanics, wave motion, the theory of vibrating systems, potential theory, statistical mechanics, where many principles needed in the quantum theory are best introduced. The ideal solution seemed to be to combine the two projects, including the classical and the more modern parts of theoretical physics in a coherent whole, thus further increasing the unity of treatment of which we have spoken.

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Table of contents :
Preface
Power series
Power series method for differential equations
Power series and exponential methods for simple harmonic vibrations
Damped vibrations, forced vibrations, and resonance
Energy
Vector forces and potentials
Lagrange’s equations and planetary motion
Generalized momenta and Hamilton’s equations
Phase space and the general motion of particles
The motion of rigid bodies
Coupled systems and normal coordinates
The vibrating string and Fourier series
Normal coordinates and the vibrating string
The string with variable tension and density
The vibrating membrane
Stresses, strains, and vibrations of an elastic solid introduction
Flow of fluids introduction
Heat flow
Electrostatics, Green’s theorem, and potential theory
Magnetic fields, Stokes’s theorem, and vector potential
Electromagnetic induction and Maxwell’s equations
Energy in the electromagnetic field
Reflection and refraction of electromagnetic waves
Electron theory and dispersion
Spherical electromagnetic waves
Huygens’ principle and green’s theorem
fresnel and fraunhofer diffraction
waves, rays, and wave mechanics
Schrodingers equation in one dimension
The correspondence principle and statistical mechanics
Matrices
Perturbation theory
The hydrogen atom and the central field
Atomic structure
Interatomic forces and molecular structure
Equation of state of gases
Nuclear vibrations in molecules and solids introduction
Collisions and chemical reactions
Electronic interactions
Electronic energy of atoms and molecules
Fermi statistics and metallic structure
Dispersion, dielectrics, and magnetism
Suggested references
Index