A First Course in Engineering Dynamics: (B&W)

A First Course in Engineering Dynamics covers basic topics typically taught in a second mechanics course in a two-course sequence in most mechanical engineering curricula. Engineering Dynamics is a scientific branch of classical mechanics with a long and rich history. Despite the fact that its foundations were set long ago, it is a continuously evolving discipline, as it is the driving force behind the research and development of many technological applications. The book is structured in two parts and six chapters: Part I: Kinematics, Chapters 1 and 2, Part II: Kinetics, Chapters 3 through 6. The first two chapters are devoted to Kinematics, the branch of mechanics which deals with the study of motions without consideration of their causes. Kinematics is first applied to particle motion (Chapter 1), then to rigid body motion (Chapter 2), where more realistic engineering models are studied. Part II deals with Kinetics, that is, the branch of mechanics which studies the relationships between motion and the cause of motion. It is comprised of four chapters, each presenting a specific formulation of kinetics laws: Chapter 3, Linear Momentum Formulation, Chapter 4, Angular Momentum Formulation, Chapter 5, Energy Formulation, Chapter 6, Impulse/Momentum Formulation. This structure offers many advantages, in that it allows presentations and proper justification of many fundamental topics usually not found in standard textbooks. The style of this book is concise and mathematical. It provides students with an opportunity to learn how to describe a physical phenomenon in the language of mathematics. With Dynamics, students will learn to develop a systematic modeling method to transform a physical system into a mathematical representation. As Galileo put it, "The book of Nature is written in mathematical language."