Course Materials
Main content blocks
- Lecturer: Profile: James Sparks
Course information
General prerequisites:
Calculus of Variations, recommended, but not essential.
Course term: Michaelmas
Course lecture information: 16 lectures
Course weight: 1
Course level: H
Assessment type: Written Examination
Course overview:
This course builds on the Prelims Dynamics course, recasting Newtonian mechanics in the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms. As well as being elegant and computationally useful, these formulations of classical mechanics give important insights into symmetries and conservation laws, and are the language used to describe all modern theories of physics and mechanical systems.
Learning outcomes:
Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms. They will understand how symmetries and conserved quantities are described in this language, and be able to apply the ideas developed to small oscillations around equilibria, rigid body motion and other elementary systems.
Course synopsis:
Review of Newtonian mechanics. Generalized coordinates. The principle of least action. Constraints. Symmetries and Noether's Theorem. Examples of simple and compound constrained systems.
Equilibria. Small oscillations about a stable equilibrium and normal modes, with examples.
Rigid bodies. Angular velocity, angular momentum and the inertia tensor. Euler's equations and tops. Euler angles and \(SO(3)\).
Legendre transformations and the Hamiltonian. Phase space and its geometry. Poisson brackets. Canonical transformations. Liouville's theorem. The Hamilton-Jacobi equation.
Equilibria. Small oscillations about a stable equilibrium and normal modes, with examples.
Rigid bodies. Angular velocity, angular momentum and the inertia tensor. Euler's equations and tops. Euler angles and \(SO(3)\).
Legendre transformations and the Hamiltonian. Phase space and its geometry. Poisson brackets. Canonical transformations. Liouville's theorem. The Hamilton-Jacobi equation.
Section outline
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For problem sheets that provide background to the course, see later problem sheets from Prelims Dynamics M4. Some of this material will be revised in the course.
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Based on week 1 & 2 lectures.
Please attempt version without solutions to sections A & C first. -
Due: Sunday, 15 November 2026, 5:00 PMProblems on week 3 & 4 lectures.
Please attempt version without solutions to sections A & C first. -
Due: Sunday, 29 November 2026, 5:00 PMProblems on week 5 & 6 lectures.
Please attempt version without solutions to sections A & C first.
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Due: Sunday, 17 January 2027, 5:00 PMProblems on week 7 & 8 lectures.
Please attempt version without solutions to sections A & C first.
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