1-1 INTRODUCTION
Classical Mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of objects that are large relative to atoms and move at speeds much slower than the speed of light, sometimes referred to as Newtonian mechanics or simply mechanics. This is an appropriate place to begin an introductory text because many of the basic principles used to understand mechanical systems can later be used to describe such natural phenomena as waves and the transfer of energy by heat. Furthermore, the laws of conservation of energy and momentum introduced in mechanics retain their importance in the fundamental theories of other areas of physics.
Today, classical mechanics is of vital importance to students from all disciplines. It is highly successful in describing the motions of different objects, such as planets, rockets, and baseballs.
In our investigation of classical mechanics we shall study many different types
of motion, including:
1- Translational motion: motion by which a body shifts from one point in space to another (e.g., the motion of a bullet fired from a gun).
2- Rotational motion: motion by which an extended body changes orientation, with respect to other bodies in space, without changing position (e.g., the motion of a spinning top).
3- Oscillatory motion: motion which continually repeats in time with a fixed period (e.g., the motion of a pendulum in a grandfather clock).
4- Circular motion: motion by which a body executes a circular orbit about another fixed body [e.g., the (approximate) motion of the Earth about the Sun].