April 21, 2008
Review Lagrangian techniques in Classical Mechanics.
Coordinates describe the state of a system, position, momentum.
Euler's equations.
Fields exist throughout space-time.
Example: point masses connected by springs.
The Action integral and the Principle of Least Action
Topics:
- Relativistic particle mechanics
- Four-vectors and four-velocity
- Principle of least action
- Lagrangian for a point particle
- Relativistic momentum and energy