Two dramatically different philosophical approaches to classical mechanics were proposed during the 17th - 18th centuries. Newton developed his vectorial formul

DIVHistorical, theoretical survey with many insights, much hard-to-find material. Hamilton’s principle, Hamilton-Jacobi equation, etc. /div

Variational principles have proven to be surprisingly fertile. For example, Fermat used variational methods to demonstrate that light follows the fastest route

Thereareabout500booksonvariationalprinciples. Theyareconcernedmostlywith the mathematical aspects of the topic. The major goal of this book is to discuss the ph