VariationalPrinciplesinDynamicsandQuantumTheory

Concentratinguponapplicationsthataremostrelevanttomodernphysics，thisvaluablebooksurveysvariationalprinciplesandexaminestheirrelationshiptodynamicsandquantumtheory.Stressingthehistoryandtheoryofthesemathematicalconceptsratherthanthemechanics，theauthorsprovidemanyinsightsintothedevelopmentofquantummechanicsandpresentmuchhard-to-findmaterialinaremarkablylucid，compactform.
AftersummarizingthehistoricalbackgroundfromPythagorastoFrancisBacon，ProfessorsYourgrauandMandelstramcoverFermat'sprincipleofleasttime，theprincipleofleastactionofMaupertuis，developmentofthisprinciplebyEulerandLagrange，andtheequationsofLagrangeandHamilton.Equippedbythisthoroughpreparationtotreatvariationalprinciplesingeneral，theyproceedtoderiveHamilton'sprinciple，theHamilton-Jacobiequation，andHamilton'scanonicalequations.
AninvestigationofelectrodynamicsinHamiltonianformcoversnext，followedbyaresumeofvariationalprinciplesinclassicaldynamics.Theauthorsthenlaunchintoananalysisoftheirmostsignificanttopics：therelationbetweenvariationalprinciplesandwavemechanics，andtheprinciplesofFeynmanandSchwingerinquantummechanics.Twoconcludingchaptersextendthediscussiontohydrodynamicsandnaturalphilosophy.
Professionalphysicists，mathematicians，andadvancedstudentswithastrongmathematicalbackgroundwillfindthisstimulatingvolumeinvaluablereading.Extremelypopularinitshardcoveredition，thisvolumewillfindevenwiderappreciationinitsfirstfineinexpensivepaperboundedition.，