Basic Theoretical Physics A Concise Overview [Hardcover]

This concise treatment embraces, in four parts, all the main aspects of theoretical physics. Recent topics such as holography and quantum cryptography are included. The book summarizes what a graduate student, physicist working in industry, or a physics teacher should master during his or her degree course. It will also be useful for deepening ones insight and it adds new dimensions to understanding of these elemental concepts.

From the contents: Part I: Mechanics and Aspects of Relativity.- Space and Time.- Force and Mass.- Basic tasks of Mechanics for one-dimensional motions.-The damped and driven harmonic oscillator.- The three fundamental conservation laws.- Motion in central force fields.- The Rutherford scattering cross section.- Lagrange formalism I : The Lagrangian and the Hamiltonian.- Relativity I: Einstein's principle of the shortest proper time and Hamilton's principle of least-action momentum.- Coupled small oscillations.- Rigid bodies.- Remarks on non-integrable systems.- Lagrange formalism II: Constraints.- Accelerated reference frames.- Relativity II: E=mc?.- Part II: Electrodynamics and aspects of optics.- Opening: Literature, internet, contents, purpose.- Introduction: units and (mathematical) prelimaries.- Electrostatics and magnetostatics.- Magnetic field of steady electric currents.- The general Maxwell equations I: Faraday's 'law of induction.- Maxwell's displacement current.- The general Maxwell equations II: Electromagnetic waves.- Applications of the electrodynamics in the field of optics.- Conclusion.- Part III: Quantum mechanics.- Introductory remarks.- References and internet.- On the history of quantum mechanics.- Quantum mechanics: Foundations.- One-dimensional problems.- The harmonic oscillator in the wave mechanics.- The hydrogen atom in the wave mechanics.- Abstract quantum mechanics (algebraic methods).- Spin momentum and Pauli's principle (the spin-statistics theorem).- Spin-orbit interaction.- The minimisation plC<