Targ S. Theoretical Mechanics: A Short Course

Moscow: Mir Publishers, 1968. – 447 p.This book is designed for students of higher and secondary technical schools. It treats of the basic methods of theoretical mechanics and their spheres of application. It also briefly examines motion in a gravitational field (artificial satellites and elliptical trajectories), the motion of bodies with variable mass (e.g., rockets), the elementary theory of gyroscopic motion, and other topics. These questions are of such importance today that no course of mechanics, even a short one, can neglect them altogether.
The organization of this book is based on the profound conviction, borne out by many years of experience, that the best way of presenting study material, especially when it is contained in a short course, is to proceed from the particular to the general. Accordingly, in this book, plane statics comes before three-dimensional statics, particle dynamics before system dynamics, rectilinear motion before curvilinear motion, etc. Such an arrangement helps the student to understand and digest the material better and faster, and the teaching process itself is made more graphic and consistent.
Alongside of the geometrical and analytical methods of mechanics the book makes wide use of the vector method as one of the main generally accepted methods which, furthermore, possesses a number of indisputable advantages. As a rule, however, only those vector operations are used which are similar to corresponding operations with scalar quantities and which do not require additional acquaintance with many new concepts.
Considerable space – more than one-third of the total volume of the book – is given to examples and worked problems. They were chosen with an eye to ensure a clear comprehension of the relevant mechanical phenomena, and they embrace all the main types of problems and methods of problem solution. The problem solutions contain instructions designed to assist the student in his independent work on the course. In this respect, the book should prove useful to students from many fields interested in advancing their knowledge of the subject.Basic Concepts and Principles
Concurrent Force Systems
Parallel Forces and Couples in a Plane
General Case of Forces in a Plane
Elements of Graphical Statics
Friction
Couples and Forces in Space
Centre of Gravity
Rectilinear Motion of a Particle
Curvilinear Motion of a Particle
Translatory and Rotational Motion of a Rigid Body
Plane Motion of a Rigid Body
Motion of a Rigid Body Having One Fixed Point and Motion of a Free Rigid Body
Resultant Motion of a Particle
Resultant Motion of a Rigid Body
Introduction to Dynamics. Laws of Dynamics
Differential Equations of Motion for a Particle and Their Integration
General Theorems of Particle Dynamics
Constrained Motion of a Particle and d’Alembert’s Principle
Relative Motion of a Particle
Vibration of a Particle
Motion of a Body in the Earth’s Gravitational Field
Introduction to the Dynamics of a System. Moments of Inertia of Rigid Bodies
Theorem of the Motion of the Centre of Mass of a System
Theorem of the Change in the Linear Momentum of a System
Theorem of the Change in the Angular Momentum of a System
Theorem of the Change in the Kinetic Energy of a System
Some Cases of Rigid-Body Motion
D’Alembert’s Principle. Forces Acting on the Axis of a Rotating Body
The Principle of Virtual Work and the General Equation of Dynamics
The Theory of Impact
Name Index
Subject Index