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Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics
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<p><i>Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics</i> (<i>SICM</i>) is a <a href="/facts/Classical_mechanics/ykG8upsN">classical mechanics</a> <a href="/facts/Textbook/9sunkH2y">textbook</a> written by <a href="/facts/Gerald_Jay_Sussman/S18E8MNx">Gerald Jay Sussman</a> and <a href="/facts/Jack_Wisdom/xHPBj3qE">Jack Wisdom</a> with <a href="/facts/Meinhard_E._Mayer/JeqmuWPy">Meinhard E. Mayer</a>. The first edition was published by <a href="/facts/MIT_Press/eTerUM3c">MIT Press</a> in 2001, and a second edition was released in 2015. The book is used at the <a href="/facts/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology/Xk49vNA8">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> to teach a class in advanced classical mechanics, starting with <a href="/facts/Lagrangian_mechanics/sTxyqWz8">Lagrange's equations</a> and proceeding through canonical <a href="/facts/Perturbation_theory/JWrNgbVm">perturbation theory</a>. </p><p><i>SICM</i> explains some physical phenomena by showing <a href="/facts/Computer_program/e38jH9N9">computer programs</a> for simulating them. These programs are written in the <a href="/facts/Scheme_(programming_language)/0aGdf3SC">Scheme programming language</a>, as were the programs in Sussman's earlier <a href="/facts/Computer_science/lN3pEyPz">computer science</a> textbook, <i><a href="/facts/Structure_and_Interpretation_of_Computer_Programs/1uQnItn6">Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs</a></i>. </p><p>Sussman wrote: </p> <p>Classical mechanics is deceptively simple. It is surprisingly easy to get the right answer with <a href="/facts/Fallacy/IRVuLSef">fallacious</a> reasoning or without the real understanding. To address this problem Jack Wisdom and I, with help from Hardy Mayer, have written [<i>Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics</i>] and are teaching a class at MIT that uses computational techniques to communicate a deeper understanding of Classical mechanics. We use computational algorithms to express the methods used to analyze dynamical phenomena. Expressing the methods in a computer language forces them to be unambiguous and computationally effective. Formulating a method as a computer-executable program and <a href="/facts/Debugging/QtdpPJT0">debugging</a> that program is a powerful exercise in the learning process. Also, once formalized procedurally, a mathematical idea becomes a tool that can be used directly to compute results.</p> <p>The entire text is freely available online from the publisher's website. </p>