A Physicist's Guide to Mathematica
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg7425] A Physicist's Guide to Mathematica
- From: ptt1 at axe.humboldt.edu (Patrick Tam)
- Date: Sat, 31 May 1997 15:07:47 -0400 (EDT)
- Organization: Physics - HSU
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT
A Physicist's Guide to Mathematica
Patrick Tam
Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
Paperback: $59.00 (tentative)
May 1997, c. 506 pp./ISBN: 0-12-683190-4. Compatible with Mathematica v.3.0.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Windows: Can be accessed through Windows '95 or
Version 3.1. Macintosh: System software versions 7.x and above.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A Physicist's Guide to Mathematica teaches students and professional
physicists how to master Mathematica using examples and approaches that
will appeal to them. The book illustrates the usefulness of Mathematica in
learning, teaching, and carrying out research in physics. Part One gives a
practical, physics-oriented, and self-contained introduction to the
program. Part Two covers the application of Mathematica to mechanics,
electricity and magnetism, and quantum physics. Mathematica enables the
user to solve a wide range of physics problems, from the most important to
those that are "just for fun," and provides an environment that allows the
user to develop a greater intuitive understanding of physics. This book
aids the reader in using Mathematica for numerical, symbolic, and
graphical calculations, and also demonstrates the program's capability to
animate two- and three-dimensional graphics. Tam's treatment of the
subject is greatly detailed, and makes this book an essential reference
for anyone needing an introduction to Mathematica's application to
physics.
KEY FEATURES
Divides the information into two parts:
Part One provides a single comprehensive guide to using Mathematica
Part Two uses examples from physics to illustrate the material
learned in Part One
Requires no prior knowledge of Mathematica or computer programming
Includes a disk containing all Mathematica input used in the text for
practical application. The disk can be used by both Macintosh and
Windows users.
Compatible with Mathematica version 3.0
CONTENTS
Preface
Mathematica with Physics
The First Encounter: The First Ten Minutes. A Touch of Physics. On-Line Help.
Error Messages. Packages. Notebook Interfaces.
Interactive Use of Mathematica: Numerical Capabilities. Symbolic
Capabilities. Graphical Capabilities. Lists. Some New Features in
Mathematica Version 3.0. Problems.
Programming in Mathematica: Expressions. Patterns. Functions. Procedures.
Graphics. Programming Styles. Packages.
Physics with Mathematica
Mechanics: Falling Bodies. Projectile Motion. The Pendulum. The Spherical
Pendulum. Problems.
Electricity and Magnetism: Electric Field Lines and Equipotentials. Laplace's
Equation. Charged Particle in Crossed Electric and Magnetic Fields.
Problems.
Quantum Physics: Black Body Radiation. Wave Packets. Particle in a
One-Dimensional Box. The Square Well Potential. Angular Momentum. The
Kronig-Penney Model. Problems.
Appendices: The Last Ten Minutes. Operator Input Forms. The Infrastructure of
Mathematica. Solutions to Exercises. Solutions to Problems.
References
Subject Index
For more information, visit APNet of Academic Press at http://www.apnet.com/.