Bibliothèque de L'IMIST/CNRST

Preface; Translators' Remarks; Foreword; Advertisement.; toVolume I [-12pt] Introduction to the Kinematics and Kinetics of the Top; Introduction; toChapter I The kinematics of the top; Geometric treatment of the kinematics; Analytic representation of rotations about a fixed point; Addenda and Supplements; References; The meaning of the parameters , , ,; The use of , , , for the study of finite rotations; Passage to the so-called infinitesimal rotations; The example of regular precession; Excursus on the theory of quaternions

Contrast between continuously acting forces and impact forces the impulse for a single free mass particle; toChapter II Introduction to kinetics (statics and impulse theory); The elementary statics of rigid bodies; The concept of the impulse for the generalized top. Relation between the impulse vector and the rotation vector. Connection to the expression for the vis viva; Translators' Notes.; Transference of the preceding results to the special case of the symmetric top; The two fundamental theorems on the behavior of the impulse vector in the course of the motion; The theorem of the vis viva

Geometric treatment of force-free motion of the topRotation of the top about a permanent turning axis and the so-called stability of the rotation axis of a rapidly rotating top; Derivation of the Euler equations; toChapter III The Euler equations, with further development of the kinetics of the top; Analytic treatment of the force-free motion of the top; On the meaning of the Euler equations and their relation to the equations of Lagrange; Guidance of the top on a prescribed path. D'Alembert's principle

Special development for the spherical top. Decomposition of the total resistance into an acceleration resistance and a deviation resistanceThe deviation resistance for regular precession of the symmetric top; A new derivation of the deviation resistance for regular precession of the symmetric top. The Coriolis force; Experimental demonstration of the deviation resistance. The top with one and two degrees of freedom; Index

The lecture series on the Theory of the Top was originally given as a dedication to Gottingen University by Felix Klein in 1895, but has since found broader appeal. The Theory of the Top: Volume I. Introduction to the Kinematics and Kinetics of the Top is the first of a series of four self-contained English translations that provide insights into kinetic theory and kinematics.