30 Lessons in Engineering Dynamics

30 Lessons in Engineering Dynamics covers basic topics typically taught in a first Dynamics course in most mechanical engineering curricula. It has been written in the view of organizing the material in thirty 75 minute-long lectures followed by fifteen weekly recitations devoted exclusively to problem-solving. Dynamics is a scientific branch of mechanics whose foundations were set long ago by Aristotle, Archimedes, Galileo, Kepler, Newton and many others. However, it is a continuously evolving discipline, as it has wide applicability in many engineering fields, such as in the machine-building, aerospace, transportation, medical and energy industries. In this course we will learn to build mathematical models to predict the effects of mechanical actions on the dynamical behavior of one or more bodies idealized as rigid. With the help of simple yet powerful principles, we will formulate and analyze models by making physically sound assumptions. The book is structured in four parts: Part I: Particle Kinematics Part II: Rigid Body Kinematics Part III: Particle Kinetics Part IV: Rigid Body Kinetics The first fourteen Lessons of Parts I and II are devoted to Kinematics, the branch of dynamics which deals with the study of motions without consideration of their causes. Kinematics is first applied to particle motion (Lessons 1-6), then to rigid body motion (Lessons 7-14), where much more realistic models will be studied. Kinematics is the foundation of this course. Parts III and IV deal with Kinetics, that is, the branch of dynamics which studies the relationships between motion and the cause of motion. Again, kinetics is first applied to particles (Lessons 15-21), and then to rigid bodies (Lessons 22-30). This structure offers many advantages in that it allows presentations and proper justification of some fundamental topics usually not found in standard textbooks.