Introduction to Dynamics

This book is intended to serve as a text on dynamics for undergraduate students of engineering. The book provides in-depth discussions of the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics, more commonly known as dynamics. Drawing on the author’s extensive experience in teaching the subject of dynamics at two Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), the book contains 498 line diagrams, 123 worked-out examples and 222 exercise problems. The answers to select exercise problems are provided at the end of the book. A wealth of detailed illustrations make the book ideally suited for both self self-study and classroom use at both introductory and secondary levels. Thus the book offers a valuable resource for both students and teachers of dynamics, addressing the main topics covered in core level courses on ‘Dynamics’ for students of civil, mechanical and aerospace engineering across the globe.

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Science of Motion.- Chapter 2: Kinematics of Particles.- Chapter 3: Kinetics of Particles.- Chapter 4: Work and Energy.- Chapter 5: Impulse and Momentum.- Chapter 6: Dynamics of Rigid Bodies in Plane Motion.- Chapter 7: Special Topics.- Appendix: A.- Unit Multiplies.- Important Physical Quantities.- Moment of Inertia of Rigid Bodies.Appendix B: Answers to Exercise problems.

Amitabha Ghosh received his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Calcutta University in 1962, 1964 and 1969, respectively. After serving as a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at his alma mater, Bengal Engineering College, Shibpur (now an Institute of National Importance—Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur) from 1965 to 1970, Professor Ghosh joined the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) as an Assistant Professor in January 1971. He served at the Institute as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 1975 until his retirement in 2006.

From 1977 to 1978 Professor Ghosh visited the RWTH Aachen as a Senior Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and subsequently visited the RWTH Aachen in the same capacity several times between then and 2012. He served as Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) from 1997 to 2002. His primary areas of research are Manufacturing Science, Robotics, Kinematics and Mechanism Theory and Dynamics of Mechanical Systems. Professor Ghosh has written a number of textbooks that have been highly successful both in India and abroad, and has received many academic awards including a number of Calcutta University Gold Medals, the D.Sc. (h.c.), Distinguished Teacher award from IIT Kanpur and the Award for Excellence in Research by the National Academy of Engineering. He is a fellow of all four national science and engineering academies in India.