Rigid Body Dynamics

This monograph provides a complete and up-to-date examination of rigid body dynamics using a Lagrangian approach. All known integrable cases, which were previously scattered throughout the literature, are collected here for convenient reference. Also contained are particular solutions to diverse problems treated within rigid body dynamics. The first seven chapters introduce the elementary dynamics of the rigid body and its main problems. A full historical account of the discovery and development of each of the integrable cases is included as well. Instructors will find this portion of the book well-suited for an undergraduate course, having been formulated by the author in the classroom over many years. The second part includes more advanced topics and some of the author’s original research, highlighting several unique methods he developed that have led to significant results. Some of the specific topics covered include the twelve known solutions of the equations of motion in the classical problem, which has not previously appeared in English before; a collection of completely new integrable cases; and the motion of a rigid body around a fixed point under the action of an asymmetric combination of potential and gyroscopic forces. Rigid Body Dynamics will appeal to researchers in the area as well as those studying dynamical and integrable systems theory.