Theory of the Top : Introduction to the Kinematics and Kinetics of the Top

TheTheory of the Top attained its great fame from both its monum- tal scope and its outstanding authors. In the early twentieth century, Felix Klein was known as a mathematician of world fame; Arnold S- merfeld, Klein’s disciple, had acquired his reputation as a rising star of theoretical physics. By 1910, when the ?nal volume of this tr- tise was published, the names of Klein and Sommerfeld would signal to a student that a matter as complex as the top was presented in a most authoritative manner, from the perspective of both mathem- ics and physics. The work also stands out in other regards: by its sheer extent―four volumes comprising a total of almost a thousand pages―and by the time lag of about ?fteen years between inception and completion. Klein himself regarded the ?nal result as somewhat disjointed. Its “idiosyncratic disposition,” he re?ected in 1922, may be understood only by taking into account the historic circumstances at its inception in 1895; the developments between the ?rst and last parts derailed the project from its intended course, so that for the technical applications described in Volume IV “almost no use was made of the theoretical framework developed atthebeginning”[Klein 1922, p. 659]. Itseemsappropriate,therefore,torecallthehistoricalcircumstances under which this treatise was conceived and pursued. Felix Klein was not only a renowned mathematician, but also an entrepreneurial and ambitious university professor striving for a broader acknowledgment of mathematics as a cultural asset.

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 of the classic and definitive treatment of rigid body motion.

Key features:

* Complete and unabridged presentation with recent advances and additional notes

* Annotations by the translators provide insights into the nature of science and mathematics in the late 19th century

* Each volume interweaves theory and applications

Volume I focuses on providing fundamental background material and basic theoretical concepts. The Theory of the Top was originally presented by Felix Klein as an 1895 lecture at Göttingen University that was broadened in scope and clarified as a result of collaboration with Arnold Sommerfeld. Graduate students and researchers interested in theoretical and applied mechanics will find this a thorough and insightful account. Other volumes in this series include Development of the Theory for the Heavy Symmetric Top, Perturbations: Astronomical and Geophysical Applications, and Technical Applications of the Theory of the Top.